Highlights of Southern Utah Parks III
October 1-11, 2010
ZION – BRYCE – CANYONLANDS – ARCHES
To experience the magnificence of Utah, you have to walk among the canyons. That’s exactly
what we are going to do as we visit Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Arches
National Park and Canyonlands National Park.
Massive canyon walls ascend toward a brilliant blue sky at
Zion, where you walk among the towering cliffs, or
challenge your courage in a small narrow canyon. These
unique sandstone cliffs range in color from cream, to pink,
to red. They could be described as sand castles crowning
desert canyons. The picture to the right is the Narrows of
the Zion River, probably the best slot canyon trip in Utah.
The next national park we will visit is actually an eroded
escarpment of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. There are about a
dozen amphitheaters, or horseshoe-shaped canyons, which
scallop its eastern edge. The largest of these amphitheaters
is named Bryce Canyon. At Bryce, you will see hoodoos;
spires or odd-shaped rock left standing by the forces of
erosion that you will see nowhere else.
The Capitol Reef National Park is so named because of the
resemblance of the many whitish Navajo sandstone domes
to the US Capitol building; the 'Reef' refers to the high
uplifted ridge running north-south along the fold which
presented a considerable barrier to early settlers.
A colorful landscape has eroded into countless canyons, mesas and buttes by the Colorado River
and its tributaries at Canyonlands National Park. This park is divided into four districts: the
Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze and the rivers themselves. While these areas share a
primitive desert atmosphere, each retains its own character and offers different opportunities for
exploration.
The extraordinary features of Arches National Park create a landscape of contrasting colors,
landforms and textures that is unlike any other in the world. Arches National Park preserves over
2,000 natural sandstone arches, like the world-famous Delicate Arch, as well as many other
unusual rock formations. Here we will see the forces of nature that have exposed millions of
years of geologic history.
Finally, we will visit the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and nearby wilderness
areas. Off the Hole-in-the-Rock Road, there are numerous canyons and washes that lead into the
Escalante River. In the far southeast of Utah is the Grand Gulch primitive area. The attraction
here is Anasazi ("Ancient Ones") ruins.
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Trip Difficulty
The trip will include what leaders perceive as the premier hikes in Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands and
Arches National Parks as well as wilderness areas nearby. We will most likely do 2-3 hikes in
each park Each night the leaders will describe hikes and possible options for the following day
(sometimes there may be a long or shorter hike choice) and participants can plan accordingly.
Hikes will range from about 5 to 12 miles with elevation gains of next to nothing to 2000 feet.
Length depends on time factor and taking the best of what’s available – for instance, some days
we may do 2 short hikes. On travel days we do plan to fit in a hike of some duration, but it may
not be a long one. Geography constraints force us to spend time driving from park to park, but
we fully intend to make efficient use of our time so we can see and do as much as possible. This
trip is geared for people who do not mind staying 2 night here, 1 nights somewhere else….in
order to see as much as possible of the parks in Southern Utah. We will also need to PACK
LIGHT in order to have room for luggage in the vans – there is no humidity so things (even
hiking boots) dry overnight. We will be on the road early each morning either to drive to a hike
or our next destination. Thus, we will be able to maximize what we see and get to popular
trailheads ahead of crowds. However, we can certainly have dinners at our leisure, and maybe an
evening walk or swim in a motel pool.
Accommodations and Meals
The group will stay in
comfortable motel units (2 to a
room) most furnished with minifridges and coffee makers so
participants can prepare simple
breakfasts (coffee, juice, cereal,
rolls, etc.) and simple trail
lunches (fruit, sandwich,
cookies). Leaders and
participants will shop for
groceries as required. Dinners
will be at local restaurants, and it
is possible at some point(s) in
the trip we may be eating
breakfast out as well as a
break in the routine. Most food is included in trip price. Exception may be that for logistic
reasons it is easier to have participants run in to convenience store and purchase their own lunch
that day. In cases where we can’t get motels with some type of kitchen facilities we may eat
breakfast out as well and use a cooler to keep lunch foods. In any case, it is important that
participants be somewhat flexible as far as food. Local travel will be by mini-vans driven by
leaders and a volunteer participant.
