A Unique View

I was back to work and we weren't opening the desk for two weeks. That left us some time to get to phone calls, but also to hit the trails and get out in the field. It was a beautiful winter day in Zion. I was hiking up to Observation Point. Along the way, I ran into a group of canyoneers going into Mystery. Sounds cold! I resolved some permit issues with them and then I was off for a peaceful day. It was quiet on the trail other than this Mystery group who I kept running into. After enjoying the view from Observation Point, I made my way over to the East Mesa trail.

This trail I followed all the way to the gate at the East Mesa Trailhead. There I got off trail and did some exploring. I have always been interested in the multitude of canyons that dump into Orderville. Following the park boundary got me into a wash that eventually led to a snowy drop-off. I decided to not take any risks, but I sat down for lunch at a spot overlooking one of many unknown canyons dumping into Orderville. People think everything has been done in Zion. One look from this overlook would tell you differently.

There are multitudes of canyons in Zion that no one has even considered exploring. I enjoyed this view and then made my way back to the trail by a different route. This led me to some steep scrub oak which is never fun even when the leaves are not out. Eventually my choice of routes led me back to the park boundary anyway. Once I hit the trail again, I looked at my map for the next view. I decided to check out Miss Me Canyon. A very dumb name for a beautiful canyon. The view of it was right off the trail and it looked like an interesting canyon.

 Then from the edge of the rim, I tried to follow that over. It kept me on the rim with not much bushwhacking until I made it to a point. I could look down a field of scrub oak and see another point below.

I had some time before I had to be back, so I kept moving down the field of scrub oak. I am not sure why I wanted to torture myself, but I fought my way out to a view of Zion that I am positive few have ever had before.

 I was right behind the Mountain of Mystery with a view of the entire Orderville drainage. This view was fantastic! It was once in a lifetime, though, because there was no way I was going to fight that scrub oak again. I made it back up quicker than I originally thought by following the signs of green. This would be a juniper tree which would clear out a small space to evaluate my next steps. From there I was able to fight my way back to the trail and then I was in a hurry to get off on time. I decided that this year, when I get my chance to be out in the field, I am going to spend the entire day out until I am off. Our field time seems to be slowly dwindling away as we strive to keep up with the crowds with such a small staff. This year when I get a chance, I am going to enjoy the beautiful wilderness that Zion is lucky to have. 

Goofing around in Huber Wash

Hiking with the children in Zion can be a challenge at times, but if you evaluate your options, you will find that there are many. This is especially true during a dry winter because the element of heat does not factor in and conditions are typically good. One such place is Huber Wash which we have utilized a few times. Now that Zyla is hiking by herself, this is a good option because it has no steep drop offs and is fairly flat. The wash was snowy in places and muddy in others, but for the most part it was clear and dry. It was still rocky so it gave Zyla a bit of fun to play around in the rocks.

With her slave driving parents forcing her to continue marching along the wash, she is able to keep moving for quite some time. We do have to hold her hand at times to keep her moving, but we can tell that she really enjoys being outside hiking. Conrad is like the silent ghost. Other than the 25 pounds on my back, I barely know that he is there. That must be good as I assume he is soaking it all in and enjoying the scenery. Maybe he is bored, but I would believe he would make that be known.

I wanted to make it all the way up to the petrified log jam, but as each curve in the wash came around, it seemed like we were closer than we were. Finally we decided that we had enough and turned around. The kids did get a little time to play at lunch time which could have lasted all day for all they cared. They could play with sticks and rocks in the dirt for hours and hours. Glad that we still have places like this that they can. On the way back, Conrad finally got exhausted and fell asleep. Zyla had us play hide and go seek until Mommy got tired of it. All and all it was a great February enjoying the cool, mild days of winter in the desert. 

Whiterocks

Maybe there is an issue if I already can't remember the name of this hike. I know it is out in Snow Canyon State Park. After a quick google search, oh yeah, Whiterocks. Not a very inspiring name for a rather uninspiring hike. Momo and Popo were up visiting though, so since they had not been to Snow Canyon State Park we decided to go. We parked outside of the State Park and hiked in. This did not exclude us from paying the entrance fee, but it was a bit quieter where we were. This hike started out flat and in the sand. It was next to some white rocks but we spent very little time actually on white rocks.

Zyla was hiking well and with four adults to keep her moving, we were making adequate progress. There seemed to be a multitude of trail options so we just took one that led us out to the rim to look down. It was a nice view. We decided at this viewpoint that we should split up to have an easier time getting back to our car. Dad and I went back the way we came while Jacqueline, Zyla, Momo, and Conrad went to the nearer trailhead. This worked out well as we made it back in time to pick them up about the time they got to the closer trailhead. Really, I want to keep this as short as possible because Snow Canyon does not inspire a sense of awe in me. This was a good choice of trailheads because it was quiet where we were, whereas when we took the scenic drive back through the park, we realized there were a multitude of large groups creating havoc in other portions of the park. 

