April 11, 2010, 7:48 pm  Zebra Canyon Directions to Zebra Canyon: take Hole in Rock road to the third cattle guard, park at the obvious spot in the desert, and follow the trail. In less than a mile the trail drops into a wash, and the scenery gets interesting.
This is actually a pretty easy hike, but it didn’t feel like it. We were all tired from yesterday’s hike to Hidden Canyon and the late night. This was the only hike where one of the kids ran out of gas and needed some extra encouragement on the way back to the car.
We were here last year, so we didn’t have to wander around trying to find the entrance to this slot canyon. It’s not the narrowest of slot canyons, but you can’t wear a backpack or a kid carrier into it. Chase was riding Mark’s shoulders and cracked up when Mark had to go through contortions to climb an obstacle without dumping Chase off.
I took a few photos, but I’m including some I took last year in the gallery as well.
Links
—Zebra Canyon, Escalante photo gallery
April 10, 2010, 9:06 pm Originally we had planned to head to Bryce in the morning, but Mark really wanted to hike to Hidden Canyon. So, as quickly as we could, we loaded up, checked out of our motel, and headed for the Zion visitor’s center to board the shuttle.
The trailhead at Weeping Wall serves Hidden Canyon, the East Rim, and Observation Point. The trail heads up almost immediately and soon begins switchbacking as the canyon wall becomes steeper. The trail is excellent—it has been paved in a fashion so that it is relatively smooth. After gaining a few hundred feet in elevation, the trail junction to Hidden Canyon is reached.
At this point the trail becomes rougher and narrower. In a few spots with significant exposure, chains have been installed to hang on to. One of the first rough spots is traversing a narrow chute which was still packed with snow. Karen and I had come this far a few years ago, and turned around at this point. There wasn’t any snow then—it was just an uncomfortable, off-camber sand-covered rock trail. We don’t regret that decision because we then chose to head up to the east rim and Observation Point. By the way, the girls (6 and 8 years old) showed no fear. I do have a queasiness about heights, but managed OK by just concentrating on where my feet went on the trail in front of me. I didn’t spend a lot of time gazing over the edge.
 Hidden Canyon trail After wrapping around the cliff face, the trail finally enters Hidden Canyon where except for a couple of minor obstructions, the trail is an easy, flat walk. Eventually the canyon becomes choked with boulders, and while I suppose one could scramble further up the canyon, we did not.
By the time we got back to the visitor center, we realized we should eat dinner. For a converted gas station, the Whiptail Grill was quite good. Sitting outside, the view is magnificent, but it was too breezy to be totally enjoyable.
Finally, we got on the road eastbound to Escalante and did not arrive until after 9:30 pm. This was tough on the kids, but the excitement and accomplishment of the hike made it worth it.
Links
—Zion Hidden Canyon photo gallery
April 9, 2010, 8:32 pm “Roll with the punches.” That’s what we did today, and the result was pretty nice. This being our last full day in Zion, our plan was to do a major hike into Hidden Canyon. Instead, one of us went to see a doctor—nothing serious, just inconvenient.
Mark and I took the girls and headed for Zion, but stopped first at the La Verkin overlook. From high on the bluff we did have a good view down into La Verkin and Hurricane. Hiking a little ways down a path we could see into the Virgin River gorge and noticed a canal hugging the side of the cliff. This is the Hurricane Canal, built by hand and completed in 1904. Without it, the town of Hurricane would not have been founded. On a return trip, the canal is worthy of hike to check it out.
Cortnie wanted to visit a rock shop, so we continued on to Springdale and spent some time at at one with quite a variety. By this time we were getting hungry and we drove around a bit looking for a park until I remembered the Springdale Fruit Company Market which has a very nice grassy picnic area. We waited there until Annmarie, Chase, and Karen joined us.
For the remaining part of the afternoon, we drove north on Kolob Reservoir Road and hiked out among some hoodoos. It’s an interesting place with red sandstone towers, small cliffs, distant views of high cliffs, and patches of snow.
 Hoodoo off of Kolob Terrace Road
We had dinner on the patio at Oscar’s, a fitting conclusion to a nicely salvaged day.
Links
—Zion Kolob Terrace photo gallery
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Consider this:God wants your relationships to be characterized by selfless love. |
