Zion National Park

Contents

From Vegas to Zion
East Zion Mesa Retreat
Overview of the Park
The Pa'rus Trail
Canyon Trail and the Virgin River
Watchman Trail
Overlook Trail
Hunting Petroglyphs
Zion geology
Winter Weather
Side Trip to a Ghost Town

Having survived our summer trip to Canada, we were in the mood to travel somewhere equally memorable. But when Ian and Marsha called in late November to tell us they were planning a trip to Las Vegas at New Years, and would we like to join them, our first reaction was negative. Gambling in Las Vegas? Not our cup of tea.

When they told us Las Vegas was merely a jumping off point for a week in Utah, it sounded interesting. But what's in Utah? Well, Zion National Park is lovely. In winter? Sure, there will not be so many people.

We took an early morning flight to Las Vegas, where we were assaulted by flashing lights that made it very hard to find things like directions to the baggage claim and rental car location. Eventually we made our escape, and drove as fast as we could to get out of the city.

We headed north through a wilderness of rocks and sage brush. For over an hour we drove through a monochrome landscape, relieved only by the outline of distant hills. Near Utah the shape of the hills began to change, taking on the form of Mesa Country.

As we drew closer to Zion Park, we were relieved to see the colorful mesas we had expected. We reached Springdale, the southern gateway to the park, in late afternoon.

After a little shopping, we stopped for a meal, so the sun was setting as we entered the park. We did not stop to explore. We did, though, enjoy a preview of the park's attractions.

The road includes a series of six switchbacks, climbing 1,000 feet in 3.5 miles. These offer numerous views of the spectacular scenery. We'll show these a little later, but we did marvel over one view of a mountainside illuminated by the setting sun.

Ian and Marsha had rented a house in a new development near the National Park. It was not far from the park boundary, but was more than 6 miles from the main road, on a slow, twisting road. The house itself was very comfortable, and had a well equipped kitchen where Marsha could fix excellent dinners, assisted by Oscar in the baking department. Gordon spent much of his time editing the photos he had taken, with suitable guidance from Alban.

The house was situated on a high mesa, surrounded by typical scrub vegetation. If we rose early, we found deer grazing next door.

Beyond the housing development, the land appeared to have been used for grazing cattle. Much of it seemed to have been abandoned though. An old shed, still equipped with electricity, must have been something significant in its day. This decaying barn still has a certain charm to it.

Along the main road leading to Zion Park is a herd of up-to-date replacements for cattle, bison. These are part of a herd owned by an adjacent restaurant, which is also a thriving resort in summer.

From the bison pasture it is about 12 miles to the center of the park, easily a 30 minute drive. It's not a boring trip though. As one approaches the park, the scenery becomes more and more colorful and dramatic.

In 2.5 miles one reaches the East entrance to the park. To the north is the East Zion Mesa, only two miles from our lodgings as the crow flies, but almost 9 miles by car.

A little further is the "Checkerboard Mesa", so called because of the two-dimensional lines. The horizontal lines are the result of layering within the rock stratum. The vertical lines are caused by temperature changes within the sandstone. Here is a closeup of the surface structure.

The next few miles provide a sense for the variety of geological structures one can see throughout the park. Most of the rock is sandstone, which has eroded into curious shapes, set off by beautiful colored swirls.

Eventually one comes to a tunnel, over a mile long, that leads to the switchbacks we had encountered on our arrival. It connects Zion Park with the small town to the east. It had been a major feat of engineering in the 1920s.

At either entry to the tunnel one is likely to encounter one way traffic. Vehicles over a certain size must make arrangements to be escorted, with all traffic limited to one way flow.

The tunnel was cut through the rock of a cliff face, only a few feet from the exterior. An interesting feature is half a dozen windows cut into its cliff-side wall. One has an almost irresistible urge to stop and look out of the window. This, of course, would bring traffic flow to a halt. The best view we had of the windows we was a distant sighting of some of them from the outside.

Upon emerging from the Tunnel at its west end, the character of the scenery changes. The road clings to a cliff on one side of Pine Creek Canyon. On the other side of the canyon is the cliff face of East Temple, which had been so dramatic at sunset the evening of our arrival.

Looking straight ahead one has a view of Zion Canyon, the most popular part of the park. From here you can see the Altar of Sacrifice and The Sentinel. More of the canyon will be seen later. Each switchback provides a different view.

The road winds down through the turns, and arrives at Canyon Junction. The road to the right is Scenic Drive, which leads to the most well known sights. The road to the left leads to the Visitors Center, the starting point for a number of hiking trails, and the town of Springdale.

