I smiled as the white sprinter van disappeared down the road, leaving me with only one way home, the trail in front of me. Months of planning and waiting had finally come to an end as I started down the dirt path with my friend Jon. Jon had flown out to Colorado 18 hours earlier, and had driven through the night with me to southwest Utah.

This trip had been 3 years in the making; ever since I had seen the Kolob Canyons of West Zion in May, 2009 and decided I must come back. Ahead of me waited 4 days and 70 miles of trails and canyons as I traveled through the park.

A Zion Hike: The Plan

When it comes to exploring the Zion backcountry, the obvious choice is the Zion Grand Traverse. Without any side trips, the route is 49 miles with 10,000 feet of elevation gain, covering the entire park from the Lee’s Pass in the west to the east entrance. The traverse, however, skips out on one of the most sought after activities in Zion, canyons. I wanted the best of both worlds but without getting overly technical, so I chose to link up the Grand Traverse with hiking the Narrows of the Virgin River from the top down.

While planning for my trip, I found that for it to work within the timeframe I had available, I would need to reserve two permits, one for the night I would stay on the west rim, and one for the night I would stay in the narrows. These permits are available through an online calendar system, and would need to be reserved at 10am on the 5th of the month, three months prior to the month I wanted like to camp in Zion.

The other reservations that would be needed were two shuttles, one from Springdale to Lee’s Pass, and another from the East Entrance to Chamberlain Ranch. The shuttle prices may be steep, however it was more convenient than driving out a second car and saved us a lot of time.

The last step in the planning process was the gear. Because of the Zion climate, I brought a lightweight backpacking setup that would be suitable for dry desert hiking, with forecasted lows to be above 40 degrees. The only specialized gear I bought was a pair of approach shoes and a few drybags. The shoes were a non-waterproof, synthetic upper approach shoe with a very sticky but durable climbing rubber sole. This gave me a shoe that would drain and dry quickly when wet, provide traction, and hold up to the many miles the trip would cover. The dry bags were to keep essentials dry if our packs were submerged during the river decent.

A Backpacking Traverse Across Zion National Park

As Jon and I started down the trail from Lee’s Pass, I had to remind myself that the first half of the day would give me a false sense of security about the water supply in the region. After 4.5 miles of hiking down along the magnificent sand stone pillars and faces of the Kolob Canyons, the trail intersects La Verkin Creek, a year round water source for the region and the second largest water resource in the park. In many spots along the trail, pools formed that were deep enough to swim in, so Jon and I took full advantage by soaking our feet and enjoying the rare commodity in the desert. Frogs and insects were everywhere, all dependent on the creek that nourished the ecosystem that surrounded it. After 7 miles, we found the first detour of the trip, an out and back trail to see the Kolob Arch, the second largest natural arch in the world. While not as spectacular as Arches national park and the arches I’ve seen in Canyonlands, it was still a worthwhile side trip, and the viewing area made a good lunch spot.

After getting back onto the main trail, another quarter mile led us to the best water source in the area. The Beatty Spring is on the south side of the creek, just to the right of the trail before it heads uphill. On this trip the water was flowing very well with very good tasting water and we filled up as much water as we could carry.

After leaving the creek and a steep hike uphill, we found ourselves in a wide trail-less valley surrounded by cows called the Hop Valley. It was a beautiful area, and gave us a sense of off trail cross country travel. The little bit of water in the valley did not appear safe to drink, so we left it alone. Backpackers wishing to make the first day shorter may want to camp in Hop Valley at the designated campsites on the north side. This southern part of the valley is a patchwork of private and national park land, where private livestock is grazed. We exited the valley following a rarely used private road that lead us back to national park land, and to our next trail junction at the Kolob Terrace Road. Here we picked up the water we had planted earlier that day on the shuttle ride, which would be needed for dinner and keeping hydrated in the hot, dry desert environment.

From there we followed the connector trail uphill near the road, providing beautiful views of the start of the west rim area. A few years ago, dispersed camping was allowed along the connector trail, however new restrictions by the park service eliminated any camping in the area, meaning we would need to make it to the Northgate Peaks trail junction where dispersed camping was allowed. As we neared the junction, we came upon a beautiful pine forest just as the sun was setting on day one of our trip. After setting up our tent and chowing down on our dinner, we fell fast asleep while listening to the insects.

