zionsky
Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2018
- Messages
- 714
I just recently got back from a few days in Zion. This was a rescheduled trip from the spring due to the pandemic. Plenty of people in town and most wearing masks, distancing ,etc. but it was not overly crowded. I will admit it felt a little different this time but it was still an awesome trip. Sad to see Wildcat Willie's, a Springdale eatery for 40 years, had burned down. I ate there many times. They say they are planning to rebuild,
Day 1 West Northgate Peak
Only had a few hours of daylight left upon arrival and had to wait out a passing thunderstorm. Headed up KTR to do West Northgate Peak. A fun little ice-breaker for this flat lander.
![20201102_161309.jpg 20201102_161309.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93794-24f2210ac9798996b65a21ce42d05bca.jpg)
![20201102_162808.jpg 20201102_162808.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93795-bd9ba33d20545db25debbb5f969573ee.jpg)
![20201102_162819.jpg 20201102_162819.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93796-363d4568c23798a1bd453fde977ae2fb.jpg)
![20201102_155357.jpg 20201102_155357.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93797-7e9c164cd818cfc983ecdfc5a98fe894.jpg)
Day 2 Destination Peak and Little Jenny Peak. I give @fossana credit for giving me the idea to combine these two into a single hike. I got off route a few times and had to do a little climbing here and there but nothing too sketchy. I will say downclimbing the short vertical section at the top of destination peak was a little problematic when the obvious hold on the left side of the corner broke off in my hand. I didn't bring a rope so I had to ever so gently hold (and hope) the remaining piece of rock as I downclimbed to the intermediate ledge below. If your doing this solo, my advice is to bring a short piece of webbing as there is a sturdy bush at the top of the climb. Route finding over to little Jenny from the west side of Gifford was fun and filled with skinny cracks and sandy chutes. And the views were outstanding.![20201103_073134.jpg 20201103_073134.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93798-3ec83d321178dc68011a803c98c93e83.jpg)
![20201103_081650.jpg 20201103_081650.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93799-c0b3b46325ccfc0b0ac913d31643c8bc.jpg)
![20201103_084241.jpg 20201103_084241.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93800-b9a7598840d9a5bb253a7804987b75f5.jpg)
![20201103_102926.jpg 20201103_102926.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93801-f4573383eeefb7c4b843139c24f9db73.jpg)
![DSC_0220.JPG DSC_0220.JPG](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93802-997e636f36c824924159df572c896397.jpg)
![20201103_112255.jpg 20201103_112255.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93803-6c1039010fb72395e235ad08a3ec195c.jpg)
![DSC_0234.JPG DSC_0234.JPG](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93804-7bc39ed2a409e5e761132e09945df6e8.jpg)
![20201103_130426.jpg 20201103_130426.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93805-c09cddcee2571fc62ffc00de47dc079c.jpg)
![20201103_133250.jpg 20201103_133250.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93806-fc5cfa0d58f5e6dd13253ca1a4142c3d.jpg)
![20201103_133300.jpg 20201103_133300.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93807-1b64a9bed5b9c37282701805a9fa540e.jpg)
![DSC_0244.JPG DSC_0244.JPG](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93810-e9766b5d0343969d367f897b5f3691e3.jpg)
![20201103_133119.jpg 20201103_133119.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93808-346749499e0ee6fbf90261b6c6d367a4.jpg)
Day 3 Separation Peak and Antler Point
I have been on the east side of the park many times but never explored west of Nippletop. I had seen a small peak off to the far southeast but found very little information about it so curiosity got the better of me and I decided to go explore. I hit separation peak first, then made the long and often sandy slog out to Antler Point. There was a little more up and down than indicated by topo but the beautiful scenery was worth every step.![20201104_073336.jpg 20201104_073336.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93809-21eb38f02f4af8ba560d94cf353807f9.jpg)
![20201104_082212.jpg 20201104_082212.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93811-31b4658bf85f1749f7391de062bb0f1d.jpg)
![20190329_123857.jpg 20190329_123857.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93816-64e3e3ac2b216e9fa47ba7167daef563.jpg)
![20201104_093332.jpg 20201104_093332.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93812-735bbe7f42ce53baf4b8a9d4755d6bcb.jpg)
![20201104_095621.jpg 20201104_095621.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93813-1c4705f1c6db1259f97272736313ec13.jpg)
![DSC_0272.JPG DSC_0272.JPG](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93814-9730aa86d41df1af91833b1c1d001c46.jpg)
![20201104_101203.jpg 20201104_101203.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93815-857c3e47fd877faf3134b97ff1f74705.jpg)
Day 4 West Rim
This is one of the few official trails I had yet to do in the park. What else can I say except this is an awesome trail with so many dramatic views. Drop off at TH to pick up at grotto was 7 hours. I would love to do this one again as an overnighter camping at site 5 or 6.![20201105_070520.jpg 20201105_070520.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93817-fda800b1f62e1e0d8c74474cedb5c891.jpg)
![20201105_072856.jpg 20201105_072856.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93818-68f79456315ec525be9ca24a7c611a55.jpg)
![20201105_075646.jpg 20201105_075646.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93819-6133c9ccb7ae9484d0790bd02d4bf45b.jpg)
![20201105_083254.jpg 20201105_083254.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93820-2928bcee96601c871af94faf6723d1ee.jpg)
![20201105_085241.jpg 20201105_085241.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93821-4a4774394542ef163c12cec11b5d1e2e.jpg)
![20201105_091817.jpg 20201105_091817.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93822-3db25bd4f4057fcb27d63ec2dce4adcc.jpg)
