Bryce National Park To Zion - The Messy Grand Finale

After a relaxing two days in Tropic I hiked into nearby Bryce Canyon. There is a convenient connector trail directly from the town that let me bypass the main entrance and avoid any road walking. I spent a day sightseeing in the National Park as I had secured a spot at one of the official campgrounds.

Bryce 

Then came the biggest change to my hike. I modified the route to stay in Utah which meant that I would bypass the Grand Canyon. My permit had expired because of the extra days I needed to complete the earlier sections. I didn’t mind though. The whole North Rim area had burned last year, even destroying the beautiful lodge. I had already hiked the section from Bryce to the North Rim a few years before. I had also hiked the Rim to Rim, River Trail and parts of the Tonto Trail. I would rather explore some new areas on the way to Zion.

Decisions, Decisions…

But first I set out to hike the whole length of Bryce Canyon over the following two days. As soon as I left the rim, there were no more people. In fact, even though Bryce is extremely popular, I met just two other hikers during those days. My favorite part was the stunning Swamp Canyon about half way between Bryce Point and Rainbow Point. 

Swamp Canyon

I camped nearby at one of the official backpacking sites. 

After a cold night I made my way to Rainbow Point. I had planned a leisurely pace, but halfway up to the rim an immense dark cloud appeared and I had to hurry to get to the little shelter near the point. I made it just before a hail storm started. 

Rainbow At Rainbow Point

After about an hour the hail stopped and I continued my hike to Riggs Spring, my destination for the night.

I filled all my water bottles the next morning as I was about to enter another dry stretch. I also had food for another eight days to get me to Zion, so my pack was pretty heavy as I set out on the Grandview Trail in Dixie National Forest. When I stopped for lunch, I saw another long distance hiker and we both stopped to chat. It turned out to be Jamal who established the AcrossUtah.com website! He hiked a similar route to mine in the opposite direction and had invaluable information on the status of the water sources ahead.

Later I passed Deer Springs Ranch, filled my water at one of their ponds and stopped at their small self-service shop, but didn’t find anything I needed (which was ice cream) and left. 

Cute, But No Ice Cream

A very nice owner of one of the ranch lots offered me a ride, but I was still pursuing my goal to hike uninterrupted from Moab to Zion, so I politely declined.

After camping nearby I entered Skutumpah Canyon the next morning. It had a little stream and I found plenty of animals tracks, including from bears and mountain lions.

Biggest One Yet…

Bear (I Think)

Then it was back to route finding as I skirted the cliffs of Johnson Canyon to find my next destination, the Great Chamber. I made it close and decided to camp just a mile away to make the final push the next day.

Morning Vibe

While there is a well used trail leading to the chamber from the west, I came from the east and could neither find a trail or established route, so getting there involved a bit of trial and error as I was climbing around the nearby walls and talus slopes. 

When I eventually made it, I was quite impressed by the sheer size of the alcove. There was a sand dune at it’s center which made for great pictures. Shortly after me, a guided group of tourists arrived and helped with the picture taking.

It’s Me!

I left the chamber on the established trail heading west towards Mt. Carmel Junction, my next destination and spent the rest of the day hiking along or near ATV tracks, which helped with navigation. I camped on BLM land near the junction. The next morning I walked over to the Thunderbird Restaurant for breakfast, a very civilized finish of this stretch.

Thunderbird Restaurant 

The next section was already the last. It was also supposed to be one of the most scenic and I wanted to enjoy it as much as I could. I bought some additional food at the Chevron gas station near the restaurant where I had breakfast, so that I wouldn’t have to worry about supplies running out if I stayed an additional day somewhere. 

I returned to my camp, packed up and started hiking along the East Fork Virgin River into Parunuweap Canyon. There were established ATV tracks for the first few miles, but they disappeared as the canyon got narrower, and so did the people. Hiking the canyon was similar to hiking the Escalante River, so at times I just hiked in the river, other times on the overgrown bank. 

Canyon Walls

I camped a few miles from the actual narrows to make sure I had a safe camp at elevated ground. There wasn’t any forecast of rain and flash flooding, but I didn’t want to take chances. 

I made good progress the next morning and even thought I potentially could climb out of the canyon and into Zion that very day. Hayduke’s spirit had other plans though. Less than a mile from the exit climb there was a huge boulder blocking the river, creating a deep swirling pool. I had read about this obstacle and that there was a bypass climbing route in case the swirling was too violent to cross. Perhaps I had become overly optimistic as these were presumably my last days of the hike. Whatever the case, I thought it didn’t look too bad and decided to swim across. I had already packed my important gear into waterproof bags in my pack, so I climbed right down a logjam into the pool. I had severely underestimated both the depth and the strength of the current. As soon as I entered the water, I was swept away and drawn into the eddy pool created by the boulder. Furthermore, my buoyant backpack actually pressed my face under water and I struggled to take off the straps and push it off me. 

Swimming freely now I tried to push the pack across the current to the other side, but it was too strong and the pack ended up in the eddy pool again. I grabbed it and tried to hold on to the side wall of the boulder to steady myself. Fortunately there was a little sand bank that my feet could just reach. So steadied, I pushed my pack again as hard as I could and this time it made it across the current to the other side. I still needed two attempts to make it through myself. When I finally did, I climbed out behind the boulder, pulling my pack up after. I was quite exhausted but really happy to have made it. That happiness didn’t last very long. After a quick rest I discovered that there was another logjam on this side of the boulder that created a roughly two meter high waterfall. At first glance it looked impossible to down climb. 