As we packed up camp for the start of day two, I was reminded of our luck in the weather. The high desert of the Colorado Plateau that stretches across southern Utah is no stranger to wild weather. We were on the tail end of monsoon season, and our trip had started off with a blue bird day. The high pressure system over the area kept it that way for the remainder of the trip, giving us only the occasional white puffy cloud. The storms that hit Zion every summer can cause flash flooding, and on the high exposed section of the trail coming up, we would have virtually no cover from weather. Ahead was the highpoint of our trip, lava point, a small plateau at 7890 feet with an outstanding overlook of our route down the west rim trail.

As we traveled towards Lava Point, we reached our next water source, the first natural one since leaving Beatty Spring. This spring under the lava rock scree fields on the rim of Wildcat Canyon was a small trickle, and surrounded by honey bees. With most of the trail being downhill today, our water needs were lessened and we did not have to spend much time at the spring, just filling up enough water to keep us happy, knowing that there are water sources ahead at Sawmill Spring, Potato Hollow, and at Cabin Spring near our next campsite. As we started downhill along the west rim trail, the view was immense to our left side. As we looked east, we knew that somewhere in the distance Deep Creek and the Virgin River were flowing down the canyon we would be hiking down in two days.

As we worked our way down the west rim, we enjoyed of the spectacular drops and carved canyons of the west rim as we passed viewpoint after viewpoint. We sat and tried to comprehend the vastness that lay in front of us, seeming almost unreal. The views disappeared for a few miles as we descended into Potato Hollow. As we hiked out of Potato Hollow, we found ourselves at the junction of the shorter Telephone Canyon route and the continuance of the west rim trail. We chose to follow our plan and continue down the west rim, again being treated to spectacular views. As we neared our destination for the day, campsite #2 near cabin spring, the main canyon of Zion came into view. Again Jon and I set up our camp and spent the remainder of the evening watching the sunset colors reflect off the walls of the main canyon of Zion, and as the light faded, the stars began to come out, filling up the vast blackness with millions of tiny lights.

The last day of our traverse posed an interesting challenge. No matter how you set up your permit for the Narrows, you are required to pick it up in person the day before your trip. So we were forced to take a detour mid-day to stand in line at the backcountry office in Springdale to obtain our permit. We took advantage of this opportunity to restock our food and enjoy lunch in Springdale. Before being able to head into town, we would need to descend over 2500 feet from our camp on the edge of the rim to the canyon floor.

As we started our decent, the dirt trail we had been following for the prior two days turned to stone and concrete, remnants of the conservation corps efforts to give access to the area around the canyon. Most of the trail had been blasted into the side of the cliffs, giving us a smooth and steep trail down the canyon.

Angels Landing

As we descended the canyon, our second detour appeared, Angels Landing. As Angels Landing grew larger, so did the crowds. Prior to Angels Landing, we had seen around 10 people on the trail in two days. Once we reached scout lookout, we dropped our packs for the mildly technical climb to the top of the landing. Chains had been installed years ago to make the passage along the sandstone fin safer, and in certain spots you could see the impressions of the chain link in the sandstone where use had slowly eroded the rock. Near the top, a beautiful view of the main canyon came into view, the reason why thousands of people from around the world climb up the canyon to stand there every year. After snapping a few photos at the top, Jon and I hurried down the fin knowing we still had a long day ahead of us.

We then hiked down to the base of the canyon at the Grotto Trailhead, our lowest point during the trip at 4360 feet, and took the shuttle back to the visitor center to pick up our permits for the narrows. The weather was forecasted to stay clear, so the ranger was allowed to give us our permits. When weather conditions are not ideal, permits will not be given because of the flash flood potential in the canyon. After obtaining our permits and taking care of our food and water supplies, we took the shuttle back to the Weeping Rock Trailhead. Here we had to dig deep and hike the steepest section of our route up to the top of the east rim at midday in the heat.

Near the crest of the trail, we came upon Stave Spring, which is nothing more than a pipe with a trickle of water coming out of it. The water from this source did not taste particularly good, so we were glad we filled up in Springdale. From this point, the remaining portion of the hike almost seems otherworldly. It’s all downhill, and you can see the end as you look down toward the Checkerboard Mesa and Jolly Gulch. As the sun set, the trail in front of us darkened. Finally, just after twilight, we found our trailhead sign that signaled we had finished the traverse. Because our permits allowed us to stay in the dispersed camping area of the east rim, we hiked back up the trail a short ways using our headlamps, and pitched our tent for the last night on the route.

