Trip plans go awry...

From Red Rock, mostly at or in Icebox Canyon.

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I like them all but these are my favorites! Thanks for posting them all for us to see!
 
Wow, that is an amazing trip! Thank you for all the beautiful pics.

Snowshoes definately take time to adjust to, I fell over myself a few times my first time as well.

My wife got me a pair of Kahtoola micro spikes for Christmas, I have no idea how I have gotten by this long with out them.

Again, thanks for sharing your adventure with us!
 
Awesome pictures. One of my friends was at Angels Landing about a month ago, he had better weather but was just coming down with the flu the day he hiked it.
 
Thanks guys, glad you enjoy the pics.
I certainly enjoyed taking them!

Wow, that is an amazing trip! Thank you for all the beautiful pics.

Snowshoes definately take time to adjust to, I fell over myself a few times my first time as well.

My wife got me a pair of Kahtoola micro spikes for Christmas, I have no idea how I have gotten by this long with out them.

Again, thanks for sharing your adventure with us!
Adventure is right. It was a learning experience. Guess if you want to teach an old dog new tricks, take him out of his usual environment. A bunch of snow got dumped on Zion the week before I arrived. Weather.com had shown a chance of snow a couple of days the previous week, and that was it. Didn't see the March 1 update to trail conditions I posted a link to above, and flew out that same morning. Thought the conditions were going to be just like when I was there the same week last year, and I actually thought I was well-prepared. Expected to see snow capping the peaks, not burying the trails.
With the same temps here, there would have been zero snow or ice left over, but it apparently sticks around a lot longer in Utah!
Had no idea how much impact things like Microspikes and proper snowshoes would have, either.

I really did have a blast, but I also went 2000 miles and dropped over 2 weeks pay for a trip that, along with the weather, ended up depending on just a few little things. I have great gear, and was very happy with how almost all my favorite stuff performed, but those few things that I didn't have made a big difference, and left me a little frustrated and disappointed. The expense of buying those things would have been nothing in comparison to having them save the trip.

-Wearing my new pair of the same shoes instead of taking my "favorites" with worn tread probably would have spared me the ankle injury, and allowed me to get a couple more hikes in, too.
-Whether better snowshoes would have helped at Kolob, I don't know for sure, but making better time would have at least let me see Kolob Arch before heading back, even if not Beartrap Canyon.
-The Yaktrax cost me so much time and effort the first day, I could have easily made the hike to Observation Point after giving up on traveling up the East Rim if I'd had something better like the Microspikes. Really just got the Yaktrax for the ice I knew would be on the paved trail in Walter's Wiggles in Refrigerator Canyon. They would have worked for that, but were totally unsuitable for steep trails in deep and packed snow.
-That same day, a $20 cheapo snow shovel would have made passing a couple of trail sections safer, and gotten me into Hidden Canyon on the way out, but mini-avalanches dumping a 5 foot pile of snow on a 2 foot wide piece of trail was something else this Alabama native has little concept of. The thought never even occurred to me until I saw one of those retractable shovels in a C-A-L Ranch store a couple days later.
Expensive lessons. Coulda, woulda, shoulda...
 
I wouldn't get too frustrated or disappointed, even w/ the unexpected weather, still looked like a great trip AND you learned a few good tips for the next trip :)
 
I wouldn't get too frustrated or disappointed
Just being whiny. Having to take it easy on the ankle for a few weeks, and that screws up more plans, and two more overnight hiking trips on my off days.
Feeling better as I get more mobility back, though. Much better over the last few days:
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Dang, I need to vacuum the floor again:(
 
I'll live. Be back at it in a few weeks. Rainy season coming, and the waterfalls will be flowin'!
I'll wear my new shoes:D
 
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