Start early, end early – a great philosophy for hiking in extreme heat and day-drinking excursions. When it doesn’t end early, it can end badly.
We decided to start early on The Watchman trail – get to the overlook before the sun breaks over the summits and back down to Betty for a mid-morning snack. Hardly anyone bothers with Watchman – they’re here for drama and selfie shots on more famous spires. This classic hike – 400 feet of lush, in-bloom elevation – would give us a chance to try out our new Black Diamond poles, camera timer and wide angle iPhone lenses.
It was a straightforward summit covering 3 miles of ranger-maintained path culminating with views of the Visitor Center and town of Springdale to the west and more dramatic canyon views to the east.
Ready to un-summit, we wished it was a loop instead of a backtrack when Eric spied the road less travelled and we took it.
Not maintained may mean different things to different people. To us it meant overgrown. They would have posted Do Not Enter signs if it wasn’t passable, right? The trail started strong and headed off boldly towards an adjoining ridge line. As we made our way in to the canyon – excited about our hidden find – the slope got steeper and dirt foot path gave way to loose rock but we pushed forward – surely part of the trail design. Bouldering over rocky prominences we were relieved to see remnants of the foot path re-appear on the far side. But as boot tracks gave way to mountain sheep and mule deer scat, we finally understood what Not Maintained means.
Five hundred feet above the valley floor but tucked deep into the canyon, we decided to descend from the ridge, locate the stream that must surely be there, and follow it into a wash that we saw from the Watchman overlook. Once on the wash, we could follow it back to the trailhead for Watchman and get back to Betty for a mid-afternoon lunch. We’d seen this type of strategy work on “Naked and Afraid,” which is good reason to give up watching cable TV in the future.
Bushwhacking, back tracking and butt-sliding down the canyon slopes, we worked on not thinking about what would happen if this well hatched plan did not lead to a creek that flowed to civilization – like on TV. A couple of hours later, we’d drank our water, ate our provisions and discovered some amazingly beautiful remote regions of Watchman canyon. Not panicking because it was still afternoon and the sun was still shining, unbelievably we dropped off some ancient sandstone boulders and into a narrow gorge where a small stream was flowing downhill.
Turning to page 11 of the script for the Zion episode, we bouldered our way down the creek until it ran underground at the wash. Was it the wash we had seen from Watchman? Of course it was! Just a couple of miles later it opened up to reveal the trailhead for Watchman and a trio of mule deer who asked, “What took you so long?”
Tune in next week for the episode where we are lost at sea.