Climate
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Weather in Utah at the beginning of October will vary at elevation of course but in any case can
range from 50’s at night to mid 80’s in the day…..these are extremes but we will have to be
prepared. We should be past the summer thunderstorms and the water should be warm enough
that the hiking we do in the water should be pleasant. We may see some fall color in the Aspens.
The parts of Utah we will be traveling through are arid and there is little shade on a good percent
of the hikes, which is a consideration for those who prefer not to get too much sun.
Tentative Daily Itinerary
Oct.1 – Leave home town for Las Vegas, pick up vans for 3 hour drive to Zion to stay for the
next two nights.
Oct. 2-3 – Zion National Park. Angels Landing is a short, steep and exposed hike (5.2 miles,
5709 elevation gain) giving spectacular views of the inner canyon. The Narrows of the Zion
River is perhaps the most magnificent slot canyon in Utah. We hike up the canyon and return 610 miles. Much of the hike involves wading in the Zion River. (B,L,D)
Oct. 3-5 –After lunch, we will drive for 3 hours to Bryce Canyon National Park where we will
stay for 2 night. Maybe we can go for an after dinner hike at Bryce. At Bryce, we can hike the
Fairy Loop Trail (8 miles) or Navajo/Peekaboo/Queens Garden Loop (6.4 miles) (B,L,D)
Oct. 5 – Today we will possibly hike Lower and Upper Calf Creek Canyon to several waterfalls
(6-8 miles) outside of Escalante on the way to Torrey where we will spend the night. (B,L,D)
Oct. 6 – Today we visit Capital Reef. Our morning hike today will be in the Waterpocket Fold, ,
possibly the Upper Muley Twist Canyon (14 miles), Spring Canyon (9 miles) or Little Death
Hollow (15 miles). After the hike, we’ll head for a little more than a 3 hour drive to Moab,
where we will spend the next 3 nights. (B,L,D)
Oct. 7-9 –Canyonlands NP, possibly the Peekaboo Trail (10 miles), Big Spring and Squaw
Canyon (7.5 miles), the Chesler Park Loop (11 miles) in the Needles District, or the Neck Spring
Trial in the Sky District. Then we will take the 10 mile scenic drive through the Needles
District. (B,L,D) An alternative if the group is interested is
a hike in the Grand Gulch area to see Anasazi ruins. This
would be an all-day trip of driving several hours each way.
Oct. 9 – It’s a bit over an hour drive to get to Arches which
has some amazing sandstone formations. Choices include a
3 hour hike ranger-led hike through the Fiery Furnace or a 3
mile visit to Delicate Arch. After the hike we will drive
about 3 hours to the town of Escalante where we will spend
the night. (B,L,D)
Oct. 10-11 – Today, we will hike off the Hole-in-the-Wall
road. Possible hikes include the slot canyons Spooky and
Peek-a-boo (4 miles), or Neon Canyon and Golden
Cathedral (9 miles). (B,L,D)
Oct. 11 – We have a choice to stay 2 nights in Escalante and
hike a second morning or have an early drive to Las Vegas
to spend some time before an evening flight (B).
Application Process
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If you decide that you would like to sign up for this excursion, let us know by email or give us a
call. We will email you an Application, mandatory Confidential Health Questionnaire, optional
Confidential Supplemental Medical Questionnaire, and Acknowledgement and Assumption of
Risk and Release and Indemnity Agreement. A reservation deposit of $850 per person is due
with your application. Please make your check payable to the Appalachian Mountain Club and
mail (forms can be returned by e-mail, but the release signature page must also be mailed) with
the completed forms, to Linda at the address shown on the Application. After we receive your
application, we may talk to you about your hiking experience to ascertain your ability to
participate successfully in this trip. Providing information to us about a medical issue or injury
will not necessarily disqualify you from participation, but we may need to ask you
some follow up questions. We want to be sure that we can adequately provide for your needs in
our backcountry locations. We prefer to use e-mail as our primary method of communication. If
you prefer phone calls, please let us know or note that on your Application.
