Up Next….Zion

Get ready to go to Zion, Fe go ride the lion- Culture

Four weeks from today my friend Clint and I will be embarking on the Trans-Zion Trek.

Clint has never backpacked before, but he runs marathons, is 20 years younger than myself, and is the kind of guy who tackles challenges and follows through on commitments. I have no doubt as to his ability to pull this hike off with me. In fact, I am fairly certain that he’ll be comparing me to felines as I struggle to keep up. But he’ll have to tolerate me, because I have the experience. And I’m the camp cook.

We will be driving 27 hours over a Friday and Saturday, with the goal being to arrive in Zion National Park by early afternoon so that we can pick up our permits and park pass, get in a quick nap, and then slay some local food and hopped beverages.

The Trans-Zion Trek starts in the Kolob Canyons, passes through Hop Valley and Wildcat Canyon, goes up on the West Rim, descends into The Grotto and then continues out along the East Rim. It’s a pretty epic hike, and will be my first foray into desert-like conditions.

However, we’re going to do a modified version. We’re going to start in the usual manner at Lee Pass Trailhea and hike eastward from the Kolob Canyons to The Grotto over 3 1/2 days. But after reaching The Grotto, we’re going to take the shuttle into Springdale to stay at a B&B. This will allow us to revive our bodies with town food and beer. We will shuttle back into the park the next day to The Temple of Sinawava to do a bottom-up dayhike of Zion Narrows, returning again to the B&B that night along with yet more TexMex and cerveza. The following morning we originally planned to return to The Grotto to pick up the East Rim Trail to complete the trek, but a recent rockfall has closed the trail near there, so what we’re going to do instead is drive to the East Rim Trailhead and do 12 or so miles out and back on the East Rim Trail. That won’t be a complete TZT but it’ll be close enough for me.

I was lucky and was able to book a reasonable campsite itinerary, but it also means that we have to hump a 14+ mile day on Day 2, which will be a pretty stout day by my standards.

We will have UL pack weights (my base weight will be under 10 lbs.), but we’ll also be hauling a lot of water- the only reliable water sources along the route are LaVerkin Creek, Wildcat Spring and Cabin Spring, although several other less reliable springs are present as well. It’s quite possible that we’ll have to carry 6-7 liters of water on the 3rd day.

In addition to having our campsites reserved, we have hotel and B&B reservations locked in, and have booked our shuttle to the trailhead on Day 1. All we need to do is get there on time and start walking.

In addition to the arid conditions, hiking in Zion poses another new challenge- we have to pack out ALL of our waste. And that includes POOP. I am not used to being a $hit sherpa, so this will be interesting. Clint has already let me know that he plans on having major constipation.

We should have decent weather (highs in the 70’s/low 80’s, lows in the upper 40’s or higher even) and low liklihood of rain, but Zion is unpredictable, so we’ll be prepared to hike in hot weather and sleep down to around freezing.

I will be cooking real food on this trip, so you’ll have a couple of new recipes to look forward to.

New pieces of gear getting their first taste of the wild will be a SWD DCF Long Haul 40 pack, my Slingfin tarp, and a modified Cocoon UL pillow with some added memory foam. Oh, and my Ursack Minor. I have heard stories about the mini bears of the desert and don’t plan to learn any hard lessons on their account. I’m not counting the WAG bag as new gear because yuck.

I’m pretty confident that this will be the trip of a lifetime.