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East Mesa Trail - 2 members in 5 triplogs have rated this an average 4 ( 1 to 5 best )
5 triplogs
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May 13 2021
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 Guides 3
 Routes 632
 Photos 8,235
 Triplogs 604

54 male
 Joined Apr 13 2011
 Gilbert, AZ
Observation Point - ZionSouthwest, UT
Observation Point - Zion
Southwest, UT
Hiking avatar May 13 2021
ddgrunning • Triplogs 604
Hiking9.94 Miles 2,372 AEG
Hiking9.94 Miles   4 Hrs   4 Mns   2.66 mph
2,372 ft AEG      20 Mns Break
 
1st trip
Linked   linked  
Cable and Deertrap Mountains
East Mesa Trail
East Rim Trail - Zion NP
Partners none no partners
Route Scout Route Recorded  on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX
This was a "warm up" hike prior to participating in the Ragnar Zion Trail relay race, which itself involved each team member running 15.3 miles and a total of nearly 2,000 AEG.

After we set up camp near "Ragnar Village" at the Zion Ponderosa Ranch just east of the NP entrance, I had convinced the team that we should do a hike out to Observation Point--as the TH was within a 1.5 mile drive from the Ragnar Village.

We called the hike a "warm up," but it was really a pretty substantial workout, as the stats show--10 miles with 2,300 feet of elevation gain. Even though it would zap some energy for the actual race, it turned out that our team was slated for a late start time the following day (1:30 pm), so we figured we could just sleep in to our heart's content on Friday morning.

The hike was awesome! It starts out on the forest-covered rim of Zion Canyon, then descends into the canyon, dropping 1200 feet. The trail we were on actual drops all the way to the canyon floor, but a couple of years back there was a big rock slide, which closed the trail at about the halfway point from the bottom up, but did not impact the upper section of the trail. So, as a result, we basically had the trail to ourselves!

After dropping in to the canyon, we then climbed out the opposing canyon wall out to Observation Point--a spectacular viewpoint, which actually looks down on Angels Landing. We arrived at Observation Point just as the sun set. The views were spectacular, as they were throughout the canyon on the hike over to that point.

There is another (easier/flatter/but seemingly less interesting) trail that gets out to Observation Point, which joins the trail we hiked about a 1/2 mile before arriving at OP. There were several people who had accessed the point from that trailhead, so we had more company at the viewing spot.

After taking in the views, we began our return trip and were soon hiking by headlamp. We only managed to get lost once (a short detour that added another 1/4 mile or so)--which can be seen on the track. By the time we got back to our campsite, it was past 11 pm. We cooked up some spaghetti and had a very late dinner and got to bed a little after 12:30 a.m.

Yes, we paid a bit of a price in terms of energy in the race, but it was a price I was happy to pay!
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Nov 18 2017
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 Routes 26
 Photos 1,288
 Triplogs 124

66 male
 Joined Oct 28 2003
 Andover, NJ
Zion East Part I, UT 
Zion East Part I, UT
 
Hiking avatar Nov 18 2017
big_load • Triplogs 124
Hiking7.80 Miles 1,500 AEG
Hiking7.80 Miles   5 Hrs      1.56 mph
1,500 ft AEG
 no routesno photosets
Linked   linked  
East Mesa Trail
Partners partners
gretchNboo
This is the first of two day trips on the east side of Zion National Park. The evening before, I drove from Flagstaff ot Las Vegas to pick up Mrs. big_load at the airport and headed back up to Springdale. Cousin G. beat us to the cabins near the East Entrance by a few hours, and we stayed up a bit late hanging out, resulting in a late start.

The first day's adventure was from the East Mesa TH to Observation Point, and then on to the East Rim Trail as far as the Stave Spring TH, where we had shuttled a car. (The second day started at that endpoint and went to the East Rim TH at the park's East Entrance). The first leg was a nearly flat 3.3 miles on a wide trail across a plateau wooded with Ponderosa and Juniper. There was practically no view, but the trail was suspiciously broad and well-traveled, the reason for which became evident when we reached Observation Point. Dozens of people were crammed onto the red slickrock, which presided over a gorgeous view of Angel's Landing a 700 feet below and the floor of the main valley 2200 feet down.