Deposit and Payment
Upon acceptance on the trip, we will
notify you by email or surface mail. At
that point we will deposit your check into
the trip account and use the money to
cover trip expenses incurred on your
behalf. The balance of $2200 per person
is due Aug. 1, 2010 (two months before
the start of the trip). Cost of the trip is
$2300 if registration is after Aug. 1,
2010.
Cancellation/ Cancellation Insurance
Once you are accepted on the trip and we
have deposited your check(s), a $100 cancellation fee will apply. A refund of amounts paid in
excess of $100 will be given to the extent that it does not raise the cost of the trip to the other
participants. If your spot is filled from the waiting list, then you may be entitled to a full refund,
less the $100 cancellation fee. If your spot cannot be filled, then you will receive a refund for any
part of the trip that can be cancelled by the leaders, less the $100 cancellation fee.
Optional trip cancellation insurance is available through a variety of programs, including one
available from the AMC. You decide on your own, and handle this directly with the sponsor.
Based upon your response in the application, and subject to you being accepted on the trip, we
will send information on the program offered by the AMC.
Questions
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact either of us to discuss them
Leader, Linda Moraski lmoraski@gmail.com. 617-448-8895 (cell)
Robert White, Co-leader, robertswhite@comcast.net, land: 203-453-3727 cell 203-214-8768
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Trip Leadership
Linda Moraski, Leader. Linda has lead/co-lead trips to Bhutan,
France, Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe. She is an avid hiker
and world traveler. Linda loves the outdoors and when she is not
hiking, you can find her biking, kayaking, running or XC skiing.
She has been to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro, ridden her bicycle
from Florida to Boston and completed 5 marathons. Linda is
thankful for the AMC as this is where she learned to hike, ocean
kayak, white water kayak, rock climb, wind surf
(well, kind of) and best of all….lead wonderful
adventures around the world.
Robert White, Co-leader Bob is a canoe and sea kayak leader for CT-AMC. He
has led wilderness canoeing trips in Ontario and Quebec. He has hiked and
backpacked all over the world, including New England, the Western USA, England,
Switzerland and Ecuador. He has hiked in both Zion, Bryce and the southern Utah
slot canyons. Bob has wilderness first aid certification. In addition, Bob is very
interested in digital photography and birding, which he hopes to practice on the trip.
He is very excited to co-lead this trip.
Possible Itinerary Changes
Weather conditions, delayed planes, automotive
breakdowns can change our daily plans. Everyone
is expected to be able to “roll with the punches” as
much as possible, be cooperative, abide by leaders
decisions, assist leaders as requested and add to the
total group experience while enjoying themselves.
Foremost, while leaders will try to offer options
and solicit participant preferences, the decision of
the leaders will always be final as they are
ultimately responsible for the safety of the group.
This trip is designed for everyone to enjoy hikes of
varying degrees of difficulty in several southern
Utah national parks and federal lands, as well as
appreciating the history of the area
Experience and Risks
People wishing to participate in this trip must have
previous hiking experience at the
intermediate level or higher. Although the hiking
will be over moderately strenuous terrain at a
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moderate pace, this is not a trip for beginners or people who have not hiked during the past year.
You should be comfortable hiking in strong sun with little shade, have no fear of heights or
claustrophobia. This trip is not the right time for getting into shape. You should already be in
good physical condition by the time you arrive in Las Vegas. When you participate in this
activity you should be both physically and mentally prepared and equipped with the appropriate
gear. You should always be aware of the risks involved and conduct yourself accordingly. We
are not responsible for your safety: you are. Prior to being accepted for this trip, you are asked to
discuss your capabilities with the leader. Please do not be offended by any questions.
Emergency Evacuation Insurance
In the case of an emergency during our trip, emergency medical transportation and evacuation
costs can be exorbitant. Most U.S. medical Policies, HMOs & PPOs provide little or no coverage
for these expenses. The basic policy that is included with your trip fee is through TripMate™ and
includes $100,000 for emergency medical evacuation. It also includes an additional $5000 for
accident and sickness medical expense, which would supplement anyone’s personal medical
insurance. The $5000 is not high, but participants should have their own medical insurance.
