Zion Scrambles March 2019 Day 3

zionsky

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Day 3 of my man-cation was the first one to start off sunny. That was good as my first destination were the candy cliffs outside of St George. Several of you on this board had told me to be there early for best light. FR31 was a fun drive through some beautiful terrain. It felt remote even though civilization was close by. The road was fine up to the last mile or so where it got a little rutty. I was the second car at the trailhead. The snow capped Pine Valley mountains to the north looked so close you could reach out and touch them.
DSC_0003.JPG The cliffs were amazing and I wondered around for hours snapping photo after photo.
20190328_095949.jpg20190328_100830.jpgDSC_0022.JPGDSC_0016.JPGDSC_0012.JPGDSC_0042.JPG A couple of times I just found a rock to sit on for a bit and stare at the surrounding scenery. I could have spent all day there but I had other plans and also started to get hungry.
After a quick lunch, I headed up the kolob terrace on a scouting trip for the next day to see if my main goal for the week, south guardian angel was doable. I had attempted it last spring but got off route descending into the left fork and lost too much time bushwhacking to make it to the summit and back so I had to abort. Sadly, the road was still closed below Maloney Hill due to snow. Not yet deterred, I parked below the turnaround and cut thru the forest to pick up the connector trail. It was very wet and muddy with sporadic piles of snow. As I made my way up the trail towards Pine Valley peak, the snow disappeared and the ground grew drier. Just as I was beginning to get my hopes up, I reached the base of Pine Valley Peak and the snow returned. It got deeper and deeper as I trudged on towards Wildcat. Near the junction, it was a steady 2+ feet deep slog.
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With some regret, I turned around knowing SGA would have to wait another year. As it was getting later in the day, I decided I would head towards cave knoll in hopes of catching a nice sunset against the western cliffs of Zion and lifting my spirits. I was not disappointed.
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I will say the route up onto the ridge was chocked with more bushwhacking than I expected. Navigating across the hoodoo ridge was quite fun. The sunset was amazing. I took a more direct route back to the car and arrived just before dark.



All in all, another great day in Zion
 
nice!! I've never done Candy Cliffs in the early morning as I prefer the late afternoon late and sunset out there.
Exploring up KT road is always fun. Can't wait for the slushy snow to melt as I have a lot of plans up there for this Spring and Summer
 
I have been back to the Cave, on Kolob Terrace but I have never gotten beyond and above it. I need to get that done!!! Many a day spent at The Yant...Candy Cliffs! You can wander for hours out there. You can go pretty far north also but I have never seen others up that way as it is much farther from your car and there are too many distractions along the way. South Guardian is another one I haven't had the juice to try yet. At the least I need to scout down to the creek, (beyond Northgate Peaks) more than I have.
 
I have been back to the Cave, on Kolob Terrace but I have never gotten beyond and above it. I need to get that done!!! Many a day spent at The Yant...Candy Cliffs! You can wander for hours out there. You can go pretty far north also but I have never seen others up that way as it is much farther from your car and there are too many distractions along the way. South Guardian is another one I haven't had the juice to try yet. At the least I need to scout down to the creek, (beyond Northgate Peaks) more than I have.

You should do that, it's amazing. I scrambled up a few times last year and it was amazing.
But depending on where you climb back down it can be a bit exposed
 
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