The Pa'rus Trail is perhaps the easiest hiking trail in the park. It is paved and quite flat, so it made sense that this would be the first trail for us to explore.

"Pa'rus" means "bubbling water" in the language of the local indigenous people. The trail is so named since it follows the Virgin River as it passes through the park. (More on the Virgin River later).

Of course, the younger members of the group tended to charge ahead of the rest of us. There was plenty to investigate on either side of the trail, and the males found the river banks irresistible.

The Pa'rus trail provides a great introduction to the central attraction in the park, Zion Canyon. From the trail one sees the features of the west wall and of the east wall, as well as valleys that connect with the central canyon.

The Pa'rus trail ends at Canyon Junction, but from there a series of trails take one the full length of Zion Canyon.

The trails follow the Virgin River. Gordon found plenty of opportunities to take take photographs of the river against a background of mountains.

Parts of the river are very rocky. The color of some rocks suggests that the river has moved some large rocks over a long distance. Other sections of the river are quieter, with sand banks deposited along the shores.

A mile or so north of Canyon Junction one comes to an area known as the Court of the Patriarchs, named after the three patriarchs of the Old Testament, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Set off against the river, the mountains are especially impressive. We took a bridge across the river to reach the court, a flat expanse of grassland.

A little further north one comes to another side valley, with its own set of impressive mountains. This is an area where we saw several big horned sheep, including this male.

One of the more strenuous hikes we took was along the Watchman Trail. The Watchman is a large mountain standing guard over the southern entrance to the park. The Watchman Trail does not climb the heights of the mountain, but it offers excellent views of the mountain and its surrounds.

It begins with a view of Bridge Mountain, Watchman's neighbor. It provides further views as it climbs the valley at its base. At first the climb is relatively easy, using regular steps. The terrain quickly becomes more difficult however.

The toughest part is a series of switchbacks, alternating difficult climbing with easier sections where we could look back and appreciate what we had accomplished.

JoAnn had decided early on she was not up to tackling the harder parts of the trail, so Ian had accompanied her back to the Visitors Center. He had to hurry back to catch up with the rest of us. We were happy to see him mounting the trail behind us, and were relieved when he joined us.

At the end of the trail there is a short loop that provides views of the area in all directions. There was no more serious climbing. At this point we celebrated our mastering of the difficult hiking.

To the South West we could look back at the Visitors Center, and beyond that, Springdale and hills south of the park. To the North West we could see Canyon Junction and the lower end of Zion Canyon.

The south side of the loop passes through an area of rocks and scrub vegetation, with an occasional lovely old tree.

At the end of the loop, where it rejoins the trail, members of the expedition made records of the walk, or took a breather, before heading back down. This was much easier than climbing up.

East of the Zion-Mount Carmel tunnel is another challenging trail.

Immediately east of the tunnel, Pine Creek runs through a slot canyon, one of several very narrow canyons that appear in the park. Some have the most remarkable interiors carved by erosion. The Pine Creek canyon, unfortunately, is hard to reach, and requires canyoneering skills to explore.

From above, the slot canyon does not look like much. However, adjacent to it is the Overlook trail, shorter than the Watchman trail. but almost as difficult. We explored this trail one morning before the crowds became too aversive.

The trail is not very steep. Its difficulty stems from steep droppoffs, combined with awkward footing. In some places a railing makes passage easier, but in some hazardous places the railing is missing.

By proceeding slowly and carefully, one arrives at the overlook, a place not recommended for anyone prone to vertigo.

The views from this location make the effort worthwhile. One has a lovely view of the lower part of Zion Canyon. Directly below is the valley of Pine Creek. To the left is the cliff wall behind which lies the tunnel.

It's worth noting where we are standing at this point. This blind archway can be seen as one ascends the switchbacks. We would be standing on the horizon directly above the archway.

We retraced our steps to the main road. As usual, going down was easier than going up, but the dropoff was still intimidating enough to encourage us to take care.

There is one significant feature in Zion Park that is much less visited than others. Not far from the East entrance is a set of petroglyphs created roughly 1,000 years ago by the Paiute or Anasazi people. Its location is not marked in any way, but for those who know where it is, it is not hard to reach.

Near the main road is a wash, or dry gully. Scrambling down to the wash is a little tricky. JoAnn decided instead to enjoy the warmth of the sun and take advantage of a comfortable rest stop.

For those who reach it, the wash itself is easy to follow. It leads to a short tunnel that passes under the main road. It then reaches the bottom of a cliff where the petroglyphs can be seen.

A barricade has been constructed in front of the carvings to prevent visitors from touching them, or otherwise defacing the area.

