October in Zion - a 2 weekend trip repor t

“Hi everyone! Long time no post. To say I’ve been busy is an understatement; new job, new house, getting married (in Zion Nat’l Park), honeymoon, and traveling to PA for a wedding. I’ve barely had time to hike and no time to post to here. I finally got out to Zion in October for some much needed down time. One weekend we backpacked the LaVerkin Creek in the Kolob section of the park and the following weekend I day hiked the left and right forks of North Creek. The left fork is also called “The Subway” for those familiar with Zion. After seeing Geezr’s trip report I was inspired to make an effort to post my trip reports and pictures.

Weekend 1: Oct. 18-20.

Woke up at 2:00am Friday morning and made the pilgrimage to Zion. We needed to get there by 6am to ensure we could get the backcountry hiking/camping permit that we wanted. Arrive a 5:30 only to find out that the backcountry desk has switched to it’s winter hours and will open at 8 instead of 7. Finally we get our permit and it’s back to Las Vegas to work! (I blew all my vacation time on my honeymoon) I got to work by 10:30, 1.5 hours later than expected. Luckily I was able to conduct some business by cell phone on the drive back.

Sat. morning 4am! Wake up, pack and leave Vegas once more for Zion. Get to the Kolob section by 10 and we’re finally on the trail. Nice cool weather, sun shining, great day for a hike! From the trailhead, the trail drops down the Timber Creek drainage for 4 miles until it intersects the La Verkin Creek. Coming down the hill into the La Verkin valley our breath was taken away by the bright yellow leaves of the cottonwoods lining the river. We hit the peak foliage jackpot! Once there, we stopped for lunch and picture taking. There is a nice series of waterfalls and pools to cool your sore feet in or your whole body in warmer weather. From there it was all uphill to our campsite 4 more miles away. We saw only a couple of people, and we were left alone to gaze upon the towering sandstone cliffs and the bright yellow cottonwoods. By mid afternoon we got to our campsite, it was on a bend in the river under a huge cottonwood tree. We dropped our packs and rested with our feet in the river. About an hour later we got up the energy to hike to the 1 mile to the Kolob Arch. It’s supposedly the largest arch in the world. The hike is very beautiful up a narrow canyon along a stream, the arch is ok but it is so high up on the side of a cliff, and so far back that it’s impossible to get very close to it. Then it was back to the camp to set up the tent and cook some dinner. Chili, big mistake!
The next day we packed up and headed home. The hike out is a killer. The last mile and a half is a quad burning uphill from hell.

Weekend 2: Oct. 25-27

After some last minute preparations, I’m on the road by 7:30pm Friday night for another weekend in Zion. My wife is visiting family in Atlanta for a week so I’m free to do some serious day hiking for the weekend. Arrive in Zion a little before 11pm and search for a campsite. Finally I found one, only 6 sites left in the whole park! I set up camp and crawl into my tent. I wake up to a cloudy overcast morning. I look at my watch and scream! I forgot to set the alarm so I could get up early to snag a hiking permit for the Subway for Sunday. I get up, throw my clothes on and head to the visitor center. I get there at about 6:45 and there is not a single person to be found!? I guess all the no-vacancy signs and packed campsites are due to fall foliage viewing windshield tourists. I exhale a great big sigh of relief and head back to my car to cook breakfast. I get my permit for Sunday, check the weather forecast and I’m off to the right fork. I’m hoping to cover about 14 miles today to get deep enough in the canyon to see some of the waterfalls. The trail starts out on top of a mesa and literally drops down the face of a cliff to the river 500’ below. Standing on top of the cliff, I checked out the weather, overcast and cool, perfect for fall foliage/waterfall pictures! Once down in the streambed the trail disappears completely, the trail is so seldom used it is hard to follow. There are signs of a recent flashflood everywhere, probably a couple of months ago. Checking out the bank damage, overflow evidence, and the debris level, the water had to have been at least 6-8 feet higher in places then it’s current level! This hike has a little bit of everything! Wide open valleys with the stream meandering through it, cool narrow slot canyons, slickrock waterfalls, dense jungle-like sections, and rock hopping on car sized boulders. A beautiful but very demanding hike, requiring route-finding skills around cliffs and deep pools. A highly recommended hike! I brought my headlamp because you never know what can happen, and I almost had to use it. I hiked out of the canyon at dusk after 9 hours and about 14-15 miles of hiking. I was exhausted. On a Saturday, during peak foliage season, in a National Park, guess how many people I saw on the trail? NONE! A backcountry hike at it’s finest!

For dinner I stopped at the Bit and Spur in Springdale. A must stop for anyone who likes micro-brews and good food with a southwest twist. The place was packed (of course) but luck was with me and as I finally made my way up to the bar, the guy sitting there got up and left. I quickly snagged the seat and a menu. We had our rehersal dinner for our wedding there and I’ve been going there regularly since I first went to Zion 3 years ago, so that helped me getting good and fast service. I had the best meal ever, a baked rabbit with a side of venison sausage. Yummy. 4 Poligamy Porters later and I was ready for my sleeping bag. It had rained lightly off and on most of the day and in my haste that morning I forgot to zip up the lower fly on my tent. Ooops! My down bag was only slightly damp (thank you micro fiber) and there was a small puddle under my sleeping pad. It started raining again and didn’t let up all night.

