September 18: Grand Canyon, then back to Utah

Ok, so going back to the Kolob Canyons. After our super long drive from Jackson, Wyoming, to Nephi, Utah, (pronounced Nee-phi), we headed south to Zion. Along the way, we came across the Kolob Canyons, in the northwest corner of the park. Although our plan was to backpack the southeast corner of the park, we took one look at the Kolob Canyons and changed our mind.

We hiked in about 6 miles into the canyons to an awesome campsite right next to a little watering hole which we could swim in. After setting up camp, I set to the task of hanging a rope in the tree near our site to hang food away from the animals overnight. This task became much more work than previously assumed, when the rope got tangled about 40 feet up into the tree. So, for the next hour or so, Matt and I schemed ways to get the stranded rope out of the tree. Our initial plan—throw rocks at the rope—failed miserably. Eventually, I had to simply climb up 40 feet into the three as Matt threw long sticks up to me at my perch about 10 feet from the rope. Then, using the duct tape I always bring out into the backcountry, I duct taped together three long sticks to poke at and eventually pull in the rope, which I then threw down to Matt. All this was done as I was latched onto a branch of the tree so small that it swayed with every movement I made and with every small gust of wind. Quite an exciting way to start our trip in the canyons.

The next night we had booked the same campsite, so we used Wednesday to day hike around the area. We hiked up a few valleys and then hiked up to what is called the Kolob Arch, a free standing arch of rock. It was pretty cool.

We hiked the Kolob Canyons early Thursday morning and drove all the way south to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The plan was to simply car camp at the Canyon, check it out, and then drive back into Utah for Bryce.

However, upon getting to the Grand Canyon, we found that all the campsites were full. We were a bit tired from our 6 mile hike out of the Kolob Canyons that morning, but decided to check out if backpacking was an option.

As has occurred many times this trip, the least planned portions become the most memorable. The ranger recommended to us this short 5 mile hike on the Widforss Trail out to Widforss Point. Our campsite, 5 miles in, was literally on the edge of the North Rim. The pictures we got from just below our tent are amazing. We ate dinner on this little ridge and watched the colors change on the Canyon as the sunset. Then we sat under the stars and I probably saw more stars at one time than ever before in my life. Woke up in the morning and saw the Canyon at sunrise, which was equally as awesome. The only negative on the entire site was the mice who ravaged our tent all night long. I’ve got two holes in my pack now from where mice gnawed through trying to find food. But all in all, a great campsite.

After the Canyon, we drove back up to Zion again, this time the southeastern corner that we missed when we hiked the Kolob Canyons (that’s what Matt’s post below is about). As Matt said, the place was packed, we couldn’t get a car campsite and didn’t feel like trying to hike into the backcountry again (which is unfortunate because that backcountry is beautiful). So we changed plans (as is the norm on this trip) and drove to Bryce Canyon instead. We got a campsite here and just spent the last few hours checking out the canyon, which is, in one word, epic. Here’s a shot as an example. I’ll add more after we’re done here.

In the meantime, here are some photos from the Kolob Canyons and the Grand Canyon, I'll add more when we get an internet connection that isn't slow as molasses.

Strike that, the connection was too slow to even post a few photos. But take my word for it, they're pretty amazing. I'll get them posted ASAP.