pudgy_groundhog
Active member
I see threads pop up once in awhile about southwest trip planning, so I thought I'd post this for reference. We spent two weeks in southern Utah/northern Arizona this year and all the pictures/trip notes are posted here.
The main areas we visited were Zion, Escalante, Bryce, Paria-Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness, and the Grand Canyon (south rim and Havasu Canyon) and we focused on hiking/backpacking/canyoneering through various canyons. I would have to say our highlights were Buckskin Gulch, Coyote Gulch, and the four technical slot canyons we did in Zion (the Subway, Mystery, Keyhole, and Pine Creek).
Our basic itinerary/comments:
Day 0: We flew into Vegas and drove to Cedar City for the night.
Day 1: Stocked up our cooler and water jug in Cedar City, drove to Escalante (we were going to stop at Cedar Breaks Monument but the road was still closed), did the short hike to Upper Calf Creek Falls, and grilled out/camped at Devil's Garden on Hole in the Rock Road. Devil's Garden had a great collection of rock formations that were fun for exploring/photographing.
Day 2: day hiked Peekaboo, Spooky, and Brimstone Gulches off of Hole in the Rock Road. These three slots were all dry and easy to hike through. Each had its own character and all were a lot of fun. Camped near Coyote Gulch trailhead.
Day 3: day hiked Coyote Gulch. We did the Steve Allen route from the Coyote Gulch th: walked cross country towards Chimney Rock until intersected Hurricane Wash, hiked Hurricane Wash to Coyote Gulch, hiked the length of Coyote Gulch to the Crack in the Wall exit, across the slick rock to Forty Mile Ridge th, back to Coyote Gulch th on the road. About 13 miles total (we actually set out to do this as a backpack, but ended up hiking out). Coyote Gulch was amazingly beautiful and an awesome hike.
Day 4: exit Hole in the Rock Road (took us 2.5 hours to drive 40 miles -- severe washboarding). We drove to Bryce Canyon with a stop at Kodachrome Basin State Park & Grosvenor Arch (hiked the Panaroma + Big Bear Geysers trails). Overnight at Bryce campground.
Day 5: sunrise at Bryce Point, hiked the Navajo, Peekaboo, and Queen's trails. Drove out to Rainbow Point with short walk to Bristlecone Loop. Drove to Zion and rented gear for next four days from Zion Adventure Company (full wetsuits, canyon gear, dry bags). Overnight in Watchman campground (and the next three nights).
Day 6: The Subway (from top down). Despite the allowance of 50 people through the canyon a day, we didn't see too many people. Five rappels and mandatory swims. Fun, fun, fun. We took our time and it was about a nine hour day.
Day 7: Mystery Canyon. Over a dozen rappels, with two that were over 100 feet. The last rappel was into the Zion Narrows where the Virgin River was really flowing. Mystery itself was mostly dry. Loooong approach (over 2500 feet elevation gain to Observation Point and a killer 700 foot descent into the canyon on loose rock, dirt, brush, etc).
Day 8: Keyhole Canyon in the morning. Short and sweet slot canyon with a few rappels (about two hours total), although was not a fan of the live snake in the last swim. Hiked to Angel's Landing and Emerald Pools.
Day 9: Pine Creek Canyon. Six rappels, some swims, extremely cold (dry suits would probably have been best in here. Or at least some neoprene gloves to go with our wetsuits). Beautiful canyon with two awesome rappels - one into the Cathedral and the 100+ foot free rappel at the end. Drove to Paria-Vermillion Cliffs area with a stop at the old Paria town site/movie set. Camped at Whitehouse trailhead.
Day 10: Shuttle to Wire Pass. Hiked the ~13 miles through Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch to the confluence with the Paria River where we camped. It was pretty cool to spend a whole day in a slot canyon. There were some deep, cold pools to wade through. Very scenic, except for the rabbit bits.=P
Day 11: Hiked out from the confluence to Whitehouse trailhead via Paria Canyon (about seven miles). Drove to the south rim of the Grand Canyon via Page with stops at the Glen Canyon Dam, horseshoe bend in the Colorado, and at road side stands on the Navajo reservation. Overnight at Desert View campground.
Day 12: We drove to GC village with stops at viewpoints along the rim. We attended a ranger talk about condors (and saw condors), walked along the rim to Mather Point (Kolb Studio was my favorite spot), and rode the shuttle out to Hermit's Rest. Drove to Seligman on ROute 66 and stayed in a motel (mmmmm, bed and shower).
Day 13: Drove to Havasupai Reservation and hiked down to the Havasu Falls campground (ten miles). Swam and loitered in Navajo and Havasu Falls. Havasu Falls was stunning, but the campground was a major nasty.
Day 14: Day hiked from campground to Mooney and Beaver Falls (around 7 miles round trip) and relaxed in the water all afternoon. Hiked the four miles round trip to Supai Village to get a burger for dinner.
Day 15: Hiked out of the canyon (got an early start to avoid the heat/sun). Drove to Vegas and enjoyed a good meal, shower, and a real bed. Overall, the falls were gorgeous and the swimming fun, but the experience left something to be desired. I was pretty disappointed at the lack of respect and care of such a beautiful place (trash everywhere, etc).
