![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
This is mostly for my own notes, and I'll probably add to it over time.
So let's say I fly into Las Vegas on a wednesday afternoon. I drive out to the Zion area that night. I spend Thursday and Friday in the park. It's near Vegas, and it's a crowded place, so I hope to avoid it on the weekend (though friday is weekend enough). I had intended to do the Angel's landing climb, but it sounds dangerously crowded. I'd like to do the East Rim, West Rim and Emerald Pools hikes. I was hoping to do some sunrise and sunset photos, but it's hard to know where to go, and many of the places are dependent on the weather, as far as getting good shots. I've seen a couple great dawn shots of Watchman and the Patriarchs, but they had just the right clouds. I probably only have one sunrise to plan for, and two sunsets. I think I'll have to play the visit by ear.
The biggest problem here will be the altitude. I'm going from about 700 feet in elevation, where I live, to 4500 feet in the valley in Zion and the nearby towns. The rim of the canyon is around 6000 feet. The Angel's Landing hike is 4300 feet to 5700 feet. I'm not sure how much of this I can handle. I could do the trip in reverse. The GC North Rim is around 8000 feet, but I'm not planning on doing much hiking there.
Cedar Breaks looks pretty cool. Similar to Bryce, but not as busy with tourists. It's a little out of the way, but not too far. It's an hour and a half north from the south end of Zion. Then Bryce is a similar distance east of it. So it's not too far out of the way, it just takes up time from the other places I want to see.
Bryce Canyon is right on the way from Zion to Escalante. It's on the northeast edge of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Past Bryce is one of the GSE visitor centers (south of Tropic, in Cannonville).
Then I'd like to head east to Escalante. I'll stay there the night, and venture south on Hole in the Rock Road. Zebra Canyon, Devil's Garden, maybe the Dinosaur Tracks, Spooky Gulch and Peekaboo Canyon. This will probably take two days. Either that, or one very long, strenuous day. After that, I go south.
Kodachrome Basin and Grosvenor Arch would be nice to see. Cottonwood Canyon goes south from Grosvenor Arch. I just discovered it, and it looks very cool. About twenty miles down from the Arch is Paria, which also looks spectacular. But since Cottonwood Canyon Road comes out on Hwy 89 by the Toadstools, and a little way down from the Wahweep Hoodoos, I can take it all the way through. The road looks pretty good in the photos I've seen, but I've also read that it's gotten pretty rough since 2009. It's also impassable when there's been rain. If I can't go all the way through, I hope I can at least get down to the Cockscomb before I have to turn back. But if I can't go that route at all, I can get to Paria from Hwy 89. It looks like an easier and shorter drive to the canyon than from Cottonwood Canyon.
Vermillion cliffs/Coyote Buttes. I didn't get a permit for the North Coyote Buttes and the famous Wave. There are similarly interesting rock formations in the South Coyote Buttes area. There's also the Buckskin Gulch canyon.
It looks like I can do Grand Canyon North Rim in a day. I can see a bunch of vistas, and so a couple of short hikes. The only variable there is if I take the 4wd road out to Point Sublime, if it's open (impassable when wet). That could be a half day on its own. Probably worth it, though. I'd like to do dawn and sunset photos, but sunrise comes awfully early, and I won't be staying inside the park. It's a good 1.5 to 2 hour drive to the nearest vista. I'd have to leave my motel before 4:00 am.
Equipment needed or wanted: ND and ND grad filters. Wide angle lens. Pocket camera. Remote shutter trigger. Headlamp for hiking in the dark. First aid kit.
Potential schedule:
Wednesday: fly to Vegas, drive to Zion.
Thursday: Zion
Friday: Zion:
Saturday: drive to Bryce. See Bryce. Drive to Escalante.
Sunday: Escalante
Monday: Escalante
Tuesday: Cottonwood Canyon, toadstools, etc.
