Southern UT, Late June

[Ben]

every thing Nick said. it should all be doable, just things to consider.

 

[Yvonne]

3 hours is reasonable, but depending how much traffic you have on some of the crucial parts of the hike, it might add some extra time.
the shuttle usually takes 15-20 minutes to the Grotto.
You should be good end of June as you have a lot of day light.

 

[Nick]

Good point on traffic jams on the chains, Yvonne. It wasn't very busy when I did it, but I've heard it can get a little crazy.

 

[Yvonne]

Good point on traffic jams on the chains, Yvonne. It wasn't very busy when I did it, but I've heard it can get a little crazy.

but you can bypass the traffic if you're not afraid of hights. Just hike outside the chained part where it's a bit exposed, but you can get past the congested areas super fast.

 

[Ben]

i've gone up the whole thing without touching the chains. it's not so bad a walk as some people like to imagine it.

 

[Yvonne]

i've gone up the whole thing without touching the chains. it's not so bad a walk as some people like to imagine it.

same here, never used the chains, there is a good trail up to the top. Hiked way more exposed trails than this one.

 

[Vegan.Hiker]

Thanks everyone. So even on a Thu evening I can expect some congestion I guess. It'll be a long day doing it on a travel day but worth it to free up another day for something else. Thanks!

 

[Vegan.Hiker]

Okay so, I just got my overnight permit for the Narrows. Has anyone ever stayed in campsite #7? I hope it's nice. I can't even find a picture of it online.

Now that I have my permit, I can try to solidify the rest of my plans, and it's looking like this.

Day 1 - Land at SGU at 12:50 - Pick up permit for the next day at VC and take shuttle to grotto - Hike Angel's Landing
Stay in a hotel in Springdale
Day 2 - Make reservations with ZAC to get the 6:30 am shuttle to Chamberlains Ranch TH to begin overnight Narrows backpack
Stay at Campsite #7 in the Narrows
Day 3 - Finish Narrows backpack - Drive towards Coyote Gulch
Need to find a campsite near Buckskin Gulch
Day 4 - Out and back day hike in Buckskin Gulch from Wire Pass TH - Drive to Bryce Canyon NP - Looking into a guided moonlit night hike in Bryce
Need to find a campsite near Bryce
Day 5 - Half day of hiking in Bryce (Fairyland and Queens Garden loops) - Drive to Springdale or St. George
Stay in hotel in Springdale or St. George
Day 6 - Fly home from SGU

So, I guess the next step is to contact Zion Adventure Company to arrange the shuttle to Chamberlains Ranch. Do you guys recommend renting the canyoneering shoes and wooden stick they rent? I'd hate to bend one of my trekking poles as those things aren't cheap. Plus, this is the only hike I'd need them for on this trip so they would be one less thing to have to pack if I rented one. Also, if anyone has any recommendations on good places to camp near Buckskin Gulch and Bryce for days 3 and 4, I'd appreciate it.

 

[Tres Westbrook]

We just used closed-toed Keens and neoprene socks. I wouldn't rent the shoes. Maybe the sticks, if you are concerned about damaging poles, but we used our poles and did fine.

Also, do you meas Buckskin Gulch (which connects with Wire Pass) rather than Coyote Gulch? Either one will be cool. Looks like you have a jam-packed agenda. Hope you have a great time. In fact, if you do all that, I know you will.

 

[Tres Westbrook]

I also think that you can camp at the Wire Pass trailhead.

 

[Nick]

Same question as Tres on the mix up. Coyote Gulch and Wire Pass are faaaar away.

Most of the sites are pretty similar in The Narrows. Just little tiny patches of dirt, trees and bushes, so it's probably pretty similar to the others you've seen photos of. I'm sure it'll be great.

