IndyTgrFan
Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2019
- Messages
- 5
Hi all, great forum. I've been reading a bunch of the different threads as much as i could but due to the latest conditions in the Zion area I thought I'd go ahead start a new thread and ask a few pointed questions.
I'm flying out to the area with 2 of my college aged sons (both go to different schools but have the same Spring Break and weren't really interested in the Beer Soaked Beaches this year.) Lucky Dad
We land in Las Vegas late Friday night and drive to Zion early Saturday morning. We've never been to Zion or the area at all. (experience level is medium...high for a bunch of Flatlanders) The plan initially was to stay in a hotel a few nights and then maybe camp every other night or something like that (Zion Campground or backcountry depending on the weather and ability to get permits or also camping up near Bryce...even just finding a spot off the road as i've read about to set up our tent). To be safe I have hotel reservations for every nigh except Wednesday night (Sat & Sun in Springdale) (Mon & Tue in St. George) and (Thursday in Cedar City...for access to Bryce Canyon). St. George is 2 1/2 hour drive from Bryce Canyon.
Currently Hwy 9 from Zion to Mount Caramel is closed which makes getting to Bryce from Zion a lot longer, and also Canyon Overlook and East Rim Trails are closed. Also, due to all of the ran, the twitter page says that the Narrows are closed b/c the Virgin river is above 150 CFS. The weather forecast for Zion is high of Mid 50s and the forecast for Bryce is Mid 30s. Lot's of trail closures right now at Bryce as well.
So, given the current conditions I thought it would be best to go ahead and stick to my Hotel plan where it makes sense to maximize the time we are actually hiking and seeing new things. I'm wondering with the weather forecast if it even makes sense to do the 3+ hour trip to Bryce or to call an audible and hit some other beautiful areas where the weather might be more hospitable. Is GSENM and places like Bighorn Canyon going to be warmer?
So based on the above does anyone have any suggestions or thoughts? TIA
I'm flying out to the area with 2 of my college aged sons (both go to different schools but have the same Spring Break and weren't really interested in the Beer Soaked Beaches this year.) Lucky Dad
We land in Las Vegas late Friday night and drive to Zion early Saturday morning. We've never been to Zion or the area at all. (experience level is medium...high for a bunch of Flatlanders) The plan initially was to stay in a hotel a few nights and then maybe camp every other night or something like that (Zion Campground or backcountry depending on the weather and ability to get permits or also camping up near Bryce...even just finding a spot off the road as i've read about to set up our tent). To be safe I have hotel reservations for every nigh except Wednesday night (Sat & Sun in Springdale) (Mon & Tue in St. George) and (Thursday in Cedar City...for access to Bryce Canyon). St. George is 2 1/2 hour drive from Bryce Canyon.
Currently Hwy 9 from Zion to Mount Caramel is closed which makes getting to Bryce from Zion a lot longer, and also Canyon Overlook and East Rim Trails are closed. Also, due to all of the ran, the twitter page says that the Narrows are closed b/c the Virgin river is above 150 CFS. The weather forecast for Zion is high of Mid 50s and the forecast for Bryce is Mid 30s. Lot's of trail closures right now at Bryce as well.
So, given the current conditions I thought it would be best to go ahead and stick to my Hotel plan where it makes sense to maximize the time we are actually hiking and seeing new things. I'm wondering with the weather forecast if it even makes sense to do the 3+ hour trip to Bryce or to call an audible and hit some other beautiful areas where the weather might be more hospitable. Is GSENM and places like Bighorn Canyon going to be warmer?
So based on the above does anyone have any suggestions or thoughts? TIA