East Zion: Hoodoo Walkabout, with Rock Art

Rating:
Strenuous and tiring. 7 miles total with up to 1800 feet of climbing and descending. Some moderately difficult angled sandstone sections. Bushwacking is minimal. Approx. 7-8 hours total on trail.

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This hike is in conjunction with Mindful Scramblers

Limited to 12 hikers per Zion backcountry rules, and the 12 slots are split between the two groups.

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This hike is epic. It's a portion of Eastern Zion close to immense Parunuweap Canyon that few know about or visit. It's basically a trackless, howling wilderness of redrock and deep canyons. And it has a LOT of hoodoos.

This time we'll visit the southern portion of Separation Canyon, where it overlooks huge Parunuweap Canyon, which harbors the East Fork Virgin River in its depths.

The hike route goes from East Canyon Road thru Separation Pass, and returns to the road by way of Cockeyed Falls.

There's lots of sand, loose rocks, slabs to climb, pour-offs to bypass, the usual Zion backcountry stuff. Also we must descend quite a lot while exploring beyond the pass and climb back up every foot of it to get back.

While we are deep in Separation Canyon we'll visit Hoodoo Gulch. Then we climb steeply to a high ridge for the return, with big wide views of the entire area.

And as we traverse the final pass we will visit a little known Indian cave with two nice little 'red man' pictographs. These are the only red Zion pictographs that we know of.

In short, it's an all day tramp across wild, unspoiled Zion wilderness with fantastic scenery at every turn. It's pretty good. ;-/

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Be aware: This is seven miles of rough hiking with no trails to help out. It's much more tiring than seven miles on a trail. You will need some deep stamina to tough it out.

Prep:
3 big bottles of water, stout boots and leather gloves, sun hat, camera, a bunch of food, and a keen sense of adventure.

Meet:
7:30AM at the La Verkin Sinclair Gas Station close to Davis Groceries. Go to the southeast corner of the lot. Then we drive to Zion and go up thru the tunnels to East Canyon and the trailheads.

Note that there will be a 1.5 mile shuttle along the road to shorten the hike.

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See you there! M+J :)

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Notice: Meetup organizers are not touring 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 - at any event. All attendees participate at an event at their own risk and are solely responsible for any damage to their property, and/or injury to themselves or their guests. By signing up for and/or attending this Meetup event, you affirm that you understand this disclaimer and that you knowingly and voluntarily agree not to bring any type of claim arising out of or related to this Meetup event against the organizers of this Meetup group.