It was the last day of Sol’s Zion National Park Backpacking Trip (technically just outside of official park boundaries). The only thing worse than setting up camp in a rainstorm is breaking camp in a rainstorm. Don’t get me wrong, I was grateful to have made it through the night, but waking up to heavy …
Today was Saturday on our Zion National Park backpacking trip, and predictions of Sunday afternoon thunderstorms were weighing heavily on my mind. I decided to stage our last night of camping as close to the exit route as possible; if the rains came in early, at least we could make it off the river and …
The cameras were out like paparazzi today as we encountered one mind boggling overhang after another. We got lucky, ran into fewer patches of quicksand, and settled into a nice rhythm and flow of river walking. We rolled in to our sleeping quarters around 5 pm, hungry and getting tired. It wasn’t the Ritz Carlton …
Technically speaking, the first several miles of Sol’s Redrock Backpacker, Southwestern, Utah trip are not too challenging. What does exist of the Virgin River is underground at this point, creating a compact and flat dry river bed. Occasionally we would opt to follow the 4-wheel drive road instead, which would take us up small sand …
You all saw my prize rattlesnake in an earlier post, but the reconnaisance for this trip wasn’t all fun and games. Here’s the real story of the pre-Redrock Backpacker: Zion Outskirts, Utah scouting trip. It began around 7 am, when Lindy and I hit the road and left Orem to make the 5 hour drive …
What does one say after an encounter with the wild like we experienced on Sol’s Zion National Park backpacking trip last week? The excitement alone makes everyday life feel mundane, the spectrum of canyon reds fades all the green of the city to colorless. I feel like I’m coming off of a high. I think …
It’s always an anticlimactic return to the pavement. After 4 days of Sol’s Redrock Backpacker: Zion National Park Outskirts trip my hair has turned to dreads and I notice that people don’t want to stand too close to me (must be my natural aroma). But I feel ALIVE! I have found strength I didn’t know …
David Bassett is an endurance athlete who moonlights as a Sol Zion canyoneering guide and amateur photographer. Enjoy this journal excertp from his 2007 Redrock Backpacker: Soutwestern, Utah trip. “On our second evening, we head up off the canyon floor in search of a bivouac. We find a flat patch of red earth and I …
Aaron Ogden is one of Sol’s favorite Zion canyoneering guides. He’s busy hiking the slot canyon at the moment, but you can enjoy this journal excerpt from his last trip. “Hiking terrain is beautiful. This is truly one of God’s wonders, such diverse terrain: steep sandy hills, scorching red rock vistas…towering plateaus, and water eroded …
Greetings from Zion National Park, Utah! One of the most visited parks in America, Zion is the gateway to Sol’s Redrock Backpacker: Zion Outskirts multi-day trip down the Virgin River. Our adventurers, not content with the Zion National Park Tour from crowded shuttles, are about to leave the pavement, exit park boundaries, and embark on …