The next morning I dried my stuff out in the car and headed to the left fork, with high hopes of another awesome day of hiking and photo opportunities. Due to the time of year and the weather I decided to hike the Subway from the bottom, an up and back hike. In warmer weather, you can hike it from the top – down but it requires some canyoneering and swimming through deep pools. I headed down into the canyon at a brisk pace because I overslept and lost time trying to dry out my jacket and boots. I met 2 people coming up and said hi. They didn’t look happy, probably from the nasty hike out of the canyon. When I got down into the canyon I stopped short at the river. I had never seen it this deep! I guess the rain the night before really did a number on this drainage. With 9 miles to go that day, there was no way I was going to get soaked in the first half hour. After a little searching and some crazy acrobatics, I was able to jump across the stream with minimal wetness. About a half mile further I ran into another couple negotiating the second water crossing. They were obvious begineers to hiking in the southwest canyon country, but they were well outfitted so I wasn’t too worried about their safety or ability to get out if they needed to. A couple of quick rock hops and I left them adjusting their gators, never to be seen again. I passed many small waterfalls and rapids with black volcanic rock and white water, wishing I had some black and white film and another camera body. The weather was rainy and cold so I kept my pace up hoping that on my way back out that the weather would be better for picture taking. 2 hours later the canyon walls finally closed in on each other and I knew I was getting close to my goal. The final mile to the lower outlet of the subway is a photographer’s dream. Waterfall after waterfall, all unique and different, just waiting for someone to come along and take their pictures. Unfortuneatley, it was raining again. I made my way up into the subway and was able to photograph in there because the overhanging cliffs blocked most of the rain. After getting fairly wet wading through the water in the subway, I stopped for lunch and prayed that the rain would stop. About an hour later it did! The sun even broke through the clouds and it turned into a beautiful day. I shed my winter hat and my rain shell and got to work. I snapped photo after photo after photo. I went through 3 and a half rolls of 36 exp. flim that day! It was late afternoon by the time I picked my way back up the cliff and out of the canyon. What an awful uphill, but a very rewarding day.

Please take a look at my photos, they are in the "Kolob backcountry" folder and “The forks backcountry folder at photo.net. Sorry for the long report, but it’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these.

Enjoy!

http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=409458”

“Reptile, we arrived in Springdale, entrance to Zion, on the 26st. I can't believe we were there at the same time. We were going to hike a portion of the Subway after hiking into the Northgate Peaks, but ran out of daylight.

Great report and great photos!”

“I was in Zion this Oct, but didn't see any of that!!! bummer

great report...now I really wanna go back and do it right this time.”

“Reptiles, I re-read your trip report and then went back to check our journal. The night we arrived in Sprindale (the 26th), we tried to eat at the Bit & Spur, but couldn't find a spot to park. I wouldn't have known you, but isn't it amazing how we came from different parts of the country and almost had supper in the same place on the same day?

We did eat there on Monday and you are right, great mexican food and even better micro-brews!”

“Hey, Kurt, good to see you posting again!! So you still are living in Vegas?

Nice shots! Great that you're still shooting. I could see a few shots (watch out, the critique comes... lol... but if you're posting on Photo.net, I know you can take critiques) where a tripod and aperture of at least f16 would have helped depth of field. BUT... what would be a good tripod to backpack with? And who wants that added weight, right? Such are the trade-offs.

I was in Zion in October of 2000 and got to see the glorious yellow cottonwoods. It floored me with the beauty.

Hey, keep posting, OK? Thanks!!”

“Nice report, but where are all the pictures you took?”

“Wasatch, check the link that Geezr created. Then go under either the "Kolob Backcountry" folder to see a few of the pictures from my backpacking trip or the "Forks Backcountry" folder to see pictures of my dayhikes.

Hi Lizs!! Yes, still in Vegas, for 2 more years max., this is no place to raise a family. Critique away, PLEASE! I need all the help I can get. All the pictures I took in the Forks had the f-stop maxed out and I just set the shutter speed for the correct exposure. Some of the shutter speeds in the "subway" were as longs as 6 seconds. I use a Slik tripod, it's under 1 lb., cost about $20, but it's short and is limited in it's flexibility.”

“OK, that's what I was looking for, but you took over a 100 shots. Will you be posting them?”

“Wasatch, I wish! At $2.50 a scan per slide I nearly broke the bank getting 30 of them scanned. I can get them at $0.40 a scan when I get them developed but I have to get the whole roll scanned. Between those 2 weekends, I burned through 9 rolls of film, that would be almost $140 more in film processing. I have about 30-40 more from the two weekends that I want to get scanned. I'm just going to have to do it in small chunks each pay period.”

“I get mine done at WalMart, 2 rolls (24 exp.) singles plus put on a CD costs me $16.00. I heard Costco's is even a little bit cheaper.”

“I've been using professional slide film lately so I take it to a professional photo shop here in Vegas that specializes in medium format and E-6 (slide) processing. It's a lot more expensive but I'm addicted to the fine grain and the color saturation that you just can't get from negatives.”

“Isn't it nice to have the whole place to yourself? Awesome shots! And thanks for the writeup!”