Looks Harmless In The Picture, But…

Now I was trapped between the boulder on one side and the waterfall on the other! 

After some more rest I returned to the boulder. From this side it looked less menacing and I could actually climb on top of it. On its far side the current was less strong and it was easier to get back to the other side. I decided to try to find the bypass route, hoping it would get me past the boulder and the waterfall. I looked for almost an hour and investigated every side canyon and crevice on both sides of the canyon, but didn’t find any way up the canyon walls. Finally I gave up. I had to face it, either I would find a way down the waterfall or hike back to where I had come from for a day and a half. I left my pack and went back to investigate the waterfall more in detail. It really wasn’t possible to climb it down, but there was a rock face on the right side of it that was nearly vertical and very slippery. There was a large tree branch trapped between it and the canyon wall. That branch ran parallel to the rock slide and could provide a good hand hold. I tried to move it and it seemed solidly wedged in between the rocks. If I could hold onto it, it should be possible to slide down semi controlled next to the waterfall. I went back and got my pack. I lowered it on a rope down the fall and managed to get it in a stable position. Now came the tricky part. I let my legs dangle over the waterfall and firmly grabbed the tree branch. Everything held together and I slowly slid down with my belly on the rock slide lowering myself along the branch until my feet felt the ground. Success! Elated, I grabbed my pack and hiked on. It was less than a mile to the exit, but what a beautiful finish! The canyon walls rose vertically on either side. There were no more obstacles, just amazingly beautiful narrows and canyon views. 

Parunuweap Canyon

Whenever I find such a beautiful place without people, I know there is a price to pay. I already passed the obstacle on one side. Whatever was waiting for me at the exit could wait another day. After the narrows the canyon widened a bit and I found a spot for my tent. I was exhausted and there was no way I was going to climb out that evening.

The climb out the next morning was very steep and exposed. I was really glad I hadn’t attempted it the day before. Once I was out of the canyon, there was a lot less exposure and I could relax and look around. The views were amazing, especially after entering Zion National Park. 

Views!

The day was hot and I used much more water than I had planned. Luckily I found a few full potholes. The water was murky and clogged my filter, but I didn’t care too much. I only had a few more days left and plenty of water treatment pills if the filter gave out.

Water!

I made my way through Checkerboard Canyon along the incredible looking Checkerboard Mesa until I reached Hwy 9. There I chatted with Stephan and Oliwia, a friendly German couple who offered me water, but I couldn’t carry more than I already had taken from the potholes. 

Then a brief road walk to the East Rim Trailhead. I wanted to make it to Stave Spring, but ran out of steam a few miles prior and camped on a beautiful ridge overlooking one of the many side canyons of Zion.

Mosquitos!

Stave Spring was key to my plan to hike the Zion Narrows from the outside into the canyon, as it is the only water source for over 20 miles. I reached it the following morning, but it was only dripping at a rate of one drop per second. There was no way I could get four liters out of it. My heart sank, but I didn’t want to give up just yet. I looked around and found a dry pipe near the spring. I followed it up hill and quickly reached a manmade vertical hole. It was very dark, but I could see water at the bottom. I reached in with my cooking pot and extracted some foul smelling liquid. It would be either this or giving up on my plan. I thought about the fresh water Stephan and Oliwia had offered me the day before. I sighed and filled my bottles, dropped water treatment pills in and hiked on.

The East Rim Trail made its way up to the Mesa, all the while offering amazing views of the canyons and eventually into Zion Canyon when I reached Observation Point. This was one of the most scenic spots of the entire hike and I stayed to have lunch. 

Zion Canyon

The route from there to the entrance of the narrows was neither part of the Hayduke nor an official trail and I was about to discover that my route planning skills were far worse than my route finding skills!

The first part turned out to be an old dirt bike trail that was very steep in places, but no problem. I thought it would connect to a wash called Birch Hollow, but it ended at the rim. Luckily I found a rockslide that I could climb down to the middle of the canyon. This wash was supposed to drain into Orderville Canyon which I wanted to hike up to a dirt road leading to the narrows trail head. It did connect, but as a canyoneering route, including a 50 foot drop to rappel down. I stared at that dry fall for a very long time, but there was no way to bypass it. I needed a change of plans that would make this long day even longer. I turned around and hiked to the upper end of the wash instead, finding a trailhead and a dirt road that eventually got me to Orderville Canyon where I could finally replenish my water. It was a very hot day and the bushwhacking and climbing were exhausting. By the time I finally made camp a few miles from the narrows trail, I had consumed eight liters of water, twice my usual amount. I didn’t really care. Yes, I was exhausted, but the following day I would complete my quest!

Not before another hiccup though! I started hiking early the next morning, but after just after a few miles a gate with private property signs blocked my path. Oh well. I didn’t want to take a long detour to the official road, so I dropped into another wash that appeared to lead to the trail. This really was the last bushwhack of the Hayduke!

Hiking the narrows into Zion was amazing and I can recommend it to anyone visiting the park.

Narrows!

Mile after mile the canyon walls rose higher and the landscape became more dramatic. The cavernous narrows were as spectacular as the ones in Parunuweap Canyon, but the section was much longer. Around 6:30 pm I happily walked into the developed area of Zion Canyon where a nice climate controlled shuttle bus waited to take me directly to the campground. I was full of gratitude. My quest to hike from Moab to Zion was over.