![20201105_100142.jpg 20201105_100142.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93823-5feb20d2235e36d432e267b72000f2bd.jpg)
![20201105_102209.jpg 20201105_102209.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93824-dd58f622f0e86835e26cba337a5a9021.jpg)
![20201105_111246.jpg 20201105_111246.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93825-72adc12cd91b584c98a41ad241d033f8.jpg)
![20201105_112515.jpg 20201105_112515.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93826-af995a9ec2ddaafdeeb5961e06e6598c.jpg)
![20201105_123129.jpg 20201105_123129.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93827-24883d396344d8e7574b3e96277f7474.jpg)
![20201105_125736.jpg 20201105_125736.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93828-8d67c4727faaff9fcf67596cc60510e3.jpg)
Day 5 SGA Recon and random exploration
SGA is another one on my Zion bucket list. I didn't think I had enough gas in the tank to make the full trip but I knew I needed to verify the route down as I had read it can be pretty crazy. So I zig-zagged the ledges, cracks, and sandy chutes and sure enough made my way down into the left fork. I look forward to coming back in the future and completing this one. On my way back I decided to roam the west flank of North Guardian. It turned out to be quite the pleasant stroll.![20201106_075435.jpg 20201106_075435.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93829-84c5491d512948fcfdcf60a1c0ff43b5.jpg)
![20201106_084623.jpg 20201106_084623.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93830-ddf8c0dd02dd91591753eb85b3d4cbad.jpg)
![20201106_091356.jpg 20201106_091356.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93831-601700811eda9ab8b41e7ad4b152b77b.jpg)
![20201106_085942.jpg 20201106_085942.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93832-9e7e0de88a22945f14c852f48d95da1b.jpg)
![20201106_090304.jpg 20201106_090304.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93833-6e9f389c5515386835731119b1a8cb9f.jpg)
![20201106_114722.jpg 20201106_114722.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93834-e2c4bc2bdf92cc3d49bd11771b7fc029.jpg)
![20201106_120741.jpg 20201106_120741.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93835-f6780877c4249d8838f5390f9f7005ec.jpg)
![20201106_123221.jpg 20201106_123221.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93836-80b9a94a7c08cbb430b17f7346bce2d9.jpg)
![20201106_120735.jpg 20201106_120735.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93837-87132591db15e9f63927453dedde336c.jpg)
Day 1 West Northgate Peak
Only had a few hours of daylight left upon arrival and had to wait out a passing thunderstorm. Headed up KTR to do West Northgate Peak. A fun little ice-breaker for this flat lander.
![20201102_161309.jpg 20201102_161309.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93794-24f2210ac9798996b65a21ce42d05bca.jpg)
![20201102_162808.jpg 20201102_162808.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93795-bd9ba33d20545db25debbb5f969573ee.jpg)
![20201102_162819.jpg 20201102_162819.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93796-363d4568c23798a1bd453fde977ae2fb.jpg)
![20201102_155357.jpg 20201102_155357.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93797-7e9c164cd818cfc983ecdfc5a98fe894.jpg)
Day 2 Destination Peak and Little Jenny Peak. I give @fossana credit for giving me the idea to combine these two into a single hike. I got off route a few times and had to do a little climbing here and there but nothing too sketchy. I will say downclimbing the short vertical section at the top of destination peak was a little problematic when the obvious hold on the left side of the corner broke off in my hand. I didn't bring a rope so I had to ever so gently hold (and hope) the remaining piece of rock as I downclimbed to the intermediate ledge below. If your doing this solo, my advice is to bring a short piece of webbing as there is a sturdy bush at the top of the climb. Route finding over to little Jenny from the west side of Gifford was fun and filled with skinny cracks and sandy chutes. And the views were outstanding.
![20201103_073134.jpg 20201103_073134.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93798-3ec83d321178dc68011a803c98c93e83.jpg)
![20201103_081650.jpg 20201103_081650.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93799-c0b3b46325ccfc0b0ac913d31643c8bc.jpg)
![20201103_084241.jpg 20201103_084241.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93800-b9a7598840d9a5bb253a7804987b75f5.jpg)
![20201103_102926.jpg 20201103_102926.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93801-f4573383eeefb7c4b843139c24f9db73.jpg)
![DSC_0220.JPG DSC_0220.JPG](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93802-997e636f36c824924159df572c896397.jpg)
![20201103_112255.jpg 20201103_112255.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93803-6c1039010fb72395e235ad08a3ec195c.jpg)
![DSC_0234.JPG DSC_0234.JPG](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93804-7bc39ed2a409e5e761132e09945df6e8.jpg)
![20201103_130426.jpg 20201103_130426.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93805-c09cddcee2571fc62ffc00de47dc079c.jpg)
![20201103_133250.jpg 20201103_133250.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93806-fc5cfa0d58f5e6dd13253ca1a4142c3d.jpg)
![20201103_133300.jpg 20201103_133300.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93807-1b64a9bed5b9c37282701805a9fa540e.jpg)
![DSC_0244.JPG DSC_0244.JPG](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93810-e9766b5d0343969d367f897b5f3691e3.jpg)
![20201103_133119.jpg 20201103_133119.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93808-346749499e0ee6fbf90261b6c6d367a4.jpg)
Day 3 Separation Peak and Antler Point
I have been on the east side of the park many times but never explored west of Nippletop. I had seen a small peak off to the far southeast but found very little information about it so curiosity got the better of me and I decided to go explore. I hit separation peak first, then made the long and often sandy slog out to Antler Point. There was a little more up and down than indicated by topo but the beautiful scenery was worth every step.
