Kinesava

I can't say that I have wanted to climb Mt. Kinesava for a long time because I wasn't sure it was within my ability. When Annette and I finally got a day to patrol together for work, we wanted to do something a little bigger than our typical hikes. We chose Kinesava and geared up reading some route descriptions to get ourselves pumped up for the climb. It sounded challenging, but possible, so we drove on out to the Chinle Trailhead. From there we followed the trail until just when we crossed into the National Park. Good thing for National Parks because there used to be another way through town that has been closed off due to crossing private property. But in our good ol' National Park, we can walk freely to the summit of Mt. Kinesava. Kinesava is just so impressive the way it starts the entrance into Zion Canyon. Nearby the West Temple dwarfs it, but it seemed like a large enough obstacle anyway. We wound our way around cliffs until we finally found a spot to go up the forested slopes of the Kayenta formation. This was an easy second class walk to face of the cliff.

Our route would be up to the right of the summit where a small break in the cliff allowed for some fourth class climbing action. It turned out to be a fairly straight forward route to find as in many places there were only a few places to choose from. There were only two places of major difficulty that took some thinking. They were just a couple of walls that we had to find out the best way to get up them. It was a bit nerve racking, but eventually we came out to a big flat plateau that was on top of Kinesava just before the final push up the summit. Getting to this place, though, felt good for Annette and I as we knew we had surmounted the most difficult spot. We laid down our heavy packs carrying the rope that we did not use, then high tailed it to the summit. We picked a route to the right once again and though it did not seem like the best route, it worked out just fine. Soon, we were looking down on Zion Canyon with one of the most incredible views.

We could not help but to smile up there. The views were amazing as from one side you could see into Coalpits, to the Left and Right Fork, and over to the Guardian Angels. From the other side, you could see the Watchman, East Temple, Springdale, and many other amazing peaks and sights. If you turned around, there was the huge West Temple. If you looked straight ahead, Eagle's Crags and Canaan Mountain looked inviting. I don't think anyone could be at a place like this and not be happy that this place is protected for all humanity to enjoy. 

We spent a considerable amount of time soaking up the ambiance of the summit, then went back down to our packs. We hiked over to do the work that we had to do while up here and had a bit of lunch before heading back down. This was a spectacular place to be and the only thing left to do was to descend it. To be honest, my mind was imagining all the obstacles that we ran into on the hike up and how much more difficult they would be going down. Turned out, though that they were not. We had more difficulty finding our way through the Kayenta formation than we did the Navajo sandstone. This was mainly because we were no longer concerned about our safety in the Kayenta. 

We did however, run into a couple of giant spiders. One that was bumblebee colored and gigantic. I was glad I saw him before I ran into his web. I don't know if he was poisonous, but we looks scary enough to be poisonous. Then immediately after that, I saw my only tarantula of the season. It was a great way to end the hike as we eventually found the telephone poles that lead back to the Chinle trail and our vehicle waiting on Anasazi Way. A great climb and it was awesome to see such an amazing Zion summit. 

Durable Surfaces

So for those of you who like interesting stories about surmounting difficult terrain, this is going to be a different take on that concept. One of my big projects in 2011 was to make sure the Subway was within standard of no more than 2 trails on each side of the creek. This was a major undertaking that included both the top from Wildcat Canyon trailhead and the lower section. The funny part is that the interesting part of the Subway that everyone pays attention to is really actually in good shape. The problem areas are the entrance and exit routes. These areas are generally places where people are not quite paying attention to the scenery and just blazing through to get the job done. This project is ongoing and still morphing into something greater every time I go in the Subway. It started with a June trip with Becca from veg. She helped me realize just how much there is to do. We hiked the whole bottom and found over a dozen areas that were out of standard. Then I came back in there with Kelsey and Ian to get a whole ton of work done. Other people like Seth and Suri went in there to work, but I eventually realized that it was too tough for others to see my vision without me there. The lower half was doing better, so Kelsey and I went to the top section and did an overnight in Wildcat Canyon. We changed the focus entirely. We saw that the goal for the upper section was durable surfaces. Since there was a sufficient amount of slickrock out on the upper section, we decided that two trails was two too many. Slickrock itself can be a trail with a good enough system set up. So we bit the bullet and actually set up cairns. Of course, we knocked a whole bunch down, too, but we wanted to provide a majority slickrock trail into the Subway. The long term benefits are many, but the short term maintenance is going to be incredibly challenging. The erosion just has to stop and we want to get rid of all those ridiculous, unnecessary trails. The problem is that those trails will keep showing up as people will continue to follow the way they know. The major problem area I am sure will be the forested area. This is completely unnecessary. There is an easy slickrock ramp just to the right. This is the “easy” way though and I am sure it will take years to get people to use the slickrock, but we had to try. This was confirmed as Derrick and I came back one month later at the end of October to see how the route looked and to GPS the correct route to access the Subway. We were amazed to see how good it looked. Many of the areas that we blocked off were now in great shape. The only area that wasn’t was the forested area. This area Derrick and I increased the debris to a level that people would not mistake it for anything other than asking people to not use it for access. Will it stop anyone? Probably not in 2012, but by 2013, it should be gone.