Wednesday: Grand Canyon
Thursday: Buckskin Gulch?, Coyote Buttes South
Friday: Drive to Vegas
That's a list of all the things I've discovered that I want to do. Since I had planned on returning home on saturday, that gives an extra day. Do I go over to Page, and see the dam, Horseshoe Bend and/or Antelope Canyon (and some relatives)? An extra day at Grand Canyon? A day to
So let's say I fly into Las Vegas on a wednesday afternoon. I drive out to the Zion area that night. I spend Thursday and Friday in the park. It's near Vegas, and it's a crowded place, so I hope to avoid it on the weekend (though friday is weekend enough). I had intended to do the Angel's landing climb, but it sounds dangerously crowded. I'd like to do the East Rim, West Rim and Emerald Pools hikes. I was hoping to do some sunrise and sunset photos, but it's hard to know where to go, and many of the places are dependent on the weather, as far as getting good shots. I've seen a couple great dawn shots of Watchman and the Patriarchs, but they had just the right clouds. I probably only have one sunrise to plan for, and two sunsets. I think I'll have to play the visit by ear.
The biggest problem here will be the altitude. I'm going from about 700 feet in elevation, where I live, to 4500 feet in the valley in Zion and the nearby towns. The rim of the canyon is around 6000 feet. The Angel's Landing hike is 4300 feet to 5700 feet. I'm not sure how much of this I can handle. I could do the trip in reverse. The GC North Rim is around 8000 feet, but I'm not planning on doing much hiking there.
Cedar Breaks looks pretty cool. Similar to Bryce, but not as busy with tourists. It's a little out of the way, but not too far. It's an hour and a half north from the south end of Zion. Then Bryce is a similar distance east of it. So it's not too far out of the way, it just takes up time from the other places I want to see.
Bryce Canyon is right on the way from Zion to Escalante. It's on the northeast edge of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Past Bryce is one of the GSE visitor centers (south of Tropic, in Cannonville).
Then I'd like to head east to Escalante. I'll stay there the night, and venture south on Hole in the Rock Road. Zebra Canyon, Devil's Garden, maybe the Dinosaur Tracks, Spooky Gulch and Peekaboo Canyon. This will probably take two days. Either that, or one very long, strenuous day. After that, I go south.
Kodachrome Basin and Grosvenor Arch would be nice to see. Cottonwood Canyon goes south from Grosvenor Arch. I just discovered it, and it looks very cool. About twenty miles down from the Arch is Paria, which also looks spectacular. But since Cottonwood Canyon Road comes out on Hwy 89 by the Toadstools, and a little way down from the Wahweep Hoodoos, I can take it all the way through. The road looks pretty good in the photos I've seen, but I've also read that it's gotten pretty rough since 2009. It's also impassable when there's been rain. If I can't go all the way through, I hope I can at least get down to the Cockscomb before I have to turn back. But if I can't go that route at all, I can get to Paria from Hwy 89. It looks like an easier and shorter drive to the canyon than from Cottonwood Canyon.
Vermillion cliffs/Coyote Buttes. I didn't get a permit for the North Coyote Buttes and the famous Wave. There are similarly interesting rock formations in the South Coyote Buttes area. There's also the Buckskin Gulch canyon.
It looks like I can do Grand Canyon North Rim in a day. I can see a bunch of vistas, and so a couple of short hikes. The only variable there is if I take the 4wd road out to Point Sublime, if it's open (impassable when wet). That could be a half day on its own. Probably worth it, though. I'd like to do dawn and sunset photos, but sunrise comes awfully early, and I won't be staying inside the park. It's a good 1.5 to 2 hour drive to the nearest vista. I'd have to leave my motel before 4:00 am.
Equipment needed or wanted: ND and ND grad filters. Wide angle lens. Pocket camera. Remote shutter trigger. Headlamp for hiking in the dark. First aid kit.
Potential schedule:
Wednesday: fly to Vegas, drive to Zion.
Thursday: Zion
Friday: Zion:
Saturday: drive to Bryce. See Bryce. Drive to Escalante.
Sunday: Escalante
Monday: Escalante
Tuesday: Cottonwood Canyon, toadstools, etc.
Wednesday: Grand Canyon
Thursday: Buckskin Gulch?, Coyote Buttes South
Friday: Drive to Vegas
That's a list of all the things I've discovered that I want to do. Since I had planned on returning home on saturday, that gives an extra day. Do I go over to Page, and see the dam, Horseshoe Bend and/or Antelope Canyon (and some relatives)? An extra day at Grand Canyon? A day to