There are over 150 figures, but many are quite faded and hard to make out. Most of the figures are petroglyphs, i.e., pecked or scratched into the rock. A few are pictographs or painted images. There are many human-like figures, concentric circles, spirals, snakes, and animal-like figures.

This large rock sitting by the side of the main road reminds visitors of a major danger associated with canyons. Pieces of rock, sometimes very large pieces, tend to break away and fall, sometimes in the most inconvenient places. They suggest how important it can be to know something about the geology of an area like Zion park.

The rocks in Zion are predominantly sedimentary sandstone, formed from older rocks that have been weathered, eroded, and deposited in layers. The National Park Service website provides a diagram showing the various layers found in the park, the oldest at the bottom and youngest at the top.

One sees this arrangement of sedimentary layers throughout the park wherever there are mesas. There are exceptions, such as the cliff face of East Temple, that are formed in different ways.

The sandstone is easily eroded and broken apart, leading to the steep canyons and the rock falls. The erosion is caused by wind, rain, and rivers, creating the shapes that Zion Park is known for. The area east of the Zion-Mount Carmel tunnel provides the best examples.

Sometimes the top layer consists of small peaks and and spires formed by harder rocks resistant to erosion. Some of the layers are very thin, the whole formation being carved into elaborate shapes. In some cases the horizontal layering has been disrupted, creating very unusual patterns.

Sometimes one sees high up on a cliff something that looks like a cave, but it too is most likely the result of erosion due to wind and rain. The Karst and other limestones that form elaborate caves are found mostly found in the Kaibab Formation, the oldest rocks in the park.

The occasional "Weeping cliffs" that one sees are the result of minerals embedded in the rock leaching down the side of a mesa.

The patterns laid down in the rocks are set off by shrubs and trees that manage to sprout and grow in this dry, rocky area. A lone tree near east entrance greets visitors along the main road. The same forces that carve patterns in the rocks twist pine trees into odd shapes, as we saw on the Watchman Trail. Dead trees and branches enhance the texture of the rocks.

The weather was ideal for most of the week: Chilly at night, sunny during the day, and rapidly warming up.

One chilly evening, while the youngest members of the group were enjoying a hot tub, it began to snow. It soon looked quite serious, although it did not disturb the occupants of the hot tub.

We woke the next morning to find almost 4 inches of snow waiting for us. A heavy snow covered the trees behind the house. It did not look as if we would want to drive anywhere that day.

In fact, the roads where we were staying had been ploughed. The caretaker, operating a snow blower, made things a little easier for us, encouraging us to at least take a walk. We still found it to be hard going, however, once we got off the road. We spent the rest of the day relaxing at the house.

We did venture out that evening, in search of food. Taking advantage of the ploughed roads, we drove to the resort and restaurant that owns the bison herd. While there we asked the waitress to take a photo of the family gathering.

The next day we left to return to Las Vegas and fly home. By then there were very few remnants of the snow. It did, however, highlight the markings on the Checkerboard Mesa. As we drove south from the park, distant mountains were outlined by the snow.

We took an interesting side trip on our way home, to a "ghost town", Grafton, a few miles south of Zion National Park.

To reach Grafton one takes a road from Rockville into the countryside west of the Virgin River. If the setting reminds you of a western movie set, there's a reason. It has been used that way on a number of occasions.

A cotton growing project in the area was ordered by Brigham Young in 1859. Serious flooding in 1862 forced inhabitants to move upstream. However, the region still proved unsuitable for farming, due to floods and excessive sediment in the river, not to mention Indian attacks that killed some residents and drove most of the others away.

The town was effectively abandoned by 1921, when the Mormon church was discontinued. However, the town was restored by area residents in 1997. The restoration was a thorough one, and what is left has clearly been well maintained since.

The schoolhouse was built in 1886. It was also used as a church and public meeting place. This elegant house was built by one of the original settlers, Alonzo Russell. Prior to its restoration, it had sadly deteriorated. If you think you recognize the house, it may be because it was used in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It had already featured in a number of films, including In Old Arizona (1929).

Alonzo Russell built this cottage for his third wife, Louisa Maria Russell, in the 1870s. He had three wives (!), and built homes for each of them. One of Russell's descendants still lives in the area.

An interesting touch in the restoration process was initiating farming activity "to enhance the farming appearance" of the community.

Even the Grafton cemetery is well maintained. Grafton must be one of the best preserved of all "ghost towns" that bear of the label.

After leaving Grafton there was nothing more of interest to our trip, just the monotome, monotonous, highway driving, the hassle of Vegas traffic, and a less than restful overnight flight home. Ian, Marsha, and family, however, spent the night gambling in Vegas, with outcomes that will be left to them to recount.

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