Above is an accurate map of the correct Subway access route. This map as you can see, follows a large percentage of rock (white area). It would be interesting to compare it to the old route, but that rock provides long term erosion control. When there are 80 people a day with a significant lack of wilderness skills accessing this area each day in groups up to 12 people, a long term solution is only necessary. So for those of you looking for an interesting story about some way to enjoy the wilderness, I am sorry that instead you got something preachy from me. But I am so excited about this project. 10000 people enter the Subway every year and yet it is still supposed to keep its wilderness character. I love this part of wilderness management as there is always more that can be done to bring it closer and closer to wilderness. My goal is that someday, the top can be 75% slickrock hiking access and that the lower section only has one trail. This is still a dream, but every time I go in there to work, it looks better than it did when I was in there the time before. If a small staff of 3-8 people can erase a majority of the impact of 10000 people a year for decades in one year, I am interested to see how well we can do with another year to attack it. It just goes to show that you can make a difference as long as you have a goal in mind.

To be continued…

Tallstack Canyon

Jacqueline, Zyla, and I went out for the day on the east side. We wanted to get some fall color shots. Just about the time that we got to the trailhead, Zyla decided to throw up. Now this was not a spontaneous event as the little one had been sick during the week leading up to this. We thought that she was better at this point, but we learned the lesson the hard way and now the car was doomed to smell like baby puke. We still could not miss the fall color and give Zyla a chance to be outside, which is always one of her favorite places. So instead, Jacqueline wandered up Clear Creek taking pictures, while I stayed with Zyla gathering rocks. We had a fun time hanging out and after a long time, mommy came back and took a turn with little Z. From where we were parked, I decided that hiking up a little known canyon next to the Many Pools hike might be a good idea. It was not the best idea because frankly it just intrigued me for more. As soon as I got into this canyon, I wondered why I had never entered it before. Tight, narrow, colorful, excellent were all words that I could use to describe it. When I got back, I told Jacqueline she had to come check it out. We talked to some folks along the way and a visitor from Vegas said that, “oh yeah, that’s one of my favorites” that he used to hike up when he was younger. Well, that sealed the deal and I was definitely going to have to come back sometime soon. That sometime soon turned out to be the next morning as the allure of unexplored territory could not keep me away long. I felt an early morning start would be the best, so that is what I did. I was on the road before the sun could even come up. Along the road, I saw a whole bunch of bighorn sheep. They had about an hour before the throngs would be out and they would have to scurry to quieter ground. I started the hike, retracing my steps to the place I was just yesterday. On this day, though, I had more time and no sick child to worry about. The canyon was sandy at first before getting to some pools that I had to go high above to avoid. Then came to a section where it looked like this might be a quick end to my hike. But a 3rd class scramble to the right lead to a ledge that eventually dropped back down into the canyon. The obstacles from here were easy enough to deal with while the canyon stayed tight. As soon as I would get to a place where it seemed like this would be it, I would find a way around the difficulty. Especially in a narrow canyon, you expect to not be able to continue for such a long time, but it just kept going and going with excellent narrows. Finally, I though, there was a place where a big rock jam about 12 feet high would keep me from continuing, but no. I was able to sit on a log and shimmy my way up until finally gaining the top and continuing on even farther. I would run into a big pour-off, but the right side had a sandy slope that worked also. This was starting to get ridiculous as I wondered why such an interesting canyon would be so unnoticed. Finally, I hit an obstacle that made me turn around, but by that point, I was almost out of the canyon! And frankly, it was nothing insanely scary. It was just about an eight to ten foot rock wall. It just was one that I thought would be foolish to attempt to climb when I was by myself so far from any roads. I immediately knew I had to come back to check out this canyon from the top sometime. I had to retrace my steps carefully and I knew that it would be a challenge in itself, but I had no problems and could really enjoy how untouched this place really was. I knew that it wouldn’t stay like that with so many people searching Zion for this exact place. It is a non-technical canyon accessed directly from the road. I wondered why no one had visited it before? Well, looking for a route description online, I was only able to find one even mentioning it. It discouraged visitors from hiking it saying you could not get too far and it was not interesting. I am not sure if that is a cover to keep this place to itself, but if you have a little bit of an adventurous spirit, this canyon has a lot to offer. A few weeks later, Seth and I went on a patrol of the East Rim. We had to take a break around lunch to see if we could find the head of the canyon. We did very successfully. It looked beautiful and intriguing. We planned to make a descent sometime next year. I like the name Tallstack better than West Molar, by the way and hopefully this one will stick with this beautiful, pristine Zion Canyon.