The Zion Narrows

To travel to Zion without seeing the Narrows is like going to Yellowstone without seeing any geysers. The North Fork of the Virgin River cuts a deep rift into the landscape that eventually widens into the main canyon of Zion, creating a natural marvel. At its deepest point, the walls are nearly 2000 feet tall, and at some points it’s narrow enough to touch both walls with your arms and trekking poles extended. The plan was to complete what I called the Criss-Cross, linking our traverse to hiking the Narrows from the top down. Our second shuttle arrived on time to the East Entrance Trailhead, and shuttled us up the start of the Narrows at Chamberlain Ranch. We stopped at the Zion Ponderosa Ranch briefly to fill up on water since the narrows is downstream from livestock.

We arrived at Chamberlain Ranch at almost 11am. As we started down the dusty road that forms the beginning of the trail, we knew the landscape was going to drastically change as the river dove deep into the earth. Eventually we came to a point in the trail where there was no way to go other than into the river and completely soak your feet, so we jumped in. After three days of desert hiking, the cool stream on our sore feet was welcomed. Slowly the walls started to grow on either side of the creek, and we crossed the creek more times than we could count, staying in the creek when it was easier. After many twists and turns, the roar of a waterfall began to fill our ears and we found the only spot of the river that had to be bypassed. Luckily there is a narrow trail to the left of the river.

A few more miles down the river, as the walls kept growing, deep creek converged with the Virgin River, doubling the water volume. Still we felt solid footed and refreshed in the cool canyon, and pressed on down the river. At this point, we began to see the park-designated campsites, giving us a good idea of where we were and how much further we had to go. With plenty of sunlight left in the day, and feeling much more renewed than I expected, we were on a mission to finish off the hike that evening. We stopped at Big Spring to filer water with fantastic tasting spring water and then began the lower section of the Narrows. There we met a few day hikers that were hiking from the bottom up, encouraging us that the bottom was easily within reach before dark. As we started down the lower section, we encountered the deepest and most constricted section of the river, with parts deep enough to require us to remove our backpacks and walk with them over our heads. Here the walls towered over us, and at some points curved inward to almost form a tunnel, with only a sliver of sky showing though above us.

As we moved lower, a few more day hikers came into view as we passed the inlets of Imlay and Orderville Canyons. Finally a massive crowd appeared, signaling the end of the riverside walk starting at the Temple of Sinawava Trailhead. As we walked the last mile of our trip on the concrete path, getting odd looks from others with our full size backpacks and wet clothes, both of us felt overjoyed. After 4 days of hiking, we finally found ourselves at our final trail head, the Temple of Sinawava. We were soaked and tired, wishing we had another day of canyons and red rocks. We decided to finish off the night with dinner at the Zion Lodge, again getting odd looks from the upscale clientele at the restaurant there.

The Bonus

While having dinner, Jon and I decided to treat ourselves to a bonus trip. Jon had never seen the Grand Canyon, and I had missed my chance to see the north rim of the Grand Canyon the last time I was in the area, so we decided to drive to the north rim to catch the sunrise the next morning. As the sun started to come up, a small crowd gathered at the lookout, mostly local photographers that said that the weather and cloud level was ideal for creating a very colorful sunrise. As the sun came up, the whole landscape began to glow orange, treating us to a beautiful sunrise over the canyon.

After spending some more time touring the different overlooks on the mostly deserted north rim, we started back on the road, with a 12 hour drive to get back to Denver, and an early morning flight back to Chicago for Jon in the morning. This trip was certainly a life-lister, and had more solitude than the crowds of the main canyon.

Need to Know

Information

Zion National Park, Zion Canyon Visitor Center - (435) 772-0170. Kolob Canyons Visitor Center - (435) 586-9548.

Getting There

Springdale is the main town just outside of Zion. The closest major airport is Las Vegas, NV which is 2 ½ hours away. There are also smaller airports in Cedar City, UT and St. George, UT.

Maps

National Geographic Trails Illustrated #214.

Guidebooks

Zion: Canyoneering by Tom Jones (trail and Narrows information). Hiking Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, a Falcon Guide.

All images in this article © Ted Ehrlich.

Editor's Note: This article by Ted "tmountainnut" Ehrlich originally appeared in Issue 7 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here for additional photos and content.