Panguitch Lake, Utah
Area Hiking
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| Panguitch Lake, Utah
Area Hiking - The Narrows |
Distance: 17.3
miles (plus 38 miles by car)
Walking
time:
day 1: 6 1/2 hours
day 2: 6 hours
Elevations:
1,410 ft. loss
Chamberlain Ranch Trailhead
(start): 5,830 ft.
Temple of Sinawava:
4,420 ft.
Trail:
Except for a few miles at the beginning and the end
of this hike there is no trail. You will be wading
in the North Fork of the Virgin River most of the
time, so be sure to wear wettable boots. Sandals and
sneakers are not recommended. During the dry season
the water is usually no more than knee deep, but it
can get much deeper.
Season:
Summer to mid-fall. It is imperative to check with
the Park Service before beginning this hike. For safety
reasons access to the Zion Narrows is strictly regulated
and permits are required, even for day hikers. The
best times of year are midsummer, after the spring
runoff has subsided, and early fall. Thunder storms
are more frequent in late summer; hence there is a
greater danger of flash floods at that time. For current
conditions call the Visitor Center, Zion National
Park, at (801) 772-3256.
Vicinity:
Panguitch Lake
This
is probably the best known hike in Utah. The watery
North Fork Virgin River Canyon offers a welcome respite
from Southern Utah’s hot summer weather, and
the scenery within the canyon is truly spectacular.
There are only about three months of the year, however,
when conditions are suitable for the hike, and a fair
amount of planning is required for a successful trip.
The most important consideration
is the weather. Flash floods are a constant danger
in narrow desert canyons like the Zion Narrows, and
you shouldn’t begin the narrows hike unless the
forecast is good. The North Fork Virgin River drains
several hundred square miles, and during a thunder
storm the water level inside the canyon can rise several
feet in a matter of minutes. At least five hikers
have already drown in the Zion Narrows after being
caught in flash floods, and because of this danger
the Park Service no longer allows hikers to spend
more than one night on the river. Also, it will not
issue permits to walk the route before the 3:00 p.m.
weather report is issued the day before the hike begins.
Another point to consider
is the popularity of this hike and the limited camping
facilities. There are only 12 allowed camp sites within
the canyon, and they are filled almost every night
during the summer. The camp sites are assigned on
a first-come-first-served basis beginning at 3:00
p.m. each day, so if you want to be assured of getting
an overnight permit you should be at the Visitor Center
by at least 1:00 p.m. the day before your hike. The
sites are assigned according to your group size. Most
of the sites will accommodate 4 to 6 people, but only
one site is large enough for the maximum group size
of 12 people. In addition to the overnight permits,
the Park Service also hands out up to 80 permits each
afternoon for day hikes through the narrows.
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Day
1
Cross the North Fork Virgin
River at the car parking area on Chamberlain’s Ranch
and continue following the jeep road on foot above the
south side of the river. This is a beautiful hiking area
with rolling hills, scattered trees and large grassy fields
along the river, but bear in mind that it is all private
property, accessible to hikers only by prior agreement
with the owners. You won’t actually be on National
Park Service land for nearly seven miles. The owners have
requested that hikers not camp on their land and not walk
across their fields or disturb their cattle. If the ranchers’
private property is not respected there could come a day
when hikers are no longer allowed access into this area,
so please follow the rules.
After walking 2.5 miles
along the jeep road you will come to Bulloch’s Cabin,
an old abandoned homestead on the south side of the road.
Remarkably, the cabin is still in reasonably good condition.
There are also a few pieces of old farming machinery lying
about the area. The road finally ends 0.3 mile beyond
Bulloch’s Cabin, and a trail continues along the
river. Soon the river begins its descent into the canyon
which you will follow all the way to the end of the hike.
The North Fork Canyon is
a canyon full of surprises, and for the rest of the day
you can count on being awed and inspired over and over
again. Frequently the canyon will appear to end at the
base of an impenetrable cliff a hundred feet ahead, but
it always turns at the last minute to find a way around
the obstacle. Often you will see large trees and other
debris that have been washed into the canyon from previous
flash floods. But the way around these obstructions is
usually easy and very little scrambling is necessary.
Because of the large number of hikers that pass through
the canyon the easiest route is generally well defined.
