mojave trip - day 5
This post is part 5 of the "mojave-trip-2008" series:
As we had a full free day ahead of us, we kicked about a few ideas, and finally agreed that making a day trip up to Zion National Park, in southwest Utah would make the best use of our time. While we had zero preparation for Zion, we were optimistic that we'd find enough to occupy a few hours of time. The drive from our hotel in Las Vegas, up I-15 to the Zion Visitor Center took us just under 3 hours. Upon arrival we learned (not altogether surprisingly) that all of the park's upper elevations, as well as the northern half of the valley floor was under snow(and quite a lot in many places). As a result, a number of the hiking trails were closed completely, or partially closed due to ice. What remained open was actually the perfect itinerary to fill the time we had available. Also, since it was winter, park visitation was significantly lower than the rest of the year, when the Zion Canyon road is closed to everything but the official park shuttle buses. We were therefore able to drive the entire length of the road with relatively few other vehicles present, and the views of the steep, vertical pink, red & gray canyon walls with dustings of snow all over them. Shortly after leaving the visitor center, the snow level dropped to the canyon floor, and there were occasional icey patches on the road, along with several inches of snow on both sides.
Our first stop was at the road's northern terminus, at the Riverside Walk. It did seem like nearly everyone visiting the canyon that day had decided to park in the tiny (20 car) lot at the Temple of Sinawava. There was even a huge tour bus (which wasn't supposed to be up there even in winter), making the lot rather chaotic. We still managed to find a parking space, and David & I proceeded to attempt the Riverside Walk. The ranger at the visitor center warned that it was closed part way up the trail due to ice, but that didn't stop anyone else from attempting it. The snow here was almost a foot deep in places, and the entire trail was packed snow & ice (which was rather slippery at many points). There were a few side trails that led right down to the river, which was very low, and more of a muddy creek at this time of year. Regardless, the surrounding canyon walls were beautiful, with dustings of snow and ice shelves everywhere. In many ways, Zion reminded me alot of Yosemite, with the steep, narrow river canyon stretching out for miles. David had alot of fun playing with the snow. I'd guess that we made it about a half mile before it turned into sheer ice, at which point I decided that we should turn back rather than falling. Many others continued though.
At this point, we drove back south to the Emerald Pools trailhead, which is directly across the road from the Zion Lodge. This trail, too, was closed part of the way up due to ice & snow, but we were told that it was opened as far as the waterfall. The lower trail is about 1.2 miles round trip. The first third was actually mostly melted snow, however once the trail curved westward into a side canyon, it was completely in shade, and was mostly packed snow, with a few icey patches. We still made it to the falls overlook without any problems. The volume of water going over the fall was rather minimal, so the views along the hike itself was definitely the highlight of the trail rather than the falls.
Afterwards, we continued driving southward back towards the visitor center, with a few pull-offs for pictures. By 2pm, we had retraced our drive through the valley, and were back on the road towards Las Vegas.
Zion with snow was gorgeous, and I feel fortunate to have spent a few hours getting a quick tour.
I really felt that this trip to Zion was perfect for whetting our appetites for the Utah/Colorado/Arizona trip that we already have planned for Spring 2009.
Pictures are posted here.
This post is part 5 of the "mojave-trip-2008" series: