July 2015: A Quick Stop in New Mexico Before Exploring Utah in Depth (page 10 of 15)

What a nice surprise for you to be able to do CBS!

It’s true that this part is pretty tiring because there’s quite a bit of walking in soft sand, and if I remember right, it goes up and down a lot.

Anyway, you brought back some gorgeous photos!

I’m waiting to see if you’ll make it to White Domes... 😛

See you!

Wow! Your photos of Paw Hole are amazing.

The landscapes are truly stunning!

Thanks so much for sharing.

Have a great weekend!

Hi Peggy,

What a great idea to ask if there were still spots for CBS! Weren’t you tempted by The Wave lottery? It really was a beautiful day, and the photos are amazing!

For WD, I already know since you’ve mentioned it a bit...

For Buckskin Gulch, the ranger’s comments must’ve been a real buzzkill. I don’t remember if you’d already done Edmaier Secret in the area?

See you soon, Laure

Love the family photo at CBS! 😎 It's great to see you all, and it proves we can take nice photos together without it having to be a selfie... 😇 Well done to the youngest for their perseverance! 🙂

Hi Olivier,

It’s true that this part is really tiring because there’s quite a bit of walking in soft sand, and if I remember correctly, it goes up and down.

Yes, there was definitely a lot of soft sand!

Anyway, you brought back some gorgeous photos!

Thanks! There’s less variety than at Cottonwood Cove last year, but it’s true that there are still some really beautiful ones.

I can’t wait to see if you’re going to the White Domes... 😛

Suspense revealed soon... but you probably already know the answer if you check the itinerary on page 1 of the travel journal...😉

Hi Christine,

Wow! Your photos of Paw Hole are amazing.

Thanks!

Have a great weekend!

The weekend’s already over, and I didn’t manage to post the next part of my travel journal... The closer I get to the end, the less time I find to finish it... Could it be subconsciously so I don’t have to put an end to the trip? 😉 Anyway, I’ll try to post the next part tonight.

Hi Laure,

What a great idea to ask if there were still spots for CBS!

We’ll try again this year as usual.

Weren’t you tempted by The Wave lottery?

Well, no—because when you win the lottery, the spots are for the next day. And at that time of day, we were still planning to do White Domes the following day, so no time for The Wave! ;) But we’ll try several times next summer and I hope we’ll get lucky…😎

For WD, I already know, since you’ve mentioned it a bit…

;)

Do you remember if you’ve already done Edmaier Secret in the area?

No, not yet. We’ve added it to the list for next year since we’ll be hanging around the Page/Kanab area for a few days.

Hi Pierre,

Love the family photo at CBS! 😎 You all look great, and it proves we can take nice photos together without it having to be a selfie... 😇

To be honest, I’m not really into selfies... I don’t think I’ve taken a single one since I’ve had a phone...😛

Well done to the youngest for their perseverance! 🙂

They’ll need even more of it because we’ve still got some hikes planned for next year!😉

Day 18 – Friday, July 24

The alarm goes off at 6:00 AM as planned. Yannick and I struggle to wake up, while the kids are still sound asleep. We can tell it’s going to be really tough if we head to White Domes, so we decide to save it for our next trip (it’ll have to be one of the first hikes then). That means we’re in less of a rush to hit the road. Breakfast, packing up the suitcases, and we’re ready to leave Kanab!

We enter Zion National Park a little before 9:00 AM. Our Plan B for today is Progeny Peak. For this hike, we had the GPS endpoint and Joe Braun’s description www.citrusmilo.com/...uide/progenypeak.cfm. We loaded the route into Backcountry Navigator—it’s a lifesaver for finding the car no matter what! Even without the GPS track, we managed just fine. There’s no trail, so you climb wherever you want, trying to pick the easiest-looking path. But it’s steep! And a bit sketchy at times! If it weren’t for the final view, you might think it’s a lot of effort and climbing for not much more than what you can see from the bottom… But that’s the thing—there *is* the final view!

During the climb, we pass near Two-Pines Arch (though the photo isn’t great because we didn’t get too close and the sun was almost in our faces).

We keep climbing... ...and now we’re at cleaved rock.

We glance back...

An arch in the making?

After one last really tricky ascent (the slope is steep, and there’s a lot of loose rock—you’ve got to be careful not to slide down faster than you’d like), we reach the summit with a 360° view!

The descent turns out to be pretty easy—we thought we’d have to scoot down some sections on our butts, but nope! When we’re almost at the bottom, we spot some bighorn sheep, and Yannick runs to try and get a few photos!

It took us about 2.5 hours to cover a little over 3 km. Now I’ve got a question—if anyone has the answer… According to the base map in Backcountry Navigator, the summit is at 1,917 m; according to Joe Braun’s map, it’s at 1,912 m; and according to our GPS, our endpoint was at 1,891 m… yet we couldn’t climb any higher!!

Given the time (around noon) and our fond memories of Zion’s burgers, we decide to take the shuttle from Canyon Junction to the lodge, even if it’s time-consuming. We love eating our burgers sitting on the grass, soaking in the park’s energy… But wow, it’s packed—it’s getting worse every time we come! Anyway, we’re here like real tourists, leaving the camera in the car and just enjoying the moment. 😎

At 2:00 PM, we’re back at the car and make another stop at the visitor center (to pick up a few souvenirs), but it’s even more crowded than at Zion Lodge! It’s swarming!! After that, it’s just a one-hour drive since we’re staying in Saint George tonight. I love days like this when we drive less… This afternoon will be a real vacation moment, with rest, swimming, and more swimming on the agenda! The pool is huge, and the temperature is perfect—it’s the best pool of the whole trip.

Dinner at the Denny’s near the hotel.

