Zion National Park

Southern Utah
Zion National Park
September 12-14, 2009

This was our third trip to Zion National Park, and like the first one, it fell on an anniversary of ours. This was the first anniversary of our wedding. Does a map count for the paper? It also marked a rare repeat hike, the return to the Zion Narrows. Our first attempt to reach the Orderville Junction had been thwarted by rain. And again, even though the forecast had been clear for the week prior, a storm front was moving in a bit early.

This trip also marked a big turning point for us. The Friday before was my last day at work. I'd quit my job so we could move forward with our "Big Trip" plans - an eight month journey to different parts of the globe. Danny had graduated at the end of last year, and we'd sold our house, so we were as free as we could get, and we might not be that way again for a long time.

We had Maka with us on this trip, so we stayed at the pet friendly La Quinta in St. George. This meant it was a ways to Zion, but a shorter journey when we arrived and left, plus it gave us better options for dinner. Since we had some time, we took things a bit more slowly, and drove up in the middle of the day on Saturday, and then had a quiet Mediterranean dinner in St. George. Tim and Cornelia showed up later that evening, and would join us for the Narrows hike.

The water was cool but not cold, and after you were in it for a few minutes it wasn't bad, except for the one deep spot shortly after the beginning. After my previous trip where I tried to use trekking poles in the river and being worried about breaking them, I thought I would make something better. This time everyone had some 1 inch poles from Home Depot, sanded and tipped with a rubber foot too keep it from splintering. My sister had given me a walking stick a while back that was perfect for this, so that's what I used.

It did start raining about two hours into the trip. This was a good time for lunch, so we stopped and ate to see if the rain would let up. By the time we were done with lunch it had, so we continued on. We made it to the junction with Orderville, with one casulty - Tim's sandal. The water seemed to be weakening the glue. One by one the straps popped out, and the two layers of the footbed came apart. We ended up using some shoelaces (that were on their own last legs) to kind of tie everything to his foot. It ended up lasting long enough, but it must have been a hassle to walk on, but he didn't complain. On the way back, the same problem happened to the other sandal, and was fixed the same way.

We proceeded up Orderville a short ways, climbing over a tangle of logs before coming to a deep pool. We turned around here because it was getting late. I found out later that if we'd gone up the main river one more corner, we might have been able to see another waterfall. Something for next time.

Starting the hike
Danny approaching the deep part
Surprises around every corner
Hiking up the Virgin River

Group portrait
A beautiful corner
Danny crossing some little rapids
Tall canyon walls

Tim and Cornelia at Orderville Junction
Group shot at Orderville Junction
Orderville Canyon

Fixing Tim's sandal
The repair job
Tim crossing a small rapid

That night, we had dinner at the Mongolian BBQ spot, which was tasty and definitely satisfied our appetites. We also found out that Utah only sells liquor through the state run liquor stores, and they close early on Sunday. After all that we had just enough time to squeeze in a game of Dominion.

Tim and Cornelia had to leave the next morning, but Danny and I were staying to do the Subway, which I'd reserved a permit for. The Subway is a small section of the Left Fork of North Creek. We were doing it from the bottom, which doesn't require any ropework, but means you don't get to see the entire thing (though you get to the best part of it). There was a possibility of rain in the forecast, but we thought we'd bail if the weather turned bad (it was a completely blue sky in the morning). The trailhead is located in the northwestern section of the park, a place I'd never been. It was a lot less populated, only 2 other cars at the trailhead when we started, and none anyplace else that we saw (compared with hundreds at the lodge in the main canyon). We left the hotel fairly early, just after they started serving breakfast. We got up that painfully early because there was a significant chance of heavy rain in the afternoon, and we wanted to be well clear of the Subway by then.

I had expected this trip to be similar to the Narrows, with a lot of walking through water, but that assumption turned out to be very wrong. The trail did cross the stream a lot, but not nearly as frequently, and it was easy enough to keep your feet dry until very close to the end. It was also surprisingly lush for a desert hike - there were waterfalls with pools, ponds with cattails, and quite a lot of frogs.

Leading up to the Subway section is a pair of stairstep waterfalls which were pretty. Just above the last one, there was an interesting cleft in the rock that was the base of the river. It was only a few inches wide, but it was several inches deep, and the stream bubbled violently as it made its way along the crack. This crack continued around the corner and up into the Subway. At least three groups had good fortune at the Subway that day. Just as we arrived, one group was leaving, and it turned out we had the place to ourselves. Then, as we left, another group showed up.

The Subway has a great set of holes in the floor, very reminiscent of the glacial potholes in New Hampshire. What's really unique is the way the canyon changes character so rapidly. First, it's a wide open spot with tall red walls and a flat stone floor; then it's the Subway, having a red and black tunnel with a narrow slot above and large circular holes in the fllor; then it becomes a twisty slot canyon with a soft, sandy floor; then it ends in a waterfall. Behind the waterfall is a small room, but you've got to run through the cold waterfall to get to it. Fun! I knew the canyon continued, but we would have to find some way to get up there. There was a helpful log wedged into the twisty canyon, and while I could have gotten up, I wasn't so sure about my ability to get down without at least a hand line (which I didn't bring). So we didn't climb into the upper section. The lower was fun enough to play around in, and worth the trip. This also deserves a second trip, next time from the top.

The hike starts above the canyon rim
The river is down there
Made it to the river
Ryan at a mini-oasis