Zion Preparations

Leaving in less than 3 days. EEK.

So I’m a little bit nervouos. My friend Clint and I leave Friday morning for Zion National Park, where we will do as much of the Zion Traverse as we can allowing for a closure on the East Rim Trail.

This is the closest thing to a desert hike that I’ve ever done. And it’s Clint’s first ever backpacking trip. LOL he’s relying on ME for experience.

Honestly though, we can handle it. I have a lot of experience with section hikes, and Clint runs marathons in addition to being over 15 years younger than I. We both dig challenges and enjoy pushing ourselves within reason. I’ll be hitting the trail with a 10 lb. base weight, which includes a wee bit o’ luxury, but my total pack weight even with 4 liters of water will only be 22 lbs. And we’ll each have the capacity to carry 3-4 liters more. It looks like we’ll have nice fall weather- right now the extended forecast for our first 2 nights on the trail are sunny and temps of 65/44 and 62/37.

What sucks is that we have to drive 27 straight hours to get from Alabama to Springdale Utah. And we need to get there well before the Zion Visitor Center closes at 6 PM so that we can pick up our permits.

Our shuttle is booked with Zion Adventure Co. We have a hotel reservation for the night before, and B&B reservations for later in the week. I have enough cash to make it rain. All that’s left is to pack my backpack and prepare my special meals.

I have visions of arrival that look like this:

I’m a little bit nervous about all of these moving parts coming together without a glitch. I always seems to run into one, but maybe Clint will bring me better luck.

I’m also a little bit concerned about our long second day- 14.5 miles is a big day by my standards. I expect Clint will be meowing at me before it’s over.

And in the back of my mind I have a little bit of worry that the springs we’ll be relying on are flowing, namely Wildcat Spring and Cabin Spring. The rangers however have assured me that they are.

Finally, I’m maybe a little bit sketched out by having to use a WAG bag for the first time. Just EWWW. If that’s what it takes to keep the trails open and pretty though, I’ll do my part. We’re already joking though about being $hit sherpas. Those bags will be finding a garbage can in The Grotto with a quickness when we finally get there.

I have done my research regarding places to eat and imbibe adult beverages in Springdale. It looks like we’ll be able to both feast and ding our livers in style.

I have one other thing on my mind that I’m really torn about.

I’m sure Clint is going to want to climb up to Angel’s Landing. I kinda want to as well, but I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to overcome my issues with heights. This decision will probably be made in the moment. I’m praying for peace….and no vertigo!

I’m sad that my tremendous partner Mule can’t make this hike, but we’re hopeful that we can pull off Big Bend in December. It’s been too long since we’ve torn up a trail together. But in the meantime, I’m looking forward to turning another friend on to the wonders of backpacking in the outdoors. Jeff “Legend” Garmire, who recently completed a calendar year Triple Crown, writes about how hiking saved his life. I don’t know that it’s saved mine, but I think it’s prolonging it, and making it more enjoyable for sure. And it’s definitely keeping me from being obese. Those genes are strong, and I fight them with training every day so that I can pull off hikes like this one.