After soaking up the view and watching too much feeding of wildlife, we continued south, diving quickly 1500 feet on paved (really) switchbacks into Echo Canyon where we intersected the East Rim Trail. Most people seem to have come on a paved trail from Weeping Rock to the West, so we were overjoyed to continue on a comparatively undeveloped (and unpaved) East Rim Trail into Echo Canyon and somewhat more gradually 1500 feet back up onto the plateau. Once on top, we pushed our way through the herds of deer in the meadow and turned the corner to the car. We met only a handful of hikers on this leg, and unanimously agreed that it was much more scenic and enjoyable.

At the end of the day, we recovered the other car, ate a big feast, and went to bed at a reasonable time.
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Sep 18 2013
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 Guides 7
 Routes 72
 Photos 14,456
 Triplogs 627

62 female
 Joined Aug 19 2011
 Scottsdale, AZ
Middle EchoSouthwest, UT
Middle Echo
Southwest, UT
Canyoneering avatar Sep 18 2013
outdoor_lover • Triplogs 627
Canyoneering11.40 Miles 2,500 AEG
Canyoneering11.40 Miles
2,500 ft AEG
Intermediate Canyoneering - Difficult or dangerous; Tech Climb; rope reqd; descent anchor; exit technical;
B - Up to light current; wading/swimming; possible wet/dry suit
I - Short 1-2 hours
 no routes
1st trip
Linked   linked  
East Mesa Trail
Observation Point - Zion
Partners none no partners
With an "Old Geezer" and a Hollywood Director.... :sl:

The Setup
Shane: A Retired "Old Geezer" from Salt Lake City, who was all of 54 years old... :sweat: I think that means I'm nearing "Old Bag" status.... :sl: Very Experienced, Well Trained and has been doing Canyons for over 8 years. Many times, his Wife goes with him as well...

Brian: A Movie Director from LA...Turns out he was the Producer/Director/Filmmaker of the new Documentary "Gorging" that was Premiering the next night at the Zion/Springdale IMAX Theatre...We were all planning on going to see it... It was pretty cool to hear about his experiences filming it... :)

Even though the Rendezvous didn't officially start until Thursday, Shane posted this in Meetup for Wednesday. It's an easy "Beginner" Canyon with 4 short Rappels, so when I inquired, he was very happy to have me join up...So I went up a day early so I could join him for this one.

The Plan
Brian joined up last minute and was going to meet us at the East Rim/East Mesa Trail Junction since he was staying in Springdale...He was going to come up from the Weeping Rock TH...Shane didn't want to drive all the way into the Park and have to take the Shuttle, so he planned for the two of us to go in the back way off of North Fork Road, just up from the Ponderosa Ranch Resort, where we were staying. He said the Trail from Weeping Rock up, was full of steep Switchbacks and was an ugly uphill...He stated that the back way was easier...Just a little uphill he said....Since I really had no clue about the area, I'm like "Ok, cool" :lol: ...As it turns out, I was getting all of the Information, in pieces, a little at a time... :sl: From the Weeping Rock TH, it was 2 1/4 miles in to the Junction with 1300 feet of gain...On the way out, it was all downhill...From our start, Shane was right, it's just a little uphill for the first 2 or so Miles...Just a little over 300 feet....After that, it's all downhill to the Junction. More on that later.... :sweat: I met up with Shane Tuesday night when I got in and ended up Camping next to him, so in the Morning we just got up and got going....

The Hike In
Shane had a 4x4 so the drive in went well...A couple of areas I really wondered if I would have tried it with the Escape, it was a little gnarly...Hit the Trail, which, again, was a gradual "up" for the first 2 or so miles through Pinons and Pines...Very nice Trail. We get to where the "uphill" ends and Shane takes me up to a point and shows me where you would leave this Trail and start going down to the Entrance to Mystery, another Technical Canyon...All I could think was "wow".... :scared: Pretty much straight down an incredibly steep, narrow Trail... :sweat: You really have to see it to appreciate it....

Shane then informs me that it will another 2 or so miles to the Junction from there, but it's all downhill...Ya.... :lol: We start the descent, passing the turnoff to go to Observation Point and the downhill gets steeper...Great Trail though! We are now about halfway thru the "downhill" part...We turn a corner and Shane points to our Destination.... :o Ok, this is not a little down, this is a lot of Down....All I can think is "Holy Crap! We gotta come back up this".... :sl: Needless to say, I was not mentally prepared for the length and uphill that ended up coming with this Trip... :sweat: After a minute or two of mental readjustment, we continued on down, with both of us laughing hysterically at Shane's informational surprises... :D

