Bill
.
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2012
- Messages
- 991
After seeing lostlandscapes video TR I figured I should post my own.....
I was pretty excited to get invited to Zion this past September with an experienced group to hit a few canyons I had been wanting to visit for quite some time. Thursday night we arrived at our reserved site in Zion and set up camp. Once settled I took for a short walk above the campground to shoot the Milky Way over the Watchman and came back with some decent results.
The Watchman by Summit42, on Flickr
Friday morning we were on the road early and hiking with headlamps before sunrise. The first light of the day started hitting the cliffs just as we reached the pass on the west side of checkerboard mesa. We took a short break on the ridge above the canyon and soaked in the 360° views of the white cliffs, Parunuweap, and beyond. We descended the slick rock to the main canyon and soon encountered our first slots with knee to chest deep pools. I was pleasantly shocked to see such beautiful sculpted narrows in Misery canyon and was in complete awe of the amazing light within the arch room.
Sunrise by Summit42, on Flickr
Fat Mans Misery Slot by Summit42, on Flickr
Fat Man's Misery Slot by Summit42, on Flickr
Arch Room - Fat Mans Misery by Summit42, on Flickr
After a long break lunch break at the confluence of the East Fork we made out last rap and worked our way down canyon through more sculpted narrows. Once we reached the lower arch room the smell of sulfur made the experience quite putrid. At the time I felt the best of course of action was to pack away the camera in dry bags, make the plunge, and get through it as fast as I could. In retrospect I wish I would of taken at least a few photos. The final section of narrows was filled with frogs, hanging gardens, and a few small down climbs. Once we reached Parunuweapwe took another long break to eat and filter some spring water for the hike out. I was pretty disappointed to see the water so murky from the recent flood a few days prior. As a group we decided to to skip the side trip to Labyrinth falls (due to the murk) and hike down canyon to the exit.
Fat Mans Misery by Summit42, on Flickr
Fat Mans Misery by Summit42, on Flickr
Parunuweap Canyon by Summit42, on Flickr
Parunuweap by Summit42, on Flickr
The hike out was far less strenuous than I imagined. It was long, but not bad at all. A few hours later we were all back at the truck putting on flip-flops and cracking open celebratory beers. I don't recall the exact time but I believe it was around 10-11 hours round trip and only saw one other person. There's no doubt that I will be doing Misery Canyon again. Next time I hope to spend more time in Parunuweap and have been considering the possibility make this a backpacking trip.
Featured image for home page:
I was pretty excited to get invited to Zion this past September with an experienced group to hit a few canyons I had been wanting to visit for quite some time. Thursday night we arrived at our reserved site in Zion and set up camp. Once settled I took for a short walk above the campground to shoot the Milky Way over the Watchman and came back with some decent results.
The Watchman by Summit42, on Flickr
Friday morning we were on the road early and hiking with headlamps before sunrise. The first light of the day started hitting the cliffs just as we reached the pass on the west side of checkerboard mesa. We took a short break on the ridge above the canyon and soaked in the 360° views of the white cliffs, Parunuweap, and beyond. We descended the slick rock to the main canyon and soon encountered our first slots with knee to chest deep pools. I was pleasantly shocked to see such beautiful sculpted narrows in Misery canyon and was in complete awe of the amazing light within the arch room.
Sunrise by Summit42, on Flickr
Fat Mans Misery Slot by Summit42, on Flickr
Fat Man's Misery Slot by Summit42, on Flickr
Arch Room - Fat Mans Misery by Summit42, on Flickr
After a long break lunch break at the confluence of the East Fork we made out last rap and worked our way down canyon through more sculpted narrows. Once we reached the lower arch room the smell of sulfur made the experience quite putrid. At the time I felt the best of course of action was to pack away the camera in dry bags, make the plunge, and get through it as fast as I could. In retrospect I wish I would of taken at least a few photos. The final section of narrows was filled with frogs, hanging gardens, and a few small down climbs. Once we reached Parunuweapwe took another long break to eat and filter some spring water for the hike out. I was pretty disappointed to see the water so murky from the recent flood a few days prior. As a group we decided to to skip the side trip to Labyrinth falls (due to the murk) and hike down canyon to the exit.
Fat Mans Misery by Summit42, on Flickr
Fat Mans Misery by Summit42, on Flickr
Parunuweap Canyon by Summit42, on Flickr
Parunuweap by Summit42, on Flickr
The hike out was far less strenuous than I imagined. It was long, but not bad at all. A few hours later we were all back at the truck putting on flip-flops and cracking open celebratory beers. I don't recall the exact time but I believe it was around 10-11 hours round trip and only saw one other person. There's no doubt that I will be doing Misery Canyon again. Next time I hope to spend more time in Parunuweap and have been considering the possibility make this a backpacking trip.
Featured image for home page:
