Which TH to use for an overnight TeleHunin / Telephunin?

[nkanarik]

We plan on doing Telephone & Behunin on the 1st week of June.
We were thinking of starting at the Grotto the day before (~18:00 start) and camp that night near Telephone Canyon TH + have an early start the next day to do TeleHunin / Telephunin (finish the day late afternoon?).

I was wondering if anyone has an opinion whether we should start near Lava Pt. (~8 miles, ↑814 ft, ↓1460 ft., ~+2 hr.shuttle to/from Springdale) instead of Grotto (~5 miles, ↑2805 ft, ↓279 ft., No shuttle).

Note:

We do have a shuttle vehicle option, so that should not be an issue.
We are not in favor of doing it as a one day trip


I'm not sure if the extra 2hrs. shuttle + extra 3 miles compensate for the ~2500' elevation gain, and seeking for feedback from folks who've done these options.
Feel free to suggest other options :)

Thx

[ratagonia]

I have always found (specifically for Heaps, but similar to this) that hiking from Lava Point is a much better option. While the time (to the Heaps put in) is similar, the amount of energy required for ascending 2500 feet makes the difference. Also, temperatures will be much cooler hiking from Lava Point than hiking up from the bottom.

In any case, you can leave your overnight gear up at West Rim Springs, do Telephone, then hike up and get your gear before heading down Behunin.

Tom

[ratagonia]

I updated my beta on Telephone Canyon a couple dozen months ago, and you might find it useful:

http://www.canyoneeringusa.com/utah/zion/technical/telephone-canyon/

Tom

[jman]

I have always found (specifically for Heaps, but similar to this) that hiking from Lava Point is a much better option. While the time (to the Heaps put in) is similar, the amount of energy required for ascending 2500 feet makes the difference. Also, temperatures will be much cooler hiking from Lava Point than hiking up from the bottom.

In any case, you can leave your overnight gear up at West Rim Springs, do Telephone, then hike up and get your gear before heading down Behunin.

Tom

I was going to suggest the same thing.
We did this exact route last year and sure, you may walk more, but not doing the elevation was nice. Plus it was extra nice not waiting for the early morning shuttle and wait.





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[nkanarik]

Thanks Tom and Jman...Will plan for Lava Pt. start

[2065toyota]

If you start from the bottom you wont have to do the lengthy car shuttle. The hike may be a little easier, but will definitely cost quite a bit of time when you factor in the drive to and from the top of the mountain 2 times.