Bogley

[coots]

hi folks-

new to the board and have already read a good deal of your posts. very helpful! i'm headed to southern utah in a couple of weeks for my very first time. i'll be spending a day at bryce and then 4 or 5 at zion. doing the narrows, the "classic" trails, etc. for my first taste.

any tips on nice petroglyphs would be greatly appreciated. the less crowded, the better. i'm happy to hike backcountry to get there, prefer little to no people around when possible.

i've read as many of the zion/bryce posts as i could. any additional tips for backcountry hikes that are less populated or "known" by us outsiders would be great, if you're up for sharing. i'll be making frequent visits, as i have to go to vegas a few times a year for work and am looking forward to the desert to wash it off.

hi!

best,
coots

[Alex]

heh Zion and no people? :lol8: Good one!

If you want solitude and petroglyphs you got to head to Blanding area (South East side of Utah). Hikes like Dark Canyon, Fish & Owl, Grand Gulch canyons. There you will find solitude and lots and lots of Indian past.

[Win]

Welcome aboard!

You can check at the Zion VC and see if Petroglyph Canyon and Cave Valley are OK to visit. Last Fall I was told both were now off limits.

The Indian Springs site in Moquith Mtns is a good site but you'll need a HC
4WD. Here's Bo and Tanyas beta:

http://www.zionnational-park.com/moquith-mountain.htm

Win

[sparker1]

Try Parowan Gap, up near Cedar City.

Parowan Gap

Parowan Gap has two features of distinction, one natural, one man-made. The pass near Parowan is a classic example of a wind gap, an unusual geological landform marking where an ancient river has cut a 600-foot-deep notch through the Red Hills.

Secondly, the gap is a nationally recognized extravaganza of petroglyphs--a superb "gallery" of Native American rock art. Here one can witness what is at least a 1,000 year accumulation of art work pecked into the rock. Geometric designs, images of lizards, snakes, mountain sheep, bear claws and human figures adorn the smooth canyon walls of the pass.

These features, set amidst the vast panoramas of the Escalante Desert make for a fascinating getaway located just a few miles off the interstate mainstream.

From Cedar City: Go north on Main (or take Interstate 15 Exit 62) to UT 130. Continue north 13.5 miles, then turn east (right) 2.5 miles on a good gravel road to Parowan Gap.

From Parowan: Go north on Main to 400 North. Turn west (left) for 10.5 miles on good gravel road (near Milepost 19).

[coots]

thanks, folks!

i'm going to try and make it to the parowan gap. my main goal is to be in the car as little as possible! luckly, i'm back in october and want to check out the north rim and surrounding area. i'll head to blanding then. this is a great board, by the way. anybody looking for good camping, hiking or trekking in the northeast, feel free to drop me a line. also pretty familiar with panama and china.

[erial]

Since you'll be in Vegas, you may want to keep in mind Sloan Canyon. Also Grapevine out near Laughlin. Enroute to Zion, Arrow Canyon near Moapa would be another site worth visiting. There are also several sites in and around St George.

Somebody on this forum mentioned a rock art site in or near the Kolob district, but I've yet to find/see it.

[shaggy125]

If you are doing the narrows from the bottom and want to see them without 5 billion people, catch the first bus in the morning and you will have it mostly to yourself all the way up. Eventually you will start running into people coming from the top down and the hike out... well it will be about as crowded as Disneyland on a weekend. If you want the same scenery without the crowds, hike down to Parunuweap which can be done as a day hike from Checkerboard Mesa. Beta is here:

http://climb-utah.com/Zion/parunuweap1.htm

and here:

http://www.zionnational-park.com/zion-east-fork-zion-narrows.htm

or it is in Mike Kelsey's Non-Technical hiking guide to the Colorado Plateau. To get away from crowds, just pick the longer harder trails. Lots of info on Tanya and Bo's site:

http://www.zionnational-park.com/hiking-zion-national-park.htm

[Cirrus2000]

erial wrote: Since you'll be in Vegas, you may want to keep in mind Sloan Canyon. Also Grapevine out near Laughlin. Enroute to Zion, Arrow Canyon near Moapa would be another site worth visiting. There are also several sites in and around St George.

Somebody on this forum mentioned a rock art site in or near the Kolob district, but I've yet to find/see it.

Also, en route to Utah from Vegas, make sure to drop into Valley of Fire State Park - there are great petroglyphs and scenery there. Take the walk to Mouse's Tank... Not empty, but also not as crowded as the Zion area.

[coots]

terrific and thanks! our ride leaves for the narrows trailhead at 6:30am, so hoping the early start will give allow for slightly less traffic. i plan on getting started at or around sunrise each day.

[coots]

parunuweaup looks awesome. will i need ropes and climbing gear?

[cp0915]

Alex wrote: heh Zion and no people? :lol8: Good one!

I realize that this was only meant half-seriously, but one needs only enter the backcountry of Zion to find solitude. I've spent many a day in Zion without seeing a single person.

Weeping Rock, Emerald Pools, Riverside Walk right now? OH boy!

CP

[Iceaxe]

Zion Rock Art
http://climb-utah.com/Zion/zionrockart1.htm

[shaggy125]

coots wrote: parunuweaup looks awesome. will i need ropes and climbing gear?

If you enter via the Fat Man's Misery slot canyon then yes, but if you enter via the hiking route than no. Basically you can use the route Canyoneers use to exit the canyon to both enter and exit. Might take a bit of routefinding, but really the route is pretty heavily carined... assuming you follow the right carins :lol8: .

[erial]

Take plenty of water. After the initial mile hiking in the wash, you'll climb into open country.