Welcome To The Most Complete Duck Creek Village, Utah Travel Guide

Day 2
     About a mile below Potato Hollow the trail crosses Sleepy Hollow, where you will be treated to a panorama of Phantom Valley. On the opposite side of the valley you can also see Greatheart Mesa, one of the landmarks of the park. Another 0.3 mile will bring you to another trail junction where a decision has to be made. The Telephone Canyon Trail, on the left is the shorter route to Cabin Spring, but unless you are in a terrible hurry you should bear to the right here and follow the rim trail. It is 1.4 miles longer, but much more scenic.

     The rim trail skirts the southeastern side of Horse Pasture Plateau and affords almost continual views of Phantom Valley and Heaps Canyon below. Telephone Canyon is a more densely forested route that cuts through the center of the plateau to meet the rim trail again at Cabin Spring. The rim trail encounters another fork 1.7 miles from the Telephone Canyon trail junction, and once again you should keep to the right. The other trail is, again, a shortcut which would save you 0.1 mile, but at the cost of the scenic rim views.

     Cabin Spring is a good place to stop for lunch. The spring itself is quite unimpressive. It was named after a park service cabin that once stood nearby but unfortunately burned down in the 1970s. From the rim near Cabin Spring, however, you can see a long stretch of the trail below, and it is interesting to gaze down into the slickrock canyon country and trace out the route you will follow below the plateau.

     Beyond Cabin Spring the trail begins to descend almost at once, making two long switchbacks down the sandstone cliffs into the canyon below. After loosing about 900 feet you will arrive at a point directly below and to the east of the spring; look back and see the water-streaked cliffs beneath it. Immediately to your right is Mount Majestic and, behind that, Cathedral Mountain. You will spend the next two miles skirting around these two formations to reach Refrigerator Canyon.

     After you have walked 2.8 miles from Cabin Creek you will see a spur trail on the left heading for the top of a rocky peak known as Angels Landing. If you have the time, Angels Landing is a side trip that shouldn’t be missed. The top is only 0.5 mile from the main trail, and the view is absolutely incredible. The river winds around a huge 270 degree bend in the canyon, and on the road 1470 feet below cars creep like ants on their way to and from the Temple of Sinawava. The Great White Throne, probably the most famous of Zion’s landmarks, rises 3,420 feet above the canyon floor on the opposite side of the river. A word of caution, however, about the “trail” to Angels Landing. Some scrambling is necessary and, although the park service has installed rails and support chains on a few of the more exposed sections, the route is not for the faint of heart. Small children and people who suffer from vertigo should not attempt this hike. Angels Landing is especially dangerous when it is wet or windy. Also, the top of the ridge is frequently struck by lightning, so avoid it during stormy weather.

     If you decide not to attempt Angel’s Landing, at least pause to enjoy the view from Scout Lookout, near the trail junction. Leaving Scout Lookout, the trail drops straight down into Refrigerator Canyon over a series of no less than 21 switchbacks. These switchbacks, whimsically called Walter’s Wiggles, were cut from the rock cliff in 1926 so that tourists could reach the viewpoints above. Viewed from a distance they look more like a rope ladder or a spider’s web than a trail.

     Finally, after following the bottom of Refrigerator Canyon for about a half mile, the trail emerges on the west side of the inner canyon and threads its way down to the river, 1.9 miles from Scout Lookout.