Took a little trip last week.

OwenM

OwenM

Joined
Oct 26, 2000
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Bryce Canyon NP, UT
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I worried over cold weather gear, but ended up ditching almost everything-daypack, shells, etc. and just carrying a softshell jacket and water in a little LL Bean sack.
Now I know what dry cold means. It means not cold.
Most important piece of gear was ID Event Shortie gaiters, though I could have done with some snowshoes. We got waist deep a few times.



Zion NP, UT.
My fearless companion at the end of the Canyon Overlook Trail.
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Some nice views there:
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We thought this was Angel's Landing at first.
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Then realized we had to go up there:
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The views from Angel's Landing were...well, pictures are proof you were there, but some places defy description.
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I'd geared up for that one, but it was mostly a waste of time(not the camera or binoculars, though!). What I needed were some thin leather gloves.


Her pics tend to be a lot better than mine, but also tend to be copyrighted. Weeping Rock-I thought the colors were pretty cool.
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Red Rock Canyon NCA just outside of Las Vegas, NV.
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It's kind of orangey rock, if you want to get technical about it.
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Too bad I forgot to bring my cape:rolleyes:

We spent about 5 days doing dayhikes, most of the established trails at Bryce and Zion except a couple of the longer ones that would have taken too much time, and did a lot of running around and exploring off-trail whereever we saw something cool. Saw a show in Vegas, took the Hoover Dam tour, etc.
First time out West for me. I left with an empty 4GB memory card, and came back with 695 pics.
 
awesome pics man...:eek: Utah is such a gorgeous place...:thumbup: thanks for sharing..
 
Awesome pictures, those are some places I would love to go someday. These pictures made my week a little less painful... Should be backpacking on Sunday, can't wait for the break from school and life in general.

Looks like you had a great time. Bryce Canyon looks awesome with snow!
 
It was an awesome trip.
I highly recommend Zion National Park this time of year, as long as there hasn't been too much snow. We originally planned to check out the South Rim of the Grand Canyon after a day at Zion, but were unsure of road closures(North Rim inaccessible), and both wanted to stay, anyway.
Had no intention of staying at the Zion Lodge at first, but being the off-season, the $159 room was $59. Also got to drive wherever we wanted. In the months when it's crowded they don't allow personal vehicles, and you have to use shuttle buses, which, along with crowds, would completely ruin the trip, IMO.
edit: btw, it's not just any old breakfast at the Zion Lodge(my time stamps are all 2 hours off):
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After I ok it with my girlfriend, I'll post a pic of hers of a waterfall where the water turns to snow on the way down?!? She got it top to bottom with her wide angle lens.
She's been to Bryce in the summer, and liked it better being able to hike the bottom of the canyon and look up. It was snowed under while we were there, except for an overlook trail they keep cleared for handicapped access. We followed several trails by walking where either a 40lb. midget, or someone with snowshoes had been the day before. It was wild being hip deep in snow several times in a t-shirt.
No crowds at any of these places. My next trip West will be in the fall or winter, too, unless we go hike the Narrows at Zion. A local climber recommended September for that, since the crowds have cleared out, but the water(which you're apparently ankle to waist deep in a lot of the time) isn't as cold as in the winter.
 
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rocketbomb said:
Awesome pictures, those are some places I would love to go someday. These pictures made my week a little less painful... Should be backpacking on Sunday, can't wait for the break from school and life in general.
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I have a t-shirt from the Happy Hiker in Gatlinburg, TN that says on the back:
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

See?
There is no someday.

Do it. Do it while you're young, before life gets in the way. Don't wait 'til you're like me, and almost 40 before you "get around to it".
 
Sounds like you hit all the good spots. You got some very nice images too.

Jeff
 
Glad you guys like the pics.
As an aside, completely unbeknownst to us, my girlfriend's roommate(who she almost never sees) and her fiance were hiking at Zion 3 or 4 days before we were there, and he proposed to her on top of Angel's Landing.
Now how am I supposed to top that?
 
I loved bryce canyon, absolutely beautiful place to hike around in!

Great pictures :thumbup:
And I lol'd at the last picture.
 
eygen said:
I loved bryce canyon, absolutely beautiful place to hike around in!
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eygen
Location: Netherlands

I spoke with a gentleman who sounded like he's from your part of the world at Bryce. He was XC skiing the same trail we were plowing through on foot(I got video of him busting face first, and warned him that he might want to stay away from the edge):)
Anyway, I was struck by how most of the people we encountered at Bryce and Zion were from other countries. Weren't many people out there, yet we also saw a group of Japanese tourists while at Bryce, and spoke to two groups of hikers in parking lots at Zion who were British, and maybe German(?), respectively.
Also thought it was interesting how differently we were all dressed for the climate. My girlfriend grew up different places in the West, and usually had on a sweatshirt or sweater over a shirt, and sometimes a shell over that. I'm from the Southeast, and mostly wore a t-shirt. Some people were decked out for an arctic expedition in technical gear with boots, knee-high gaiters, base layers and fleece under shells, others wore down jackets, while one Japanese lady was crunching through ice and snow happy as you please in sandals, a halter top, and what looked like thin pajama pants as if she was walking around at home.
 
OwenM said:
After I ok it with my girlfriend, I'll post a pic of hers of a waterfall where the water turns to snow on the way down?!? She got it top to bottom with her wide angle lens.
Click to expand...
She wasn't ecstatic about this one, but it's good enough for me.
We didn't follow the trail here, but I think this is the "Upper Emerald Pool" or something like that.
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