Thursday, March 20
courtesy George
Andrew and Dad
During that first hike, I had been evaluating and analyzing, trying to get a sense for what trails we could accomplish. Originally I had my mind set on Angel's Landing, a fabulously wild wedge of rock with a hair-raising trail to the top. Given what I saw of the unsteadiness in my Dad's knee, I decided that perhaps that was not in our best interests. Although longer and higher (and therefore more strenuous physically), the trail to observation point had no scrambling sections. And therefore was a better choice.
courtesy George
Andrew takes pictures
The trail to observation point is fairly strenuous. It is virtually all uphill - steep uphill, with countless switchbacks winding up and through the many sandstone layers up to the rim of the canyon. Starting at 4300 feet, the trail rises 2200 feet in just 4 miles to Observation point, at 6507 feet. We had all day, and I intending to do what I could to make success as likely as possible. No pack for Dad, lots of water, lots of stops, and a slow, steady pace.
Angel's Landing and West Rim
We made pretty good progress, all things considered. The day turned out beautiful and clear, not too warm, not too hot. Along the way Dad and George marvelled at the scenic diversity of the trail. Lower down, excellent views of Angel's Landing and surrounding cliffs, complete with a trail of aid climbers on a distant wall.
Massive Walls
During the midpoint, a pleasant hidden side canyon (called echo canyon) completely changed our environment, and we were walking through verdant undergrowth and crossing the sandy bottom of a narrow defile. Then climbing out into high-elevation Zion scenery, with slickrock domes of all colours everywhere. Up the "zorro zig-zag" (see picture), as I like to call it, blasted out of a smooth face of Navaho sandstone up to the canyon rim. And finally, a stroll through a utah juniper, pinyon and juniper pine forest along the canyon rim to Observation point. Fantastic diversity of scenery, climate, and vegetation. All in one hike!
We did go fairly slow, but steady... Dad took many breaks, but was always up for continuing onwards. I think he realized that maybe yesterdays intro hike wasn't so hard for him after all....
courtesy George
Middle section of Obs Point Trail
Andrew on Observation Point Trail
The "zorro" part of the trail.
courtesy George
Dad and Andrew on Zorro Trail
Hiking along on the East Rim
Finally the panorama of Observation point opened before us. We were standing on an ochre-red peninsula dropping far away on all sides. All of Zion's lower canyon stood before us, and Angel's Landing, which looked so high and unassailable from below, stood lower than us from this vantage point.
With a bit of coaxing we got Dad to stand right at the edge so we could take a self-portrait of this special moment. I'm very proud of Dad being able to make it up here. In all, it took us 4 hours from trailhead to summit. Really not that bad!
Video of Successful Observation Point Summit!
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Family photo at Observation Point
East rim and the High Country
The weather was changing, our blue skies being replaced by a high overcast. The way down was pretty uneventful, except that Dad started to realize that even though the trip back down on a hike is faster, it is in many ways more difficult and tiring... and having to be extra careful about his knee made it even harder. When we finally made it down to the trailhead, I ran ahead and then turned around and took a picture of Dad marching the last few steps to the trailhead, victorious but clearly spent.
courtesy George
Echo Canyon, Bridge, Andrew and Dad
The great bend and the Organ
The interactive trackmap below shows the exact location and path of our Observation Point hike. You can even choose a topographic map overlay if you bring up the large version.
Interactive trackmap with photo points - Observation Point - click map to view
Hike Data Display - Observation Point Hike
Start Time:
8:56a.m.
End Time:
4:25p.m.
Duration:
7h29m
Distance:
11.83 km
(7.35 mi)
Average Speed:
1.6 km/hr
(1.0 mph)
Start Elevation:
4290ft
(1308m)
*
Max Elevation:
6543ft
(1994m)
*
Min Elevation:
4290ft
(1308m)
*
End Elevation:
4398ft
(1341m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
2183ft
(665m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
2138ft
(652m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
At this point it was late Thursday afternoon. There is so much to see in southern Utah, and the logical next place from Zion is Bryce Canyon National Park, which would be a winter wonderland at this time of year. However, the weather didn't look too good, which in high country like Bryce probably meant that it was snowing. Also, we really didn't have that much time, and so I decided to skip Bryce, Escalante, and Capitol Reef, and go straight to the Moab area. We could then focus on the beautiful sights there for a few days.
So, we drove straight from Zion north up to the Interstate and then east. Along the way we could see snow squalls in the high country near Bryce Canyon....we wouldn't have been able to see anything anyway, if we had gone there.
We stopped at Green River for the night, after having a quick dinner at a Pizza Hut, where Dad gave us some tidbits about our past and his from the "old days".
