Last Best Hike

DAY 19

4/6/26 Monday

Hiking Stats: 5.3 mi. Elev: 1141’

We knew we needed an early start to get a “close to the entrance” parking spot in Zion. After arriving at 10am a couple of days ago and parking 4 miles down, we knew we’d need to start earlier. We were up and out of our campsite by 6am. It was still dark when we arrived in Springdale. Just a few people were moving about. The shuttles up the Scenic Drive start at 7am.

We found our parking on the street right at the entrance. We were the first vehicle in the street actually. Again… it’s all paid parking around here. We had planned to get a burrito breakfast at the grocery store right at the entrance but unfortunately the “burrito lady” quit yesterday to join her deported husband. They don’t know when or how they will replace her… finding employees in a high rent/low inventory resort community is a problem! But we had other choices for breakfast and we made do. Also packed a couple PB&J sammies for the hike.

It is about 7:30am when we get into the shuttle bus queue at the entrance. It was about a 30? minute wait at this point. It was good people watching… especially the Narrows hikers. I have since learned that the whole waders and Zion sticks outfits are for wading the Virgin River at the top of the Scenic Drive. If they hike the whole trail it’s about 9 miles but most people only go a mile or two (of course). They wade in the river with waders, boots and poles for balance along rocks as the river goes into a narrow canyon. You can look up photos. This time of year the water is really cold! In summer they can just use the boots. It is a huge Zion thing!! Maybe next time we will do that.

This time we planned to hike the West Rim Trail. We took the bus to The Grotto stop and from there we walked along the Virgin River for a bit before we started going uphill. It didn’t take long for the trail to get steeper. Also… to our surprise it became a concrete trail. I imagine they paved it because it is such a popular trail and thousands of people take this trail. Without the paving it would be destroyed quite quickly. Soon the trail became long switchbacks heading to the rock wall. We were early enough in the day that it wasn’t crowded going up and very, very few people were coming down yet.

The view looking down canyon along the river was pretty this morning. These switchbacks were not for those afraid of heights. It definitely was a long way down! Because the weather was cloudy and cool early, the temp was comfortable for this exertion. It definitely got us breathing as we went up. It was easy to rest at each turn if we wanted to enjoy the view and catch our breath.

After the stretch of switchbacks we turned in between a notch in the rock face and hiked up a narrow canyon that was fairly flat. The signs said it was a Mexico Spotted Owl nesting area but at our time of day they were hiding for sure.

The next high point had a couple of long switches and then we headed into “Walter’s Wiggle”. The wiggle is a big set of steep, short switches (hence the name)! I didn’t count but there were 21 of them before the top. Once again… not easy by any means. A bit tighter and harder to rest but occasionally there was a bit more room to pause.

After the wiggle there was a great big ledge to spread out and look down and across the canyon. At this point there is a trail branching off called Angel’s Landing that you can follow a very steep trail up to a higher point. You must have a permit for this trail. It starts with a railing to hold onto as you go vertical. It’s narrow… and looks scary. We were told permits go fast!

For the regular people you could also go another level higher along a trail with no pavement. We did just that and spent some time resting, relaxing, snacking, enjoying the view and with only a dozen people. We were visiting with a photographer fellow that was looking to photograph a condor (s) living higher up in the rocks. We didn’t see one… but a possible nest according to him. He had the Big Lens so he could zoom closer than my measly phone camera.

By the time we started the return on the same trail the throngs of people had arrived. The wiggle was a busy flow up and down. The entire way down was a two way street. The temps by this time were warmer but still quite comfortable.

It was the perfect day for this beautiful hike. We both really enjoyed the challenge of it and the views all the way up and down! We were really glad we started so early. By the time we got off the shuttle in Springdale it was 12 noon. The town was hopping. The line to enter the park was looonnngggg. The queue to get on the shuttle bus was pretty long too. Prime time I guess.

We were on the road heading north for Salt Lake City. Our plan is to camp near Beaver UT. We found a county campground called Minersville Campground on a reservoir. Nice enough. Most importantly besides water and electricity it had a shower! After 3 days of biking and hiking we were a bit overdue! It felt so good😊

We had a nice bbq ribs dinner we’d bought at a grocery store in St George. We heated the ribs on our camp stove, heated our extras and cold salad. Delicious… we were hungry.

Tomorrow we close this AdVANture with the long drive home via Salt Lake City. Lots of I-15 interstate into Idaho. Then we branch off at Idaho Falls toward Rexburg, West Yellowstone, Bozeman and Billings.

We will wild camp one more night near Pocatello and get home the next day. Thoughts and recap coming tomorrow.