Adventure in Zion: Kolob Arch

Our last day in Hop Valley we decided to go on a hike to Kolob Arch because we were in backcountry Zion and wanted to go see something awesome.  So around 5 o’clock after work we stashed our sprayers and we started walking down the valley.  At the end of the valley the stream winds over boulders and drops down to La Verkin Creek, which runs perpendicular.  It is like one steep-walled canyon T-bones another that is hundreds of feet below.  The trail leaves the stream here to go down the canyon wall.

The path of the stream, not the trail.

We (with the exception of our navigator who had the map) didn’t know this and we started following the now dry streambed down to La Verkin.  We made it down, but an hour behind schedule after descending the rock and ledge obstacle course, to find that La Verkin Creek still in full-on Spring Rage Mode.  We were not on the trail, any crossings had been washed away, and we needed to cross to find the trail.  We eventually hop skipped and fell in across La Verkin and after about five failed attempts at bushwacking in the direction of the trail, we managed to find it.  On cue, two seconds later behind a boulder we stumbled upon a cranky rattlesnake.  We tiptoed around it and rushed on our way.  It was now about 7:30, we had gone a little over a mile in over two hours (by the trail), and Kolob Arch was still half a mile away.  Ominous clouds were approaching and like the brilliant outdoorsmen we are, none of us had put up our rainflies.  Chris ran ahead to make some dehydrated food at the arch so we could have a quick bite for the walk back (we had planned to have dinner at the arch, although why we planned to have dehydrated food for dinner doesn't much make sense anymore).

not sure where those leaves came from in the top left.  This is about as close as you can get to the arch, which by the size of the trees on top, is massive.  It's high up, too.

Kolob Arch impresses, but it definitely wasn’t what I imagined when told it was the largest “free-standing” arch in America.  Kolob Arch is up a side canyon off La Verkin nearly opposite Hop Valley. This whole area of the park is backcountry and has very few visitors, which is in stark contrast to the main canyon and its paved trails, shuttles, and hotels.  The vantage from the arch back out towards La Verkin shows an impossible intersection of steep-walled canyons meeting at right angles with wildly different elevations and wall heights.  Unfortunately, I messed up the shot, and can't show a picture, which is a drawback to using film. Sometimes the shot you are most excited about doesn't come out (at least the scanned version), and sometimes you find unexpected gems when you get your film back in the mail.  After a quick bite we rushed back and had a much easier time following the trail.  However, the hike back up to Hop Valley was a switchback onslaught and it slowed us down considerably after a full day work and four hours of difficult hiking.  Our project sponsor called us on the walkie talkie several times to make sure we were alright.  Resigned that rain would had soaked our stuff (it didn't because our project sponsor had put our rainflies up for us-->so if any of you go to Zion, tell the rangers that you love what the veg department is doing with the park), we trudged back into camp around 10pm.  We filtered water, grabbed a snack and then passed out before having to hike up and out in the morning.