Day 16: fly home.
The main areas we visited were Zion, Escalante, Bryce, Paria-Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness, and the Grand Canyon (south rim and Havasu Canyon) and we focused on hiking/backpacking/canyoneering through various canyons. I would have to say our highlights were Buckskin Gulch, Coyote Gulch, and the four technical slot canyons we did in Zion (the Subway, Mystery, Keyhole, and Pine Creek).
Our basic itinerary/comments:
Day 0: We flew into Vegas and drove to Cedar City for the night.
Day 1: Stocked up our cooler and water jug in Cedar City, drove to Escalante (we were going to stop at Cedar Breaks Monument but the road was still closed), did the short hike to Upper Calf Creek Falls, and grilled out/camped at Devil's Garden on Hole in the Rock Road. Devil's Garden had a great collection of rock formations that were fun for exploring/photographing.
Day 2: day hiked Peekaboo, Spooky, and Brimstone Gulches off of Hole in the Rock Road. These three slots were all dry and easy to hike through. Each had its own character and all were a lot of fun. Camped near Coyote Gulch trailhead.
Day 3: day hiked Coyote Gulch. We did the Steve Allen route from the Coyote Gulch th: walked cross country towards Chimney Rock until intersected Hurricane Wash, hiked Hurricane Wash to Coyote Gulch, hiked the length of Coyote Gulch to the Crack in the Wall exit, across the slick rock to Forty Mile Ridge th, back to Coyote Gulch th on the road. About 13 miles total (we actually set out to do this as a backpack, but ended up hiking out). Coyote Gulch was amazingly beautiful and an awesome hike.
Day 4: exit Hole in the Rock Road (took us 2.5 hours to drive 40 miles -- severe washboarding). We drove to Bryce Canyon with a stop at Kodachrome Basin State Park & Grosvenor Arch (hiked the Panaroma + Big Bear Geysers trails). Overnight at Bryce campground.
Day 5: sunrise at Bryce Point, hiked the Navajo, Peekaboo, and Queen's trails. Drove out to Rainbow Point with short walk to Bristlecone Loop. Drove to Zion and rented gear for next four days from Zion Adventure Company (full wetsuits, canyon gear, dry bags). Overnight in Watchman campground (and the next three nights).
Day 6: The Subway (from top down). Despite the allowance of 50 people through the canyon a day, we didn't see too many people. Five rappels and mandatory swims. Fun, fun, fun. We took our time and it was about a nine hour day.
Day 7: Mystery Canyon. Over a dozen rappels, with two that were over 100 feet. The last rappel was into the Zion Narrows where the Virgin River was really flowing. Mystery itself was mostly dry. Loooong approach (over 2500 feet elevation gain to Observation Point and a killer 700 foot descent into the canyon on loose rock, dirt, brush, etc).
Day 8: Keyhole Canyon in the morning. Short and sweet slot canyon with a few rappels (about two hours total), although was not a fan of the live snake in the last swim. Hiked to Angel's Landing and Emerald Pools.
Day 9: Pine Creek Canyon. Six rappels, some swims, extremely cold (dry suits would probably have been best in here. Or at least some neoprene gloves to go with our wetsuits). Beautiful canyon with two awesome rappels - one into the Cathedral and the 100+ foot free rappel at the end. Drove to Paria-Vermillion Cliffs area with a stop at the old Paria town site/movie set. Camped at Whitehouse trailhead.
Day 10: Shuttle to Wire Pass. Hiked the ~13 miles through Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch to the confluence with the Paria River where we camped. It was pretty cool to spend a whole day in a slot canyon. There were some deep, cold pools to wade through. Very scenic, except for the rabbit bits.=P
Day 11: Hiked out from the confluence to Whitehouse trailhead via Paria Canyon (about seven miles). Drove to the south rim of the Grand Canyon via Page with stops at the Glen Canyon Dam, horseshoe bend in the Colorado, and at road side stands on the Navajo reservation. Overnight at Desert View campground.
Day 12: We drove to GC village with stops at viewpoints along the rim. We attended a ranger talk about condors (and saw condors), walked along the rim to Mather Point (Kolb Studio was my favorite spot), and rode the shuttle out to Hermit's Rest. Drove to Seligman on ROute 66 and stayed in a motel (mmmmm, bed and shower).
Day 13: Drove to Havasupai Reservation and hiked down to the Havasu Falls campground (ten miles). Swam and loitered in Navajo and Havasu Falls. Havasu Falls was stunning, but the campground was a major nasty.
Day 14: Day hiked from campground to Mooney and Beaver Falls (around 7 miles round trip) and relaxed in the water all afternoon. Hiked the four miles round trip to Supai Village to get a burger for dinner.
Day 15: Hiked out of the canyon (got an early start to avoid the heat/sun). Drove to Vegas and enjoyed a good meal, shower, and a real bed. Overall, the falls were gorgeous and the swimming fun, but the experience left something to be desired. I was pretty disappointed at the lack of respect and care of such a beautiful place (trash everywhere, etc).
Day 16: fly home.
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