National Park #5 - Zion

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Zion National Park - Our first Utah Park!

June 5^th – Day One of our Trek thru the Parks.

We’re up at 4:30 am. Our wagon is fully loaded with tent, sleeping bags, 4 plastic totes full of camp food and cooking utensils, camp stove, two ice chests, camp chairs, queen size air mattress, pillows, camera, lenses, tripod, backpacks, hiking boots, GPS, SPOT, reading glasses, seeing glasses, sun glasses, 3 weeks worth of clothing. In other words…more supplies and stuff than we’ll ever need for the journey we are about to embark upon…but what the heck. It all fit! Barely.

The only thing missing is our son Charlie (alias: CharlieSon). He has agreed to take up residency at our house in our absence to care for our Old English Sheepdog…Charlie. (alias: CharlieDog or C-Dog). No C-Kid…no Trek! The Gods-of-On-Time-Departure are with us this morning. C-Kid shows up at 4:45!

Shortly thereafter we’re on our way to Cedar City, Utah just north of Zion National Park’s Kolob Canyons location where tomorrow we will embark upon our Trek’s longest Hike…a 15 mile round tripper to Kolob Arch.

We pass thru St. George, UT at about 2pm. The outside temperature is reading a sizzling 104°…not the ideal temperature in which to attempt a 15-mile hike! The good news is Kolob is situated at a little over 6000 ft above sea level. It should be a bit cooler up there!

Before checking into the Hampster Inn in Cedar City, we stop to survey tomorrow’s Trail Head and the view of the Kolob Canyons. I also want to see what the temp is reading at 3pm as that is when we will be climbing out of the canyon. At least that’s when I hope we will be climbing out!

You may be wondering why the heck we packed up so much camping gear if we’re going to be checking into the Hampster Inn. More on that later!

Kolob Canyons backdrop

What incredible scenery! We Americans may not be able to figure out Health Care…but we sure got it right with the preservation of our National Parks! Kolob Canyons is situated in the northwest quadrant of Zion National Park. It receives far fewer visitors than the main event down south…yet it offers up some stunning scenery!

Heck…its only 91°. No problemo! We’ll hit the trail at daybreak tomorrow. Hike out to Kolob Arch…the world’s biggest free standing natural arch. Hike it back to the Trailhead. Have a couple of victory beers and plot out our next trek!

We finish our scouting mission with our tummies growling for fuel. Anastasia, the Front Desk Hostess at the Hampster Inn suggests we dine at the Garden House in Cedar City. We take her word for it.

If you ever find yourself in Cedar City, UT…make sure to dine at the Garden House. What a delightful experience! Emily is our waitress. She must be all of 16 years old and cute as a bug. (not sure where that figure of speech comes from…but it works in this case…she was simply adorable) Emily was supurb as was the food! Ah…full tummies, time to hit the sack and prepare for tomorrow’s Trek.

Path to Kolob Arch

June 6^th - Day 2 – The alarm screeches “time to get up” at 4:30 am. We pack up our gear and arrive at the Trailhead at 6am…just as the sun begins to expose itself. The good news is the first part of the trail is all down hill. The really bad new is the first part of the trail is all down hill…which means at the end of our hike, we’ll be trekking uphill…in the heat of the day! No worries, I tell myself. Terry and I have been doing training hikes back home on South Mountain. More on this later.

The trail drops dramatically from Lee’s Pass down to Timber Creek and crisscrosses the streambed for a good 2 miles. It’s cool down by the water and we hike in the shade amongst groves of oak, juniper, cottonwood trees. At mile 3, the trail takes us around a bluff and then upstream paralleling the La Verkin River. So far…so good! We make it to the Kolob Arch just before noon. Grab some lunch creek side. Snap off a bunch of pix of the Arch and the surrounding landscape and begin our journey back to Base Camp.

Creek leading to Kolob Arch

It’s beginning to heat up…yet no signs of fatigue or anything yet. We’ve packed a bunch of water and Gatorade so hydration has not been an issue. At about mile 13, Terry needs a break. We cozy up by the Creek…she takes her boots off and soaks her now swollen feet in the cool water. Her ankles and lower leg did not take kindly to the heat and the silky undersocks. Her lower legs are all broken out with a nasty looking rash!

Kolob Arch

Happy Campers!

Kolob Arch Creek

Taking a Break...soaking the toes!

The boots go back on. She slings her backback over her shoulders and we begin the accent up to the Lee’s Pass Trailhead. The going slows to a glacial pace. The heat…the weight of the pack…lack of food all begin to take a nasty toll on Terry.

My worst nightmare is about to become a reality! I kill the wife on our first hike! Crapola! This is NOT supposed to be happening! We’ve only just begun! The climb is arduous…even for me! We trudge uphill a few paces at a time seeking out a shady spot. I make Terry sit down and take a break. She takes her pack off and hands it to me! My gawd…the thing weighs a ton! What the heck does she have in there? She’s been lugging around all my camera gear…the extra bottles of water and Gatorade and a bunch of other stuff! No wonder she’s run out of steam! Heat Exhaustion 101. Rest the patient. Cool the body down immediately….as in take refuge under the nearest Juniper. Have the victem drink fluids and eat food with carbs and salt. 

She rests for a bit. Eats a sandwich to get the carbs working and downs some salty CornNuts. I commandeer her backpack and after a bit of rest…we work our way back to the car! Success! We made it to Kolob Arch and back! I didn’t kill her! We will hike again another day! (at least I hope we do) Back to the Hampster for a shower and a hot meal! A happy ending to Day 2.

Next Stop...Zion's main entrance.

TrekTrax to be continued....