Looking toward Zion from the ranch
Buffalo and cabins
Lots of buffalo
It was Glenn's birthday, and he wanted to do something a bit out of the ordinary, so he and Kip planned a weekend at a buffalo ranch that they had stayed at before. This sounded like fun, so I, Danny, Kip, Glenn, Anna, Erin, Keith, and Seth all went to Zion Mountain Resort. It's a very nice place, and because it was still winter, everything was very uncrowded. ZMR is just east of the park, and the only way to get to it is to drive through the park.
When we arrived, there were only a few buffalo munching on some grass piles in a field of snow. The accomodations at the resort is a set of recently constructed cabins on a slight hill overlooking the buffalo meadow. There are also teepees and a campground down the road, but these were still close for winter. The cabins are very nice and spacious, although the kitchen is a bit small if you plan to do any real cooking. I'd say the bathroom was bigger than the kitchen. There was a giant porch, but because of the temperatures we didn't really use it. The next day, we saw a much bigger herd of buffalo.
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Looking toward Zion from the ranch |
Buffalo and cabins |
Lots of buffalo |
On to the excitement! On Sunday we wanted to go on a longish hike. Many of us had been up Angel's Landing, so that was out. After much deliberation, we decided on the hike to Observation Point. This one starts at Weeping Rock Trailhead, just across the valley from Angel's Landing. Of course, if we'd thought about it, Weeping Rock = water, and water + winter = ice. When we got there, there was a big yellow sign that said "CAUTION Icy Conditions". Even though we took a picture right next to it, some people said they hadn't seen the sign. Yes, that means we went up anyway. It was really nice at the canyon floor, how bad could it be just a little bit higher...
 CAUTION Icy Conditions |
 Angel's Landing from below |
 Waterfall |
 Angel's Landing partway up |
Starting up, we spotted a pretty waterfall spouting off the side of the cliff. After that was a small patch of snow that was so cute thet we had to step in it just to say that we had. Keep in mind, we're coming from LA, so we're lucky if the smog clears enough for us to see snow on the mountains that border the city. Shortly afterward, we paid for this jauntiness, as then entire trail became covered in hard-packed icy snow. This is not fun when you're walking on a narrow path that drops off hundreds of feet on one side, and the ice is slanted toward that dropoff. There were lots of postholes from previous hikers when the snow was softer, so we used these, and went slowly.
 A bit of snow |
 Steep snow covered trail |
 Frozen stream |
 Pretty rock |
Just as we were about to turn around, the trail turned, and headed into Echo Canyon. The trail was still snow covered, but it was level, and not going to drop you off the mountain if you slipped. Strangely, Echo Canyon soon opened out into a warm and sunny area that looked almost summer-like. The views out into the main canyon were spectacular all the way up, and it was neat to watch how the same scene changed as we got higher and higher.
 Into Echo Canyon |
 Along a stream |
 Suddenly summer |
 Angel's landing higher up |
 Keep going up |
 Zion Canyon from Echo Canyon |
 Glenn on a rock |
 Glenn's closeup |
 Above Angel's Landing |
As we approached the top, we passed through a different layer of rock, the cream colored one that we could see across the canyon. Then, at the top, the trail crossed into a softer red dirt section, and levelled out as we crossed a plateau to the canyon overlook, Observation Point. The views were spectacular. It was hard to believe how high above Angel's Landing we were, since that was very high in my memory of my previous trip. Looking back at my pictures from that trip, it doesn't look all that much higher. You could also look down at the trail before we went into Echo Canyon. There's another trail that splits off to the right side that looks very interesting for another trip.
 Glenn and Seth |
 Zion Canyon from the top |
 Looking down on Angel's Landing |
 Erin |
 Our zigzag trail |
 Group summit picture |
That night, it became quite an ordeal to find some food. We were on the non-tourist size of Zion, and the drive through the park is a long one, so we opted to drive to the nearest town to try and find pizza. Unfortunately, even though it wasn't very late (maybe 8pm), the only place still open was Pizza Hut, which did not thrill everyone. We got it anyway, and took several pies back to the cabin to eat while playing board games. Afterwards, we had birthday cake.
The next day, some of us went horseback riding in the morning, while others went to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes. The horseback trip was fun, but disappointingly short. I had a very well behaved, and beautifully colored horse. Maybe it was an American Paint Horse? Still, the ride was fun. We saw several deer, and climbed part of the way up the canyon wall before looping back down. The car that was to pick us up lost track of time, and we ended up waiting about an hour and a half before they rejoined us and we could head on our separate ways.
 Kip |
 Danny |
 Glenn |
 Keith and Glenn |
Our car first went the opposite direction, as we tracked down a geocache so I could drop off a travel bug that I had picked up in Los Angeles. This was at one of many spots called "Hole in the Rock". It was a spooky tunnel drilled through the hillside, presumably for drainage. We found the cache with no problem. Coincidentally, it had a real Jeep travel bug. This is a coincidence because the bug I had was a fake Jeep travel bug that someone had made because they had never been able to find a real one. So I took the real one, in hopes of finding a way to get it back to the creator of the fake one.
 The Hole in the Rock |
 Danny in the Hole |
 Other side |
 Jeep geocache bugs |
Then we turned west and headed back through the park. On the way through, we stopped at a trailhead that I'd seen many people park at. It was intriguing because it started with a steep set of stairs, and seemed like it must be a short hike because of the volume of people that it got. So we stopped to check it out. This turned out to be Canyon Overlook, a short hike with a big payoff. Basically you hike up and to the side of the road tunnel, ending up on top of the Great Arch. You can see some of the tunnel windows from here, as well as get a great view into the main valley. There's a short section of catwalk that you have to cross that juts out over the canyon walls, and on the way back, there was a person who refused to cross it. Just beyond the catwalk is an interesting cavelike overhang - someplace that you might be able to imagine an Indian family living.
 Catwalk |
 Cave |
 Danny's closeup |
 Anna and Erin at the cliff |
 Danny and Ryan |
The drive back was uneventful. The timing was wrong to stop in Las Vegas for dinner, but we did stop at our favorite restaurant in Baker, the Mad Greek. Tasty as usual.
Total distance: 16+1 miles hiking (round trip)
Elevation change: 2000+100 ft
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