Cave Valley

We wanted to do something short in the park while Grandpa Tom was up. We had done such a long hike the previous day, that a short trip would probably be best. Plus the kids had some friends coming over that night and we did not want to wear them out. So we chose Cave Valley where it was a short walk to some glyphs. Since Zyla had been out hiking the day before, she wanted to start with all the usual like hide and go seek. We convinced her that this was not a great idea. It was an easy hike, so no need building it up. From the time we started to the cave it was under a half an hour which meant that it was probably about 1/2 a mile as Zyla hikes at about 1 mile per hour. Her reaction to the end of the trail was one of not much excitement though she thought that the cave was cool.
Still, old paintings on the wall did not appeal to her in any sort of way yet. We took some pictures and enjoyed them, then headed back. We got her moving by racing her to the car. Jacqueline was mad at me when I "cheated" to beat her at the end. I am not sure how I cheated to beat a 3 year old to the car, but it got her moving. All and all, we were only out for less than an hour, but still were able to see something interesting. 

Zyla hikes the Sand Bench

Grandpa Tom was up for a few days after finishing his skiing trip in Salt Lake City. Jacqueline had started back to work, so it was he and I and the kids for the day. So what else would we do, but go for a hike. It was winter time or at least something that represented winter in Southern Utah. The temperatures had been unseasonably warm and we were going to take advantage of it. We wanted to pick a trail that would be quiet and not too steep or too many drop-offs. So we went with the Sand Bench Trail. This trail is about 3.5 miles with a loop of 2.5 miles.

This was slightly ambitious for Zyla, but right at her ability level. We had the entire afternoon, so why not. It started out well. Hiking with kids is a series of strategies to achieve results. The initial strategy was to have Zyla be the leader. The leader had to stay in front of everyone else. She did this well running at times. Then she would get tired and have to hold hands with Grandpa Tom or myself. Conrad on the other hand was pretty content. I almost forget he is in the backpack other than the weight with which he helps me to get in shape.

Zyla did really well and I kept thinking we were getting close to the halfway point. We ended up being pretty far away and for the last 1/4 mile, I carried her to the picnic table. Conrad got to get out for a while and run around here. We had a snack and I tried to convince Zyla to take a rest. It is hard to tell a 3 1/2 year old to save their energy. Back on the trail, we switched strategies to playing hide and go seek. This was always a successful strategy as two people moved fast and the other person caught up to them and gets scared.

Our hiding places are typically two steps off the trail. This kept us moving along nicely. Grandpa Tom got tired of hiding after about an hour and as soon as we were done hiding, Zyla wanted to be carried. I told her we had to make it to the sign which was the end of the loop. Luckily there were a bunch of stairs to the sign as we finally were going downhill after a lot more uphill then I was remembering. After the sign, I carried Zyla for a bit. It was definitely getting close to the time where I would not be able to carry both children at the same time. That is about 60 pounds of human to carry. Zyla was able to get down after a bit and the last strategy was running down the steep sandy hill. Her shoes were so full of sand even though we dumped them out multiple times on the hike. She did great hiking at least 3 of the 3.5 miles. She stayed positive the whole time and wanted to go hiking again afterward. Mission accomplished. 

Horseshoe Bend

Does this count? Is it blog worthy? Hard to say, but since Zyla hiked it, I think we can call it blog worthy. Plus, I mean, I never have been there, which is enough for me. We went out to Page, Arizona for our friend Jessie's wedding open house. Her husband seemed like a great guy and we were so happy for her. Her open house was in the evening, so we stayed in Page for the night. The thing to do in Page is to hike out to the Horseshoe Bend. I have driven by it numerous times, but never visited it. So this was the day.

We debated it a little bit because it would mess with the nap and lunch schedule, but we went for it. It started out straight uphill and then straight downhill. As soon as we made it to the top of the uphill, the view of the end of the trail was there. Zyla did well getting there as the downhill was easy for her. We had to hold her hand a bit, but she kept moving. At the point we enjoyed the view while Jacqueline remained paranoid about our kids running off the edge. She also reminisced a bit about being here 7 years ago with her mom. Then it was back up the hill. Immediately Zyla wanted to be carried. I was not in the mood to spend all day out here coaxing her up the hill, so I just carried her while Jacqueline carried Conrad. That worked out and when we were at the top of the hill, she was convinced enough to run down the hill keeping us ahead of the masses of tourists behind us.