Zion Nat Pk. Peak and Canyon days (Part 1) April 9-11, 2013

[John Morrow]

**Now with Maps**


Trying to find the routes less travelled in the crowded land of Zion. After leaving the roads, for the most part I have been seeing few people on some unmaintained routes and scrambles. A day or two has turned into almost a week!


April 9: Watchman Trail


I wasn't even planning on Zion for this trip but as I left Salt Lake I drove in snow the entire way on Tuesday. When the roads diverged, and it was decision time, I remembered that the Zion Campgrounds are at only 4000 feet. Glad I brought the Zion maps just in case! I arrived in time to basically catch muted evening light on the Watchman Trail, 3 mile RT, to an overlook of the campground.


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April 10: "Mountain of the Sun" 6723' scramble


On my way through the Kolob Visitor center a Park Service ranger gave me great route information on an exciting peak scramble. The enitre route was so cool, leaving the Zion-Mt Carmel Highway at the Pine Creek parking area. Such a neat approach hike, first, by going up Pine Creek, then climbing a slickrock bowl up to the northwest to the Spry Canyon divide. I then dropped into the Spry headwater and climbed to its' divide with Lodge Canyon. I descended Lodge Canyon to the base of the scramble route. Here I was greeted by more than a dozen bighorn sheep!!!






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The route is so great from here. It consisted of a fantastic low angle slickrock ramp southward at the base of the peak's east face to gain the saddle with Twin Brothers. Then I turned north and found an opposite trending ramp and shallow gully system trending north along the east face. Some Class 3 slab climbing here. It finished with an unexposed Class 4 gully with great positive holds and minimal exposure. A final gritty Class 3 SW rising traverse took me to the final walk to the summit. I'll post a topo of it later. It is so worth it!!!!




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Returning to Spry Canyon I descended and explored it until it got technical and I turned around at the rappel anchors. I reversed my route to the car and campground for relaxation in camp and planning of another day.




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April 11: Checkerboard Canyon to Parunuweep Barracks and Misery Slot


This route is described in Kelsey's "Non-Technical" Guide to Colorado Plateau. The Kolob ranger gave me more detailed info. What a helpful, experienced ranger he was.
Again on the Mt Carmel Hwy to start, I drove to a pullout at the base of Checkerboard Mesa and took its' western canyon edge to the Parunuweep divide.




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At the divide a good tread and cairned route took me the whole 4 miles to the final gully descent into the East Fork Virgin River at the Parunuweep Narrows called "The Barracks". Again I hope to post a topo but email me for more details. Shoot for a small knoll at the base of the ridge that the trail descends. A sweet campsite in the saddle between the knoll and the main descending ridge marks the route. Here I dropped in the western gully out of the campsite saddle that put me right at the Powell Memorial Plaque meander.




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First I waded the river downstream to a log jam/chockstone impasse I could not pass through. Then I returned upstream through the Barracks to the mouth of Misery slot.






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Then it was time to explore Misery slot as far as I could. I upclimbed the small flumes and waterfalls until it widened. Beyond I knew it had a rappel falls that I could not climb, and the pools got deep!
It was absolutely sublime! I have touched upon other slot canyons but this one was so tortuous I often could not even see sky. It even had twin arches to walk under!
I did sacrifice my binocs, unfortunately, not being able to negotiate a downclimb. I took a spill into a deep pool I attempted to back out around. A painless way to relearn the ," remember it is harder to downclimb sandstone than go up!" Fortunately, I tossed the camera onto a sandbar first.






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Climbing back out I took the east gully, which Kelsey describes, back to the campsite knoll. Don't do it! (you will hear that often with regard to Kelsey) Go the plaque route I descended. Reversing the trail route to the car I detoured to view an arch, and attempt an alternate route out. I'll say which, ahem, didn't go. What a surprise, in this sandstone land of vertical faces.




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The route back was just as enjoyable. Stay tuned for more, hopefully much more, from the land of slickrock to come!