We get to the Junction a little late and Brian's not there...We sit and wait and before too long he shows up. He was on time, didn't see us, so he had continued on down to Echo. When he didn't see us there, he came back up and found us...We hit the East Rim Trail and were soon at the Entrance to Echo.... :DANCE:

The Canyon
All I can say is...I'm really glad Shane talked me into a Full Wetsuit...It was worth it's weight in Gold...This Canyon is one of the last Canyons in the area to "thaw out" in the Spring and can be very treacherous even into late May/early June with Ice and Snow Drifts...Parts of this Canyon never sees the Sun and the Water is frigid. How Frigid? Well, Brian elected to wear a Shortie and I think he regretted it...He resorted to Calisthenics in the Narrows to try to warm up...Although the Water was chilly with a Full Suit, the only thing that got really cold on me were my hands, and they didn't stay that way long, although they hampered my Photo shots a few times... :sweat: The other advantage I found to a full Wetsuit? It "sticks" really well to the Sandstone, making Downclimbing much better... :sweat: I have found, at this point, that Downclimbing is my biggest weakness. But with Teamwork, and Shane's willingness to share his knowledge and experience, I was learning fast and becoming more comfortable...And the Wetsuit definitely helped!

Reading up on this Canyon, it reads of smelly, stagnant Pools...Thanks to the torrential Rains this area received the week before, the Canyon had flushed out. Although the Water was brown and silty, it was very fresh with no stagnation at all... :y: It even had a small bit of flow in a few places still...There are only 4 Rappels in this Canyon, and none over 30 feet, so I was very comfortable, even with Water Disconnects...The Narrows were very cool and in one area, the Acoustics made it obvious how this Canyon got it's name...It was a great Trip down and before I knew it, after the Rappels, some Swims, and some Downclimbs, we were out and laying out in the Sun-baked Sandstone next to the East Rim Trail. Brian used it to finish thawing out... :sweat: After a little snack, Brian decides to take off, while Shane and I just chilled for a bit more, mentally preparing for the Hike out....In fact, we dallied for so long, our Wetsuits dried, saving us about 3 lbs on our Pack Weight... :sweat: And then it was time to go... :o

The Hike Out
Ya... :sweat: Up, Up, Up....Shane is in great shape for an "Old Geezer" and I knew he would kick my pumpkin on the way up...I surprised myself though and did pretty well, making fairly good time to the Observation Point Junction...Shane only beat me there by about 5 minutes...And of course, we didn't skip a Trip to Observation Point, so we dropped the Packs and Hiked on out to it...The Views are incredible! You are actually above Angel's Landing, looking down on it... :D We spent some time here, just soaking it up...Shane has probably been out there a hundred times, but never tires of it...He loves this area and is trying to move here. Standing out on that Point, looking out at the Park, I was really wishing that I had my better Camera with, but made do with what I had...It was awesome! And then it was time to go... Picked up the Packs and did some more uphill... :sweat: Finally reach the Crux of the Uphill and then, the "Horse back to the Barn" mentality sets in. And the Energy Drink I had downed was still holding up...:lol: The last two or so miles was a very fast, smooth cruise...And then, we were done... :D

Wrapping it up
Even with not totally being mentally prepared for the length and AEG of this Trip, I would do it again in a heartbeat...Not only did I get to see a pretty Canyon, but got a great Workout as well, with Killer Views and excellent Company! What else can I say? It was a great Day!!!

I am forever thankful for people like Ken, Scott, Mike, Shane, and Brian for having the patience to take Beginners down into these Canyons. Without them, it just wouldn't be possible to learn and gain experience...Shane and Brian were awesome on this Trip! : app : : app : : app :

Photos
Just had my Waterproof Camera on this one...I actually took more pictures of the Hike, than of the Canyon itself...I was a little busy in there... :D Plus it gave me something to do when I was Sucking Wind on the way out.... :sl: Just in case anyone's curious, I plotted out our Route using Existing Routes and Topo...It can be seen here... http://hikearizona.com/map.php?QX=3005

Great Side Note
After the Screening in Springdale, Brian followed his Film "Gorging" to the Big Bear Lake Film Festival where it won the Award for Best Documentary...Very Cool!!! : app : Here's the Trailer... http://vimeo.com/50654250 We have a forum topic on it and it's coming to Phoenix...I will post the Date as soon as I find out....
 Culture
 Culture [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  Benchmark
 Named place
 Named place [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  Angels Landing  Observation Point  Zion National Park
wildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observation
Wildflowers Observation Isolated

water 1 out of 5water less than maxwater less than maxwater less than max Echo Canyon Pools to trickle Pools to trickle
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Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty & well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out & proclaiming, "Wow What a Ride!"
 