I disagree with Tres on footwear for The Narrows though. I think the Canyoneers are well worth the money to rent. If you don't rent those, I'd do an old pair of tennis shoes or something like that over Keens or anything that will allow rocks and sand in. Hiking rivers with sandals on is torture, in my opinion, closed toe or not. And the stealth rubber on the Canyoneers is priceless. Imagine walking for miles on submerged, greasy bowling balls. Sticky rubber is GOOD. So are trekking poles or a walking stick (also available at ZAC with the shoes).

 

[Vegan.Hiker]

Thanks Tres, and yes I meant Buckskin, not Coyote Gulch. I know @ben cowan camped at the wire pass TH, I'll message him to see if he needed a permit. It is a lot to pack in and my big concern is how my wife is going to handle the first 2 days. Starting the day by leaving the house at 4am to fly across country and ending It by hiking until 9pm is going to be a long first day. Only to catch a 6:30 am shuttle the very next morning. We shouldn't have any trouble sleeping by the time we get to campsite #7.

 

[Nick]

Is there camping at the actual Wire Pass trailhead? It always just seemed like a big parking lot to me. There are definitely good spots nearby though. The Stateline Campground has I think 4 spots if you like facilities, or there are primitive spots along the road as well. Like this spot I camped at a few years back, just south of Stateline. If there is camping at the trailhead, you wouldn't need a permit, since it's not in the permit area.

 

[Ben]

i just looked it up. camping is allowed at the trail head if the stateline campground is full.

 

[Vegan.Hiker]

Sorry to ask yet another question... ZAC offers a shuttle to the top TH at 6:15 (7:30 am arrival) and 9:30 (10:45 arrival). I booked the later shuttle figuring that would be plenty of time to hike at a leisurely pace and still arrive with plenty of sunlight to spare for setting up camp. Any advice on whether keeping this shuttle time is the right move or should I switch it to the earlier time? We'll have a long day of both travelling and hiking the day before so it would be nice to have the extra little bit of time to get going in the morning.

 

[Nick]

That's the shuttle I took both times and it worked out great.

 

[Vegan.Hiker]

Perfect thanks! I think I'm starting to develop BCP dependency disorder. Like I shouldn't make any decisions re: UT without checking here first.

 

[Nick]

Haha! It totally makes sense though. I can't make a decision about damn near anything without a good amount of time researching it on the interwebs.

 

[Vegan.Hiker]

Some drastic last minute changes to my plans just occurred. The plan was to do 2.5 days in Zion doing Angels Landing and a Narrows thru-hike, then a day in Buckskin Gulch and a day in Bryce.

Well while I was trying to solidify my campsite plans for Buckskin and Bryce this morning I figured I'd throw a Hail Mary and type the North Rim Campground and those dates into the Recreation.gov search bar and to my surprise there was a single site available those 2 nights. Without even thinking about it I booked them. I was shocked because according to what I've read online, people book their sites up to 6 months in advance there because it fills up so quick. How was I able to get 2 nights barely more than a week in advance? A weekend smack in the middle of summer no less? I called the Grand Canyon visitors center to ask them a few questions and I was told I probably lucked out that someone just made a cancellation for those dates.

So now the plan is 2.5 days in Zion doing Angels's Landing and the Narrows thru-hike. Then heading to the North Rim campground to spend 2.5 days on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Any suggestions on the best way to spend my time on the North Rim? The Ranger suggested that the day I arrive after finishing the Narrows, we should drive to the campground, set up camp, then take the Transept Trail 1.5 miles directly from the campground to the Grand Canyon Lodge then take the Bright Angel Point trail half a mile to the lookout. He also suggested we might want to eat dinner at the lodge as well before walking back to our campsite.

Not sure yet how to spend the next 2 days after that. I see that the Kaibab Trail goes down from the north rim all the way to the Colorado which can't be done in a dayhike, but down to Roaring Springs and back would be a suitable 10 miler. From some internet research it looks like the Uncle Jim Trail, Cape Final, and the Widforss Trail would also be good options. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

I'm a little bummed about not seeing Bryce and Buckskin Gulch but that just gives me another excuse to come back to Utah again.