Hotel: Crystal Inn & Suites in Saint George – 90.10 € with breakfast Day’s summary: A great vacation day that did us good! A beautiful hike—not too long (but a bit technical in places)—followed by a meal in a park I love, and we end with some relaxation in the sun by the pool…

Next up here!

Hey Peggy,

The view from Progeny Peak is amazing! Wow 😎

Another hike to add to the list for my next trip. I think I’ll have tons of questions for you when the time comes!!!

I’m also noting the burgers at the Lodge you mentioned before 😇

See you,

This hike is amazing! 🙂 Such a beautiful deep blue sky... 😎 So nice to see in December! 😏 I’ll keep the address in St George: the prices there seem great to me... I can just picture myself in that lovely pool! 😇

Hi Peggy,

You had a really beautiful hike. The kids seem to climb easily.

The bighorn sheep must have been surprised to see tourists on the cliff.

Zion NP is getting more and more popular. With this great weather, I think a lot of families were planning to hike "The Narrows." Back in July 2013, I noticed there were many families doing it, even with very young kids.

Thanks so much for sharing the "Progeny Peak" hike with us.

See you soon! !

Hi Peggy

For altitude, I suggest checking the GPS calibration. And with a 1–2% margin of error, a non-professional device is already pretty good.

As you can see, I’m still following your travel journal.

22/07: Yeah, after 15 days, the pace slows down. We rarely do this much the rest of the year in our daily grind. Lovely hike at Kanarra Creek, but if it's already cold in summer, then during the times we're going... Brrr... Crossing the eastern part (especially) of Zion is always a feast for the eyes! 23/07 Oh, my little favorite, Paw Hole! You must’ve parked a bit higher than we did, which cuts down the walk to the site. You’ve already explored a good chunk of it, but there’s still more to see for another time... But already, kudos to the whole family... 24/07: Another of my favorites—Progeany Peak. Not many on the forum have done it, yet the view from the top is absolutely stunning, even if it’s hard-earned! Well done again, since there’s no trail—props to the parents and even more to the kids! You were rewarded because the whole time, we were hoping for a few bighorns to complete the scenery for photos... But no luck, alas... 🙂

Hello Virginie,

The view from Progeny Peak is amazing!

Yeah, it’s really great. And I love the landscapes in Zion—both before the tunnel and in the valley. We stop by every time, and it’s always nice to have a new hike to do there! 🙂

I’m also noting the burgers at the Lodge you mentioned earlier 😇

That’s becoming a ritual too... 😉

Hi Pierre,

I could totally see myself in that beautiful pool! 😇

Oh, you totally stole my thunder with that photo! !😄 lol Yes, that’s the very pool! I’d hit the 20-photo limit in my post the other day, which is why I didn’t include one of the pool.😉

I’m keeping the address in St George: the rates there seem like a good deal to me...

Yeah, they were great last year. But like a lot of hotels, the rates have gone up for summer 2016. The kids would’ve loved to go back, but it ended up being more expensive than the Hampton Inn we ultimately chose (around 104 € for the Hampton Inn and about 110 € for the Crystal Inn). Plus, while the Crystal Inn’s pool is amazing, the rooms are a bit outdated (though clean). So with those prices, we decided to try out a new hotel instead !😎

Hi Christine,

You had a really great hike. The kids seem to climb easily.

Yes, we're lucky they enjoy walking, though with Calista in particular, we still can't overdo it !😉

Thank you so much for introducing us to the "Progeny Peak" hike.

I discovered it myself in Veileen’s travel journal, so thanks to her too !🙂

Hi Gilles, Glad to see you're still around! 🙂

For the altitude, I suggest checking the GPS calibration. And with a 1 to 2% margin of error, a non-professional device isn’t bad at all.

Actually, the GPS we’re using is Backcountry Navigator on our smartphone. But you’re right—it’s probably not entirely accurate. Still, there’s a 5 m difference between our base map and Joe Braun’s map... 😛

Hi Valérie,

Ah my little darling Paw Hole! You must have even parked a bit further up than we did, which limits the walk to get to the site.

Yes, I reread that part of your travel journal—if I remember correctly, you managed to get 1 km closer, so there were about 3 km left to walk to the parking lot. For us, it was the opposite: we drove 3 km on the track before parking, so there was only 1 km left to walk.

You’ve already explored a good part of it, but there’s still more to see for another time...

Oh yes, definitely! I added the map of the path we took in Paw Hole, and there’s still plenty left to do! ;)

Another of my favorites: Progeany Peak. Not many people on the forum have done it, yet the view from the top is absolutely stunning—even if it’s hard-earned!

As I mentioned in a reply above, I owe it to you that I did this hike! So thanks again for your travel journals!

You were rewarded because the whole way, we were hoping for a few bighorns to complete the scenery for photos... But no luck, sadly... :)

Actually, I think you might have forgotten because you included two *gorgeous* photos of bighorns in your journal:

Oh yes, definitely! I added the map of the trail we took in Paw Hole, and there’s still plenty more to explore

We had to do it twice to see everything. The first time, we didn’t realize that further west of the site, there are gorgeous yellow striations. I’d seen them in one of Philippe’s travel journals, I think, and afterward, I looked at my photos and saw nothing like that. After asking around, the second time was the charm. In the end, it’s great—it gives you a new goal for next time 🙂

As mentioned in an earlier reply, it’s thanks to you that I did this hike

I didn’t see it before—thanks for mentioning me 🙂.

But this time, I think you must’ve forgotten because you posted two really beautiful photos of bighorns in your journal:

No, I didn’t forget—we didn’t see those during the hike but while we were packing up the car. They were right above the road... 😏...