East Zion: East Temple Overlook Loop

Rating: 3 miles total, with 1000 feet of climbing. Moderate to strenuous. Scenery to die for. Altitude is 6000ft.

Zion backcountry limit: 12 hikers.

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This hike is in conjunction with Mindful Scramblers, and the available spots are being split between the two groups.

Sorry for the early start, but it gets us into Zion easily, it's cooler, and the light will be fantastic.

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This hike starts on East Canyon Road above the long tunnel.
The route is mostly rough cross-country and kinda tiring and steep. On the other hand, it's also drop dead beautiful, and it's a way-cool route too! You will not be sorry.

We start with a 1/2 mile walk along the road to the tunnel, then we go up the well-known Overlook Trail, and at the end turn north and begin climbing. It's a big 900 foot climb up the slope.

Mostly it's solid rock with a few narrow bands of slightly steeper, broken rock and sand to negotiate. These harder parts are short and not too difficult for experienced scramblers. We will bring a hand line to assist the newbies in making it up these short bits.

As the terrain rises, it approaches the East Temple. This climbing slope is very large, almost like a world in itself. And at the top is one of the finest all-around views in all of Zion, no joke.

Bighorn sheep may be seen if we're lucky. Most of the terrain close to the route is rather steep, and the bighorns like that. ;)

After a spectacular descent, we'll finish up back on the road near where we started.

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Generally there's lots of slanted sandstone and other semi-risky stuff to negotiate thruout the hike, and a small amount of actual rock scrambling, so you will need to have some experience on such terrain.

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Prep: Two big bottles of water, sun hat for the end of the hike. Non-slip footwear is mandatory, no leather soles please! Some food is nice. Leather gloves are very good to have when you have to grip the rock a lot. There is very much white rock, so sunglasses help quite a lot.

Meet: 6:30am Saturday at the La Verkin Sinclair Gas Station, then drive to Zion and up thru the tunnel to the trailhead a half-mile beyond.

See you there! M+J :)

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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.
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