For Labor Day Mike and I decided to visit Zion National Park and do some canyoneering. I am going to be honest here: when I say “we,” I mean Mike. He did the research, got the extra gear we needed, and packed up the truck. I was a little nervous about trying this canyoneering thing and super busy with my first week back to school. I had no idea what I was doing and had very little time to figure it out for myself.
Driving out of the city on a Friday afternoon was going to be rough – we knew there would be traffic. We didn’t expect three plus hours just to get out of the city. After nearly 9 hours of driving we made it to Dixie National Forest near Zion around 1am and pulled into a fabulous dispersed campsite besides a creek. The stars were fabulous, with the Milky Way clearly visible, and the night air felt crisp and refreshing after hours pent-up in the truck.
Saturday morning we slept in and then headed toward the park. Just outside Zion we stopped in Springdale at Deep Creek Coffee for a caffeine fix and some breakfast. We were pleasantly surprised by the food – I had a tasty breakfast sandwich while Mike opted for the “bro-rrito.” If you are ever in the area leave some time to stop by this little gem. After breakfast we headed into the park and to the backcountry ranger desk at the visitor center to check on permit availability for various canyons (Zion requires you have a permit to do any canyoneering in the park). We were pleasantly surprised to find that a group had cancelled on their Sunday Pine Creek Canyon trip (one of our top choices), leaving a couple permits available for us. With the rest of Saturday to kill, we asked the rangers for some advice on good day hikes and they recommended an area in the northern part of the park, away from the crowds and up high enough to keep temperatures bearable. The Northgate Peaks Trail turned out to be just what we were looking for – a nice easy hike to a beautiful overlook of the canyons below. A little extra off-trail hiking even netted us an awesome spot to hang the Kammok for a little lunch/nap action before heading back to the truck. That night we found a campsite about twenty minutes outside of the park on some private land where the owner allowed people to camp for free. Aside from its proximity to the park and the small stream that ran next to our site, it didn’t have much to offer except blistering heat and ants. Lot’s of ants.
Sunday Morning we made it a point to stop by Deep Creek Coffee again, then made our way into the park. We were up relatively early and made it to the trailhead for Pine Creek Canyon around 9am, avoiding the crowds. We packed up, headed down a gully that led to the canyon, and just a few hundred feet later found our first pool of water and donned our wet-suits and harnesses. After walking a little ways through the top of the canyon and reaching our first repel, we realized we had left a slightly important piece of equipment in the car – the rope. Mike is a pretty fast hiker in a wetsuit when he is on a mission. After retrieving the rope, we started our first rappel. The canyon was beautiful and only seemed to grow more so the farther we went. With every drop we found towering canyon walls, quiet pools of water, and serenity. The 5th, and last, rappel was the best. For 100 feet we free rappelled down the into the largest section of the canyon. After a 45 minute hike out, we made it to the road and Mike hitched a ride back to the truck.
Monday morning we headed back into the park one last time to do the Angels Landing hike before the long drive back to LA. Mike joked that “this would be a great morning jog” – ha. Then he proceeded to speed walk straight up until we reached the top. I followed in the fastest walk I could manage. At the top we were greeted by sweeping views of Zion Canyon and the Virgin river below. We made it down to the bottom in no time and then headed to lunch. We got on the road around 2pm and then, surprise surprise, sat in traffic. Why is it a good idea to do road work on Labor Day? I will never know. We made it home shortly before midnight exhausted from a long day and thankful to be out of the truck.
Zion was a beautiful getaway, but canyoneering truly made the trip memorable. With another hobby in the bag and three more nights under the stars, I count the trip as a success.
Travels of Jess & Mike 
Take me next time beautiful
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Agree with Mike – you have to take your mom and I
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