Sep 02 2012
avatar

 Triplogs 100

40 male
 Joined Jan 03 2011
 chandler, Az
East Mesa TrailSouthwest, UT
East Mesa Trail
Southwest, UT
Hiking avatar Sep 02 2012
DBmooner • Triplogs 100
Hiking7.00 Miles 315 AEG
Hiking7.00 Miles
315 ft AEG
 no routesno photosets
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
i took an easyer way to observation point useing the east mesa trail it is 3.5 miles one way was unsure of elevation gain but it was under 1k AEG but more the the 315 that is posted that gets you to the mystery canyon drop in point witch is about a mile and a half in. when i went to watch the sunset there was no one there it was nice to have a littel spot in Zion all to your self.
_____________________
 
Jul 26 2010
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 Guides 3
 Routes 4
 Photos 8,687
 Triplogs 931

46 male
 Joined Mar 28 2005
 Gilbert, AZ
Mystery Cyn Loop from Weeping Rock THSouthwest, UT
Mystery Cyn Loop from Weeping Rock TH
Southwest, UT
Canyoneering avatar Jul 26 2010
Vaporman • Triplogs 931
Canyoneering8.00 Miles 3,000 AEG
Canyoneering8.00 Miles   6 Hrs   15 Mns   1.28 mph
3,000 ft AEG
Intermediate Canyoneering - Difficult or dangerous; Tech Climb; rope reqd; descent anchor; exit technical;
B - Up to light current; wading/swimming; possible wet/dry suit
III - Normally requires most of a day
 no routes
1st trip
Linked   linked  
Observation Point - Zion
East Mesa Trail
Riverside Walk
Partners partners
alpineclimber
nonot
I think this is also my favorite technical canyon in Zion so far! :D We woke up early and hit the Observation Point trail and got almost to that lookout before taking the East Mesa trail to drop into upper Mystery Canyon making sure to avoid the first canyon and go in the second one. ;) The canyon opens up quite dramatically before us as we head down the very steep trail down thru the Death Gully. :o The park service wants us to stick to the drainage instead of bypassing drops, so some extra rappels & bolts popped up in the upper section give the canyon over a dozen rappels. :sweat: Thankfully we've gotten quite good and leap frogging each other on rappels and we hammered out drop after drop. We did a few short rappels in the upper section before hitting the sweet narrows section which had another 5 or so rappels in the 15-50ft range while admiring the huge sandstone walls and praying for no rain. :) The canyon opens up a bit with a few more 20ft rappels before the canyon further opens with another side canyon or two dropping. This area is also know for having a potential lake since a major landslide damned up the canyon and requires a 300ft or so climb to get up and over before descending back down to the canyon bottom. The canyon slowly narrows back up again afterwards with a 50ft sloping rap while we noticed a thunderstorm rolling in above us though we weren't too concerned because now we were downstream of that massive natural dam. :lol: A little further down canyon and we hit that amazing 110ft Mystery Springs rappel and traversed out to the anchors and dropped down to that chockstone and further down into that refreshing pool for the canyon only swimmer/wader. :y: It started to rain on us while retrieving our ropes with slight difficulty, so we picked the pace up a bit and kinna rushed out of this amazing stretch of canyon. We creek hiked a bit, hit some down climbs, another small rappel, and before you know it we were at the amazingly sweet 120ft rappel down to the brown Virgin Narrows. Hmm, some canyon upstream must have recently flashed to turn it dirt brown but it made for a cool site with people starting to collect below us to watch us rappel. With the extra viewers, we all made short work of the rappel and again had some slight difficulty with the rope pull but we got it down without too much trouble but coiling the ropes up was a little challenging while standing in the dirty flowing creek. :roll: We made short work of the creek hike down to the sidewalk with people asking us if the narrows were safe for them to be in since it was raining and the creek turned brown... Huh, I'm not a ranger or know what the weather is doing upstream... Just because I'm wearing loads of gear and descended from above doesn't mean I know any more than you do! :sl: Speed walking on the sidewalk to the shuttles it was funny having tourists asking us what we climbed... We were canyoneering, dang it! :roll: :lol:
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Yea, canyoneering is an extreme sport... EXTREMELY dramatic!!! =p
 
average hiking speed 1.83 mph

WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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