Hiking the Virgin River Gorge/AZ

[Rented mule]

Just south of St. George, Utah is the Virgin River Gorge.


Thirteen miles of amazing mountains, cliffs, river, redrock, crumbly anticlines, bighorn sheep, old cabin foundations, and tons of different types of cactus. My favorite being the Fishhook Barrel Cactus.

Here is the link for the rest of the pictures:



http://usera.imagecave.com/mochajo/hikingaround/

This section of the hiking is at the south end of the gorge; where it dumps out of the Beaver Dam Mtns so abruptly into the Mojave creosote flat that it brings a sad feeling that the gorge is "over" People driving through it on I-15 sometimes argue over who gets to drive the 32 curves like some kind of racetrack. It's not uncommon to see a soccer mom loaded up in a minivan doing eighty; white knuckles and UP ON THE WHEEL! hehe
This hiking area gets a super bad rap! boo! Because of the proximity to the interstate traffic. If it weren't for I-15 slicing its way some thousand feet below, (at times) in the narrows seciton, this would be a major destination for thousands to hike and climb. But, I find the traffic amusing. Being 1000 ft above the traffic on a cliff band is a RUSH!
I ran into a Bighorn sheep who stared at me for almost four minutes before retreating in the high, crumbly terrain. He was freaked that there was a fat dude hiking way up here. "There goes the neighborhood"


I hike the gorge pretty much during the cooler winter months when the rattlers are asleep. This allows me to hike along and not go through gallon after gallon water that the summer months demand.
So, if you want a dangerous, crooked, lonesome, hike with route finding skills, no trail on the north rim, and don't have a problem with sheer dropoffs, then check it out sometime. Beware! If you get hurt up there you probably won't see another person for days, if ever.

Next time, I will be hiking from the recreation area clear to the end of the gorge.
Hope you like the pictures. cheers! jerry

[live2ride]

That looks like some pretty cool stuff up there, whenever I drive through the gorge I always wonder how the hiking and biking would be? Looks like some great views and sounds like it could get a little scary at times. Thanks for the writeup and the pics!

[tanya]

Wonderful stuff! That looks like a prime Winter hiking area.

[Sombeech]

wow, that's a rugged area

[goofball]

thanks for the pics ! i love that gorge. every time i drive thru it i wonder what a hike would be like... down at teh southern end there is a pour over that comes out of a littel slot on the norrth wall (or is it west ? whatever, right hand side ldc). always curious bout what is up there.

[Rented mule]

Thanks! I know it isn't exactly in Utah. However, it IS a great warm destination for winter hiking, as Tanya said. And, it's just over the border from Southern Utah. We who live here kinda incorporate the tri-state area as our backyard, at times.
It sure is a rugged area. Next time, I'm going to hike from the Rest area/campground all the way to the western end. There are actually four hikes on the north rim. No trails... So, route finding skills are needed as you hike along, trying each nook and cranny til you get to where you're going. I'll post the other hike soon.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Cheers!