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Jay, Weihaw, and I hiked the West Rim Trail, from Cabin Spring camp 3
to/from the western edge of the Horse Pasture Plateau, at Zion
National Park.
After dinner we continued along the West Rim Trail. The trail
first leads to an area on the eastern side of the plateau which gives
views of Mt. Majestic and Behunin Canyon. Angels Landing and
Refrigerator Canyon are obstructed from here by Mt. Majestic.
View from the top, looking east. Look at the smaller
plateaus on top of the larger plateaus, and the forests on top of
each
We continued along the trail, which became increasingly muddy. This
may have been from snowmelt, but there was no snow to be seen up
here, so it's hard to tell. In any case, there were places which
required us to step in the mud for a few steps, but nothing
unbearable. Eventually we topped a small hill and quickly were on the
western edge of the plateau, looking out toward Heaps Canyon and
everything beyond it -- including Ivins Mountain and Inclined Temple.
View looking west, near sunset
A closer look
We continued along the trail for a while. We saw some backpackers
camped at Camp 5 (we didn't see anyone at 4). At this point, the sun
was low in the horizon, meaning the views weren't as good as they
were during the day. They were still nice, but it was hard to see
well. It was kind of amazing looking at the other plateaus, knowing
we were on one of them. Each had steep walls with little vegetation,
and then a thriving forest on top, with another, smaller plateau in
the middle.
After taking in the views, we headed back toward camp. It might
have been nice to stay there and watch the sun set, but that would
have meant hiking back in the dark. Well, we had flashlights, but we
still would have to hike in the mud.
We went back to the area on the eastern side of the plateau, where
there was a log to sit on. Three women from Camp 1 passed by while we
were there. The interesting thing about camping is that there are few
enough people that you generally get to meet most of your neighbors.
Return to Zion/Bryce/Grand Canyon trip report.
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