After thoroughly enjoying Nippletop, in December, we decided to do several more hikes on the eastside of Zion National Park this winter. First up is Crawford Overlook. Never heard of it? Neither had we, but both Stav and Joe Braun gave it high marks and said it would provide impressive views of Parunuweap Canyon that we had done back in October. With a beautiful January day waiting for us and temperatures expected to be in the low 60's it was time to do some hiking in this less explored area of Zion. We're still amazed that we can find places like this right out our back door!
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| We parked at a pullout just northeast of Cockeye Falls . . . As you can see we had several inches of snow earlier in the week . . . This would prove to be more of a challenge than we were expecting |
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| Although we started off with a chilly morning, as soon as the sun got above us it became a glorious day! |
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| Winter in Zion! Yes, it's still a special place! Working our way toward the French Pastry and Lost Peak |
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| At times the snow and ice was unavoidable . . . The challenge was finding places on the slickrock, to place our feet, that didn't have any ice . . . Can you see Kent and Mike working their way towards the Triplets? (Click on picture for larger view) |
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| Freshly fallen snow highlights the striations in the sandstone . . . This is looking back towards the drainage we have been working our way up |
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| The red formations in the center are known as the French Pastry . . . We might need a real one after this hike! |
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| A wispy contrail floats above The Triplets . . . Nippletop is off to the left If all goes as planned, we will do the return hike by passing through the saddle between them |
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| Parunuweap Peak is where we are headed (looking down into Crawford Wash) . . . From here, we'll have another mile of ridge hiking to get to Crawford Overlook |
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| It's always fun to stumble upon unique rocks |
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| We are coming out of Crawford Wash and trying to gain the ridge . . . this area was tricky to ascend . . . It took a little route finding to navigate around the ice and snow (Any "normal" day would have been no problem!) |
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| This hoodoo seems out of place . . . We are looking back at Lost Peak which we passed as we descended into Crawford Wash |
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| Once out of Crawford Wash, and up on the ridge, we had fun enjoying a lot of beehive formations in this relatively unexplored section of Zion |
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| Kent is working his way up Parunuweap Peak |
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| We took a break on Parunuweap Peak (5,935 ft) and contemplated whether to continue on |
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| The white arrow points to Crawford Overlook, which was our planned destination . . . However, with all the ice and snow we decided not to "push it" . . . All the tentative walking was taking a toll on Kent's knees and feet . . . The hike was still well worth it . . . the scenery was amazing! |
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| Looking back at where we hiked through Sandy Saddle on our way to Crawford Wash (Lost Peak on the left) . . . Our plan is to work our way back between The Triplets and the Fin which is just to the left of Nippletop (Yellow line is our planned return route) |
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| Another memorable hike in east Zion . . . That's East Temple in the background . . . Zion Canyon, the part most people visit, is on the other side |
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| The size of this beehive is noticeable compared to Mike, as he skirts by the left side . . . That's a pretty interesting rock formation on top of the beehive! |
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| Just another unique formation with large moqui marble shaped rocks scattered about . . . Looking east, you can see Parunuweap Canyon in the background |
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| We are heading for a saddle that is supposed to be between the Triplets and Nippletop . . . Doesn't look like there's one from this angle! |
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| To our surprise there was quite a big saddle waiting for us (that's The Fin on the right) . . . Can you see Mike? He's up on the saddle waiting for us! (Click on picture for enlarged view) |
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| Views from the saddle! What better place for a lunch break . . . fine dining in Zion! The French Pastry, we passed earlier, is located in the center of this picture |
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| Time to head back down and "fight" more snow and ice on the north side of the Triplets |
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| Almost back! It's been a great day in East Zion! Thankfully, a good portion of the ice had melted with the daytime temperatures! |
Our route took approximately five hours and covered just about 6.5 miles with a little over 1,900 feet of elevation gain. On a normal day (one without snow and ice) it probably could have been covered in 2/3rds the time. Click here for an excellent map that Joe Braun has provided from his website, Joe's Guide to Zion National Park, that shows the route that we closely followed. This hike inspired and gave us some more ideas for future hikes (Lost Peak & The Triplets) . . . we know many people incorporate these with the Crawford Overlook hike, but it seemed a little too much for us! No worries, we'll be back to finish what we missed!
