a trip around 1-5 of September, in Zion park area

[gil]

hi!
me and my sister are arriving to Las-Vegas after the burning man festival, and are looking for nice people who would like to join us for hiking in Zion park or other nearby places. something like full day or two days hike trip.
the dates can be around 1-5 of September.

anyone wants to join us? we are also open for interesting suggestions :)
what would you recommend us as a 'must to see' trip over that area?

(but we do not have any knowledge in ropes or canyoneering)

thanks!

[jman]

Is this your first time to Zion?

If it's hiking you are only after - I would recommend the classic hike - Angel's Landing, Emerald Pools, and Hidden Canyon. And if you have time go a few miles up the Narrows. All classic stuff. You could do all 3 of those hikes in 2 days. Or if you are in great shape and want a long day, then you could do the top-down narrows hike at 16+ miles. But it does require a shuttle or you can pay a local outfitter to drop you off for something like $25-35/person.

You don't have any experience in Canyoneering - but once you try it, it won't leave! the bug bites hard! The hard part is, people love to show off canyoneering to others but most are hesitant due to that groups inexperience. Some do really well their first time and others can sometimes....um...make it quite difficult for everyone involved.

If you have at least rappelled before that definitely helps, and perhaps someone can take you through a beginner canyon such as 'Keyhole Canyon'. Short and packed with a lot of fun! Plus the rappels are no more than 10-15ft in height. But the water can be cold and wetsuits are recommended.

Another option is to have a Zion outfitter take you on a 1-day canyoneering adventure. The preferred outfitter among the canyoneering forums is Zion Adventure Company located in Springdale. Unfortunately, commerically guided trips are barred from the park, but there are plenty of other great canyons just outside of Zion that will give you a sample of what canyoneering is about.

There are plenty of other hikes in the area, but perhaps a few more specifics could help us out. Do you want to hike in water all day? Is swimming a problem? Do you want ONLY dry hikes? etc.

[gil]

thank you very much for you detailed answer!

i am going to the trip with my sister, she is not in such a good shape like me but i guess she can walk something like 10 miles..
we are both a little afraid of heights. but still we would like to do something cool.
about being in water or swimming - it sounds cool for us, but we don't have a water suit, so if it's too cold like you say then maybe it would get no longer fun and we will suffer?

i searched for the hikes you mentioned. emerald pools looks easy, do you recommend doing both lower and upper pools?
the hidden canyon and angle's landing look so beautiful and challenging but we are afraid of heights and as long as it's without secured ropes i am not sure we can do it :(
is there a way to tie yourself to that chain on the side?

the narrows looks like such a beautiful trail, and as i see does not contain long drop offs. we thought of maybe doing this trail in two days and sleep in the middle? it looks impossible to do it in one day.. what do you think? is it too tedious to do the whole trail? is there a way to do a nice part of the narrows without doing repeating the way back, or make the top to bottom trip shorter?

i guess my question is:
do you have a 2 day trip suggestion for us that is good for people who are afraid of heights?
thanks very much!!