ZION BACKPACKING PART #2 - Where We Define "Flowing"

With the exception of Miss Julie, each of us woke up Saturday morning feeling as if we had barely slept at all. Oh wait, we hadn't. Damn stove.

After taking our turns enjoying the luxuries of showers and indoor plumbing for the last time for three days, we set out for the Zion Canyon Visitor Center, where we would pick up our permits, check for any last minute information, and leave one vehicle (our hike would end at this spot on Monday). We wanted to get on the trail ASAP, so we got to the visitor center just after the doors opened at 7:00am, only to find a line of about eight people already waiting! Considering we were still in need of a campsite for one of the two nights, a shot of obvious panic went across my face. Branden saw it, settled me down, and basically acted like a mom and said "Everything is going to be alright." Good ol' Branden.

While we stood in line, we looked up at the boards on the wall that gave updated information on the water levels of the various streams in the park, three of which we planned to visit. Our three streams and springs were labeled "flowing", which was excellent news, considering the other levels were "trickle" and "not moving." Perfect, there is plenty of water on the hike each day and we have planned our campsites properly to be near water each night. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. 

If only it had lasted.

Once we made our way through the line, we got our permits for the wilderness campsites we needed, left our rental car in the lot, and jumped into the $60 Priceline Negotiator Jeep Wrangler to drive 45 minutes to our launch point - Wildcat Canyon Trailhead.

A decent map of our 3-day route. We started at Wildcat Canyon Trailhead (left)

Once we got to our launch point, we strapped on our packs, took the obligatory "before" photos, then wasted no time hitting the trail.

 

Away we go!

This first day would be our shortest hike from trailhead to campsite, so we decided to add a couple miles on to the route by taking a side trip over to Northgate Peaks. This proved to be an excellent choice, as it offered us one of the most beautiful views of the entire trip, as well as the first of many snack breaks! Homemade granola bars, yogurt covered raisins, Biltong jerky, dried fruit, Wasabi & Soy Sauce Almonds and trail mix with Peanut Butter M&M's! It will come as no surprise that snack time quickly became Julie's favorite part of backpacking. The view was beautiful, and it didn't take long before Jenn started comparing the landscape to that of the animated movie "Cars."

 

"Cars Land"

 

Snack time!

We navigated our way back to the main trail, and Jennifer's unique talent of making anything into a song entertained us for much of the hike. The rest of the hike was beautiful, with the landscape and wildlife changing seemingly every mile. We crossed from pine cones to cactus, and sand to dense trees. It was truly an amazing sight.

Enjoying every step.

As we neared the end of our hike, we came across a small trickle of water coming down off of a hill with lots of greenery. We knew we must be close to the main water source on the map, so we continued down into the river basin where we would find the flowing water from Sawmill Springs. And we never found it. Not a drop. Oh yeah, that little trickle of water on the hill that I mentioned? Yep, that was it. Luckily, I have skinny enough arms that I was able to shove the water bottles into a narrow crack in the hill that had a solid funnel effect and fill them up. Really Zion Visitor Center? This is "flowing"?

Worst part was, that was the most accessible running water we would encounter the whole trip.

Wait, there has to be water somewhere!

At the bottom of the hill we found an amazing clearing that had obviously been inhabited by campers before us, and we jumped at the opportunity to set up camp in such a pristine campsite. It was only a short walk away from our "water source", which made it that much more desirable. So we dropped our packs, opened up the food for a lunch of tortillas, peanut butter and Nutella, and sat in a beautiful open area of the basin. After lunch, it didn't take long before Jennifer showed off an incredible talent - falling asleep in a 2-legged chair. Now, when I say 2-legged chair, I mean a special backpacking chair that requires the use of your feet as the other two legs, balancing the existing back legs of the chair. It was one of the many pieces of equipment that Branden and Jenn were testing for their John Muir Trail adventure, and despite the fact that it was hard to get in and out of, Jenn found no problem using it as her personal siesta-chair.

 

Girl is talented.

Once the chair snoozer woke up from her post-lunch snooze, we set up our tents, air mattresses and sleeping bags around 3pm. Well, it didn't take long before the two girls were inside the tents laying down, and fully asleep. Nap time became another backpacking favorite of the ladies. It also was the first time Branden and Jenn got to use their new sleeping pads, which, although extremely warm and comfortable, when rolled on they had an eerily similar sound as someone rolling around on a bag of Frito's.

 

Campsite in Wildcat Canyon

While the girls slept, Branden and I made a couple trips to the flowing water source so we would have enough for dinner and cleanup. On our way up, something caught my eye and I looked up just in time to see a bobcat run up and then dart into the bushes. This would be the first of a series of random animal sightings.

Finally, it was time for the most anticipated part of the day - dinner! Remember, Branden and Jenn cooked and dehydrated all of the meals themselves, and the menu for the first night was a meat lasagna, and it was THE BOMB DOT COM! A+ for effort. A+ for taste! We followed up the meal with a store-bought raspberry/chocolate crumble cobbler. Oh man, I could have eaten four bags of that stuff.

With full stomachs, clean dishes, flowing water nearby, birds chirping and the cool night air upon us, we decided to turn in for the night. I will tell you, there is nothing more relaxing than staring up at the stars through your tent, listening to the wind through the trees, the chirping of birds and bugs...and the sound of your friends doing barrel rolls on a bunch of Frito bags.

Paradise.

NEXT UP - The girls encounter a snake, we hike the West Rim, and go in search of...you guessed it...WATER!