![20201104_073336.jpg 20201104_073336.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93809-21eb38f02f4af8ba560d94cf353807f9.jpg)
![20201104_082212.jpg 20201104_082212.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93811-31b4658bf85f1749f7391de062bb0f1d.jpg)
![20190329_123857.jpg 20190329_123857.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93816-64e3e3ac2b216e9fa47ba7167daef563.jpg)
![20201104_093332.jpg 20201104_093332.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93812-735bbe7f42ce53baf4b8a9d4755d6bcb.jpg)
![20201104_095621.jpg 20201104_095621.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93813-1c4705f1c6db1259f97272736313ec13.jpg)
![DSC_0272.JPG DSC_0272.JPG](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93814-9730aa86d41df1af91833b1c1d001c46.jpg)
![20201104_101203.jpg 20201104_101203.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93815-857c3e47fd877faf3134b97ff1f74705.jpg)
Day 4 West Rim
This is one of the few official trails I had yet to do in the park. What else can I say except this is an awesome trail with so many dramatic views. Drop off at TH to pick up at grotto was 7 hours. I would love to do this one again as an overnighter camping at site 5 or 6.
![20201105_070520.jpg 20201105_070520.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93817-fda800b1f62e1e0d8c74474cedb5c891.jpg)
![20201105_072856.jpg 20201105_072856.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93818-68f79456315ec525be9ca24a7c611a55.jpg)
![20201105_075646.jpg 20201105_075646.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93819-6133c9ccb7ae9484d0790bd02d4bf45b.jpg)
![20201105_083254.jpg 20201105_083254.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93820-2928bcee96601c871af94faf6723d1ee.jpg)
![20201105_085241.jpg 20201105_085241.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93821-4a4774394542ef163c12cec11b5d1e2e.jpg)
![20201105_091817.jpg 20201105_091817.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93822-3db25bd4f4057fcb27d63ec2dce4adcc.jpg)
![20201105_100142.jpg 20201105_100142.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93823-5feb20d2235e36d432e267b72000f2bd.jpg)
![20201105_102209.jpg 20201105_102209.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93824-dd58f622f0e86835e26cba337a5a9021.jpg)
![20201105_111246.jpg 20201105_111246.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93825-72adc12cd91b584c98a41ad241d033f8.jpg)
![20201105_112515.jpg 20201105_112515.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93826-af995a9ec2ddaafdeeb5961e06e6598c.jpg)
![20201105_123129.jpg 20201105_123129.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93827-24883d396344d8e7574b3e96277f7474.jpg)
![20201105_125736.jpg 20201105_125736.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93828-8d67c4727faaff9fcf67596cc60510e3.jpg)
Day 5 SGA Recon and random exploration
SGA is another one on my Zion bucket list. I didn't think I had enough gas in the tank to make the full trip but I knew I needed to verify the route down as I had read it can be pretty crazy. So I zig-zagged the ledges, cracks, and sandy chutes and sure enough made my way down into the left fork. I look forward to coming back in the future and completing this one. On my way back I decided to roam the west flank of North Guardian. It turned out to be quite the pleasant stroll.
![20201106_075435.jpg 20201106_075435.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93829-84c5491d512948fcfdcf60a1c0ff43b5.jpg)
![20201106_084623.jpg 20201106_084623.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93830-ddf8c0dd02dd91591753eb85b3d4cbad.jpg)
![20201106_091356.jpg 20201106_091356.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93831-601700811eda9ab8b41e7ad4b152b77b.jpg)
![20201106_085942.jpg 20201106_085942.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93832-9e7e0de88a22945f14c852f48d95da1b.jpg)
![20201106_090304.jpg 20201106_090304.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93833-6e9f389c5515386835731119b1a8cb9f.jpg)
![20201106_114722.jpg 20201106_114722.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93834-e2c4bc2bdf92cc3d49bd11771b7fc029.jpg)
![20201106_120741.jpg 20201106_120741.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93835-f6780877c4249d8838f5390f9f7005ec.jpg)
![20201106_123221.jpg 20201106_123221.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93836-80b9a94a7c08cbb430b17f7346bce2d9.jpg)
![20201106_120735.jpg 20201106_120735.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/93/93837-87132591db15e9f63927453dedde336c.jpg)