West Zion: North Creek to Grapevine Spring
Details
Rating: 2.5 miles, 600 feet of climbing. Easy to moderate. Lots of small hazards like rocks, logs, bushes, with one steep, strenuous 350 foot climb-out at the end.
About 5 hours total.
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Zion backcountry limit: 12 hikers. This hike is in conjunction with Red Rock Hiking. We're splitting the allowed 12 into 6 spots for each group, so if Mindful Scramblers is filled up, try Red Rock Hiking.
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This time we're going to visit the Great West Canyon of Zion. It has a nice running creek, the same creek that flows through the famous Subway slot canyon just three miles upstream.
It starts with 1/3 of a mile of cross-country travel between the Grapevine trailhead and the Right Fork trailhead. From there we descend steeply off of the flat mesa and down to the creek.
Then we travel upstream along the creek in a large open rocky canyon. After nearly a mile we'll reach a narrower section that has lots of cottonwood trees for shade. At this point, we pass by the mouth of the Right Fork Canyon, a major backpacking route in and of itself.
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Notice: We're thinking of going up the Right Fork this fall as a two day backpack trip. The round-trip distance is only 11 miles but we like to take it easy. Also, the goal of the journey is to reach Double Falls, said to be a rather magical spot. Spending a night there and seeing it in many different lights should give great opportunities for nature photography.
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After traveling along the creek under the trees for a while, we reach the trail up to the Grapevine Trailhead, but we will pass this by and head upstream another half mile until we reach Grapevine Spring.
Then we'll turn around and return to the Grapevine Trail, climb up 350 feet to the trailhead and we're done.
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Since this is largely a water hike, we're bringing along swim suits and water shoes so we can get up close and personal with the aqua pura. :)
Sizable pools do exist, so quick dips will be expected, especially just before the hot climb out. They will have to be quick, because the water is rather cold. ;-/
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Prep: stout shoes, water shoes, swimsuit, two big bottles of water, and sturdy gloves to handle all the roughness. Camera!
Meet: 7:30am at the La Verkin Davis Grocery (Southeast corner of the parking lot). It's 20 paved miles to the Grapevine Trailhead.
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See you there!M+J :-)
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