Being a Team Player
We will be more than just a group: we will be a team. If you enjoy being part of a group in a
spectacular mountain location, then this excursion may be just the right one for you. We will
have beautiful hikes, proceeding at a steady pace, but ensuring that everyone stays together. If
you like to “do your own thing”, to hike by yourself at your own pace, be it fast or slow, you will
not enjoy this trip. If you are not willing to be part of the group activities, or help your fellow
hikers, when needed, then please do not register for this excursion.
Approximate Trip Cost
The approximate cost for this trip is $2200 which
includes accommodations, airfare, all Utah
transportation and most meals. That is based on
quotes obtained just before the trip was submitted to
the Major Excursions Committee (February 2010)
and on filling the trip (14 participants plus 2
leaders). Please be aware that, in accordance with
AMC policy, you will subsidize the leaders’ costs.
However, the leaders may not realize a profit from
this excursion. Any unspent trip funds will be
refunded to the participants. The trip fee also
includes an AMC overhead cost to offset the
administrative expenses of offering Major
Excursions. That charge amounts to 20% of land
costs (i.e., air travel costs are not included in
calculating the overhead charge). Unavoidable cost
increases may also be added to the price of the trip.
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Airlines and Travel
A morning flight on Friday 10/1 from just about anywhere on East Coast will get us into Las
Vegas late morning. We depart Las Vegas on a red eye flight on Monday 10/11, arriving home
on Tuesday morning. (Note: if anyone wishes to spend additional time in Las Vegas leaders can
arrange alternate return travel). We will seek the least expensive tickets possible, and these
usually have stiff cancellation penalties attached to them. It is possible that the airline will charge
for luggage and you are responsible for that cost. After tickets have been purchased each
participant owns their ticket. Thus, if you wish to change or cancel the ticket, you must deal
directly with the airlines. Leaders will advise you when they are prepared to purchase tickets to
be certain your plans have not changed. Once everyone arrives in Las Vegas, we will all depart
for Zion, about 3 hours away. Although drives will all be scenic, participants should realize that
the distances between parks do require considerable travel time so if you are uncomfortable with
long drives this is not the trip for you.
Equipment List
Because weather can be quite different in the Zion area and the Bryce area, you will need to have
rain gear, sweater or fleece, hat and gloves liners, etc. Please do not plan to hike in jeans.
Weather may be hot in Zion, but cool in Bryce in this time of the year. We recommend bringing
an assortment of shorts, long pants, short and long sleeve shirts so you are ready for any
temperature. Below is a list of the required gear for the trip.
Required and Essential Gear
• backpack, large enough to carry 2-3 quarts/liters of water, rain gear, lunch/snacks, hat &
gloves, extra layers, flashlight/headlamp, personal gear, etc. during hikes. Note one of the slot
canyons may need headlamps.
• broken-in hiking boots (preferably water-proof and over-ankle) Do not pack boots in
checked luggage! If we hike the Narrows in Zion and several other slot canyons, you will need
footwear that you can wade in.
• waterproof wind and rain gear (hooded jacket and pants, no ponchos)
• 2-3 quart/liter water bottles or equivalent hydration system
• personal first aid kit w/ moleskin, personal meds, etc. (leader will have group first aid kit)
• synthetic or wool warm hat and liners/gloves/mittens
• shorts/long hiking pants - synthetic
• at least 2-3 pairs of hiking socks with liners
• comfortable clothing for evenings and in town
• garbage bags to line pack
• toilet paper (for hikes) and extra zip-lock bags to pack it out after use
• personal toiletries
Optional
• Tevas, sandals and/or sneakers
• hiking poles
• binoculars or scope
• sunscreen, insect repellent
• sunglasses
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• camera
• bathing suit
Cost Particulars - The cost is $2200
Included in the price
• round trip airfare from East Coast to Las Vegas (other departures may be arranged)
• transportation by rental vans
• park admissions
• hotel/motel accommodations (double occupancy)
• all breakfasts, most lunches, and dinners
• emergency evacuation insurance
• AMC Committee Fees
Not included in price
• transportation to and from home airport
• luggage cost pertaining to the airline
• airport departure tax if any
• alcoholic beverages
• optional Tours
• transportation other than with the group
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