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| Hiking | 4.10 Miles |
701 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.10 Miles | 1 Hour 35 Mns | | 2.59 mph |
| 701 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Last day in Zion. Did this as my early morning hike before our departure. Drove from the lodge down to the visitor center. Got there around 5:45. Still dark out. But the shuttles start running at 6am and the parking lot was nearly half full already. The Watchman Trail is located at the north edge of the parking lot, across from the road you drive in on. At the beginning there are numerous signs for this trail and it should be easy to pick up.
Initially, the trail starts off between the Virgin River and the parking lot for over-sized vehicles. The trail is relatively flat for the first .4 miles. In that time it leaves the Virgin River and then circles a small hill before crossing a dry wash using cement steps. After the wash the trail starts a steady climb up the foothills of the towering cliffs. I was doing this hike with a headlamp so the views were very limited to start with. At just over a mile, I crossed a small stream and the trail began to flatten out. Once this happens you know you are getting near the end. The trail goes another .3 miles before reaching the end. Where the Watchmen ends there is a short loop trail that goes along the edge of the shelf. It was still dark out and there are several use trails in this area so I ended up getting off trail and doing my own version of the loop. Ended up sitting down on a large rock, where the loop trail starts, and waited for daylight to illuminate the valley around me. Honestly, after yesterday, the views where underwhelming. Hard to compete with Angel’s. The shelf where the trail ends, really isn’t really that high off the valley floor and views are very much limited to the surrounding cliffs and the visitor center, campground and museum below. With the coming of daylight I could see where I had missed the loop on the Loop Trail. So I went down and followed the trail correctly. Maybe .3 miles with the loop.
Easy hike. Met 2 trail runners and 4 hikers on the way down. No wildlife. |
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