East Zion - Between Two Canyons Loop

Saturday Hike Weather: Sunny and calm. Cool at the start and around 80F at the end. Bring a big hat and plenty of water.

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This hike is in conjunction with Mindful Scramblers.

Zion backcountry limit: 12 hikers. Because two groups are going on this hike, we've split the 12 hiker Zion limit into 6 for each group.

Rating:
4 miles and 1000 feet of climbing. Easy to moderate, strenuous in several places, but mostly it's just rough walking on various grades at a moderate pace.

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This time we're off to explore in Zion's East Canyon, between the two road tunnels and north of the road.

Sorry for the un-godly hour, but it's the high temp season and this way we can stay comfortable and beat the Zion morning traffic as well.

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This isolated section of Zion is bounded by two deep parallel canyons almost a mile apart. Between them is a bunch of back country Zion, composed entirely of red and white sandstone. To the north it rises 1200 feet to the cliffs bounding Deer Trap Mountain.

First we climb up thru an obscure route right off the road, climbing 400ft and cresting thru a weird pass between a mountain and a gorge.

Be aware that one part of the climb becomes steep enough to be considered "rock climbing," but just barely. Regular rough hikers hardly notice the difficulty and consider it fun, but beginners could be pucker-challenged by the steep slope. However, it's easy to assist, so people can be helped over the harder parts if they have the fortitude to overcome the puckers.

After that the real fun begins as we traverse seemingly endless expanses of lazily-shaped red and white sandstone, relieved by patches of piney woods.

Far above to the north loom tall white cliffs, laughing at our desire to climb them. Maybe someday...

Later on we'll be close to the eastern canyon and descend to its bottom by way of a handy set of safe stone ramps. Finally we just walk back down to the road, with towering white buttes huddling close on both sides. Easy peasy.

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To sum up, It's kinda rough and difficult in places, but mostly it's just long walking across sublime beauty, in a part of Zion that should be visited more but isn't, due to sketchy-looking access routes at both ends of the loop. But looks can be deceiving! :)

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Meet: 5:45am Satursday at the LaVerkin Sinclair Gas Station. Then we drive to Zion and up into East Canyon to the trailhead. We'll reach the hike zone by 6:45am, and have a wonderful redrock ramble as the sun rises. Seriously, you're gonna like it. :)

Note that we plan a 1 mile car shuttle along East Canyon Road, to reduce the total mileage from 5 to 4 miles and to avoid walking along that road busy with tourists.

Prep: 2-3 bottles of water. Food. Sun hat. Leather gloves. Good stout boots.

See you there!

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Please Note The Following:
Meetup organizers are not tour guides and are not park rangers. Expect the same risks and take the same precautions you would if you were hiking alone. You are solely responsible for your own safety and well-being.
By signing up for and/or attending this Meetup event, you acknowledge, understand, accept, and agree that hiking and other outdoor activities can be dangerous and can cause serious bodily injury and possibly death. The organizers of this group and current and former members cannot be held responsible or liable in any way for the actions of any participant - including you.
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