You will come to the first
long stretch of really good canyon narrows near the park
boundary, about three miles after you first enter the
canyon. The canyon rim at this point is 800 feet above
the streambed, and the walls at the bottom are often no
more than fifteen feet apart. The first campsite, Maple
Camp, is also located in this area, at a well marked location
on the left shore about 8 feet above the water.
The next point of interest
in the canyon is a small waterfall. About 1.6 miles below
Maple Camp the stream suddenly plunges over a 20-foot
dam in the canyon floor. Occasionally a daring hiker will
take off his backpack and jump over the fall into the
pool below, but to do so is foolhardy. First of all it
is impossible to see what rocks might lie below the boiling
water, and second, it is hard to imagine a more inconvenient
place to sustain an injury. Don’t take the chance.
There is an easy way around the waterfall on the south
side of the canyon.
Deep Creek joins the North
Fork at a wide confluence 0.8 miles below the waterfall.
Beyond this point you will notice a large change in the
flow rate of the river; about two thirds of the water
flowing through the Zion Narrows comes from Deep Creek.
This canyon offers a popular side trip and you may want
to spend some time exploring-especially if your assigned
campsite is the Deep Creek Camp, located at the confluence.
The other ten campsites
are all located in the next 2.5 miles downstream from
Deep Creek. Unfortunately the Park Service does not allow
hikers to stipulate which site they want, but if I were
given the opportunity to pick one I would probably choose
the Kolob Creek Camp, 0.9 mile below Deep Creek. This
campsite is located on a high shaded bench, just south
of the Kolob Creek confluence. The site is very pretty,
but what makes it especially attractive is its proximity
to Kolob Canyon-the most interesting of all the Zion Narrows
side canyons. If you have a few extra hours to spend exploring
on your way through the narrows this is a good place to
spend it. Kolob Canyon is one of the best examples in
Utah of a deep, narrow slot canyon. |
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Day
2
The next side canyon you
will pass is Goose Creek Canyon, which merges into Zion
Canyon 1.3 miles below Kolob Creek. Goose Creek also
provides a good opportunity for side trips. It is a
wider canyon than Kolob, with more vegetation in the
bottom. Goose Creek joins the North Fork on the west
side of the river near campsite number 10, the Alcove
Camp.
Below Goose Creek you
will pass the last two campsites before coming to Big
Spring, about 45 minutes away. Big Spring is a large
gushing spring that cascades out of the cliff face 10
feet above the river. It is the most dramatic spring
you will see on this hike, but between here and the
end of the trail you can count on seeing many other
smaller springs. This stretch of river passes through
the geologic boundary between the Navajo Sandstone and
the Kayenta Formation. The Navajo Sandstone is a porous
rock with microscopic spaces between the constituent
particles of sand that allow water to seep down from
the plateaus above, while the Kayenta Formation contains
layers of clay and mudstone that effectively halt the
water’s downward penetration. When the water reaches
the Kayenta Formation hydrostatic pressure from above
pushes it out into the canyons where it is seen as spring
water.
Big Spring also marks
the beginning of the two-mile section of canyon commonly
known as the Zion Narrows. This part of the canyon is
distinguished by its sheer thousand-foot walls that
rise above the river with little or no sandy shore between.
There is no high ground here; hence it is not a place
you would want to be during a storm. Under certain conditions
the water can rise very quickly, and people have died
in the past from flash floods in this section of the
canyon. When no storms are imminent, however, the danger
is small. Just use common sense and don’t enter
the narrows if the sky looks like rain.
About the time you reach
the mouth of Orderville Canyon, 2.3 miles below Big
Spring, the Zion Narrows widens again and you will find
a well-used trail to follow on the sandy shore of the
river. Also at this point you will begin to see day
hikers from the Temple of Sinawava-hundreds of them.
The remaining 2.7 miles of trail, from Orderville Canyon
to the road, is the most popular part of Zion Canyon,
and on a typical summer afternoon you will pass more
than a thousand people splashing in the water along
this stretch of the canyon. Finally, for the last mile
you will be walking on the Gateway to the Narrows Trail,
a paved trail leading back to the congested parking
lot at the once serene Temple of Sinawava.
Content
from the book
Utah's Favorite
Hiking Trails
by David Day |
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Utah's
Favorite Hiking Trails
access
info for 113 trailheads
75
detailed trail maps
250
photographs
loads
of hiking tips
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