travel tangent: arizona and utah 2009

A tangent for anyone missing travel and adventure during the pandemic.

After meeting on a guided hiking trip to Havasu Falls in May 2008, MAC and I corresponded and agreed to go on a similar trip together the following spring.  We decided on an itinerary through Arizona and Utah with Arizona Outback Adventures and requested N, the excellent guide who had led our Havasu Falls adventure.  I had high expectations for the trip—we would be visiting three national parks and staying at inns, rather than camping like the previous year.  We paid our deposits and the trip was a go, but then the other participants, who were travelling together, had to reschedule.  The company decided to run the trip as planned anyway with just MAC and me and with N for our guide.  It essentially became a private guided tour at no extra cost.  We couldn’t believe our luck.

Our meeting point was Las Vegas, Nevada—I flew in from Seattle, Washington and MAC from Atlanta, Georgia. I was SO EXCITED.  Before the 2008 trip, my excitement was matched by nervousness about the physical challenge ahead and about travelling solo.  There was none of that in 2009. I had been hiking regularly since the previous trip and felt I had adequately trained. I was just thrilled to be back in the desert and to see MAC and N again.  After checking in to our hotel, MAC and I caught up as we walked around looking at the spectacle that is Las Vegas.

We met N early the next morning.  The trailer used for a larger group was left behind in the parking lot.  It was just the three of us in the big van, with a lot to talk about, on our way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona.  It’s a long drive through desert landscape so Kaibab National Forest stands out—we pulled over there to eat lunch.  The trip provided a surplus of exciting highlights but yet I still remember this short stop: picnicking under the shade of ponderosa pines, happy and excited, with a week of adventure still ahead.

As soon as we arrived at the North Rim, we laced up our boots and hit the Ken Patrick Trail for the first hike.  Looking out from Point Imperial, the highest point in the entire park at 8803 ft, I felt welcomed back.  For accommodations, MAC and I shared a log cabin in the park and ate meals at the Grand Canyon Lodge.  The vast open dining room with massive windows transported me to summer 1986 when I worked at the Prince of Wales Hotel in Alberta’s Waterton Lakes National Park.  There’s a similar rustic, quaint feel about those old historic national park buildings that crosses the border. 

The hike on the second day was the longest of the trip.  The North Kaibab Trail is the only maintained trail on the North Rim that goes to the bottom of the canyon.  No, down and back is not done in a day.  We hiked 5 miles to a convenient turn-around point at Roaring Springs (4960 ft elev) and, after a bagged lunch and exploring the stream, we had the hard part—climbing back up 3281 ft in the heat.  I was in shape for it but immediately saw the difference with my training.  I was frequently doing 3000 ft elevation gain on my weekend hikes but in the mountains the order is in reverse—the cardio part is first, then lunch, and then the easier hike down.  In the canyon, the return part was the most difficult.  Photos as we reached the trailhead capture the moment: I was delighted with my obvious improvement compared to the 10 mile hike / 1000 ft climb out of Hualapai Canyon the year before.

I found the North Rim, with only 10% of park visitors, uncrowded.  For sunset, we sat on rock overlooking the canyon without jostling for space.  The annual Grand Canyon Star Party was being held and amateur astronomers encouraged us to have a look through the big telescopes set up on the lodge patio.

The next day we packed up, said goodbye to the Grand Canyon, and drove into Utah to Bryce Canyon National Park.  Because there were only three of us compared to an at-capacity group of 14, everything took less time on this trip—hikes, meals, and bathroom breaks—and we were able to do extra hikes and sight-seeing.  At Bryce, we hiked two longer trails around the hoodoos and drove to Rainbow Point, the highest point in the park at 9115 ft. 

We stayed the next two nights at a B&B in Tropic.  N had been closely following the weather forecast because our schedule had us doing slot canyons in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument the next day.  If there is any risk of rain, slot canyons are to be avoided because of the danger of flash floods.  Due to pretty images on social media, I imagine the slot canyons we visited in 2009 are even more popular now.  BUT you still need to go ~25 miles on a dirt road called Hole in the Rock to get there.  I recommend a sports bra for the drive. 

We walked around near Peek-A-Boo slot canyon while we waited for a troop of boy scouts to all get out of the large puddle and up the muddy rock to start their journey.  Unfortunately for us, they took their climbing rope with them.  With the vertical rock slippery from all those scouts in front of us, N had a difficult time trying to climb up to the next level.  On a typical trip, there would have been another guide to assist.  But MAC and I quickly saw what had to be done.  We each took a cheek and, on three, propelled N up the rock.  Mission accomplished, N pulled us up.  Gliding through Peek-A-Boo and Spooky slot canyons was new and magical.  Covered in mud, I felt like a kid again.  And the day wasn’t over.  From there we drove to a trailhead and did a 6-mile round-trip hike to Lower Calf Creek Falls and cooled off in the water.

It felt like three trips in one at that point and we still had a National Park to go!  On the fifth day we drove to Zion.  For the next two nights, we stayed in a motel in the charming little town of Springdale right outside the park entrance.  Zion has successfully dealt with tourist traffic by making park access by shuttle only.  On our first day there, we hiked The Narrows—this is a hike mostly right in the Virgin River, looking up at the steep canyon walls, often in thigh-deep (if you’re 5′ 3.5″) water.  We saw a lot of animals during the week and a special siting in Zion was of a California Condor—a bird that had been extinct in the wild in the 1980’s and was successfully reintroduced.

The North Kaibab hike at the North Rim was the long hike.  The hike on the last day of the trip was the challenging one: Angels Landing.   Challenging because there is EXPOSURE and I hadn’t enjoyed the exposure climbing down Mooney Falls in Havasu Canyon the year before.  Trying to stay relaxed on the shuttle in the morning on our way to the trailhead, I was astounded to see a raven pick off the chipmunk I’d been watching.  Damn circle-of-life.  I tried not to read it as a sign of what I was getting myself into. 

Angels Landing is a 5.4-mile round-trip hike with 1500 ft elevation gain and a helluva lot of switchbacks called Walter’s Wiggles.  There are rebar and chains to hang on to for the exposed section at the top.  Yes, I had some nervousness but there was no way I was NOT doing it.  I pushed through and soon I was sitting on top (a safe distance from the edge) taking in the spectacular view with MAC and N.  A short time later, the three of us were sitting outside at a Springdale café having our last meal together before the drive back to Las Vegas.  I was feeling pretty damn proud of myself. 

The juxtaposition of driving into Las Vegas after a week in the National Parks was shocking.  MAC and I said goodbye to N and stayed an extra day to relax before heading back to our jobs in the real world. In photos from the 2008 trip to Havasu Falls, I have a sort of half-smile like I’m just remembering how to have fun.  In most of the 2009 trip photos, I’ve got a wide cake-eating grin.  We went in expecting the trip of a lifetime and that’s what we got.

Notes, references, and links:

• MAC: mon amie Caroline.
• travel tangent: havasu falls 2008 (post #155)
• Grand Canyon National Park, North Rim (NPS site).
• Bryce Canyon National Park (NPS site).
• Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (Bureau of Land Management site).
• Zion National Park (NPS site).