Despite how much you research a trip, sometimes unforeseen things happen that throw off your plans. That seemed to be the common theme of our weekend roadtrip from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City last weekend.
My boyfriend Alex needed to be working in Las Vegas for a few days, so we decided to make a long weekend out of it by planning a roadtrip. The general idea was that we would hit one state park and three national parks in two and a half days, but our plans were flexible so that we could adjust based on how much time we ended up with at each location. I would fly to Vegas on Thursday morning, and we would go straight to Valley of Fire State Park. Then, we would come back to Vegas for dinner and check out the Strip. Friday, we would get up early and drive to Zion National Park, where we would spend most of the day. In the afternoon, we would drive to the east side of Zion and head over to Bryce Canyon National Park in time for sunset. We would stay just outside of the park. Saturday morning we planned a sunrise hike, then we would drive over to explore Capitol Reef National Park before heading up to Salt Lake City to visit friends.
When we travel, we like to see as much as possible in a short time. However, we don’t like to feel rushed, so we have learned to be flexible when plans change or when we spend more time than expected somewhere. We also like to talk to the rangers at visitor centers to help us decide how to spend our time when visiting National Parks.
So that was our plan- until a freak winter storm hit. The afternoon before my flight out of Portland, Oregon, it started dumping snow, and soon enough it was reported that over 10″ had accumulated downtown. I joked with Alex that for this to affect our trip, we would have to get a record amount of snow. Well, I was wrong because we got the second-most amount of snow ever recorded, and my flight was canceled. Luckily, Alex had left earlier in the week, so he was already there. I called my airline, and the soonest flight they could put me on was the next day, but our trip was so short that it didn’t seem worth it if I couldn’t get a flight that same day. I ended up booking a flight out of Eugene since the snow didn’t stick there. After an eventful drive down to Eugene, I was on the next plane to Vegas. My original flight was direct and would get in at noon, but now I had an indirect flight that arrived at 7:00 pm. Unfortunately, that meant that we would have to save the Valley of Fire for another trip. However, we did still get to go to a local brewery for dinner and go check out the Strip. We had a great time.
Friday morning, we woke up early and drove to Zion, as planned. However, even though in my research I had noted the hour time difference between Las Vegas and Zion, that was not something we thought about the night before when we were deciding what time to leave in the morning. So instead of getting in at 10:00 am, we got in at 11:00 am. But we had planned for flexibility! So this wasn’t a big deal. Outside of the park, there is a brewery called “Mt. Zion Brew Pub” that opens at 11:00. That was on my list, so the timing worked perfectly for us to stop there before going into the park. While having a beer and enjoying the scenery, I pulled out my map to show Alex our options of things we could do, when I saw the dreaded ‘road closed’ symbol. The main road going from the west to the east side of the park was closed due to snow. Zion’s main scenic drive, as well as most big hikes and famous sites, are also off of this road, meaning that we wouldn’t be able to do much of anything in the park. Our plan to drive through the park to get to Bryce Canyon that afternoon also depended on that road, so needless to say our plans for that day seemed to fall into shambles. Feeling disappointed, we decided to go to the visitor center and ask the park rangers what there was to see with the road closure. We also talked with Brody, our bartender, who recommended some alternative ideas in the area.
After visiting the park bookstore to add a patch and a sticker to our collection, we visited the information desk. There, the ranger informed us that the scenic drive had just reopened 20 minutes ago! However, the main road to the east side of the park would remain closed for at least the rest of the day. We were thrilled though because suddenly our ambitions of seeing Zion were back on. The ranger recommended the Grotto trail > Kayenta Trail > Middle Emerald Pool Trail loop, where we could see the lower, middle, and upper emerald pools, as well as gorgeous views of the valley. We ventured into the park, hopes restored.
We drove the just-opened scenic drive all the way to the end and stopped at many of the roadside pull-offs on our way back. At the ‘Big Bend’ bus stop and pull-off, we even saw some endangered California Condors. These birds are apparently “the largest flying land bird in North America” according to the NPS website. Continuing to the trailhead, it was easy to see just how much snow the valley had accumulated. The Grotto Trail starts at the Zion Lodge, and in the open space out front, there were several massive snowmen that visitors or rangers had made. It’s probably not every day that you see a snowman in Zion!
Our hike provided magnificent views of the valley, and the snow emphasized the epic nature of the surrounding rock walls. The trail condition was packed snow, and a little slippery in some areas, but not treacherous. Although the Lower Emerald Pool Trail was closed, you could still access a viewpoint from the Kayenta Trail. The lower pool, although completely frozen, was fed by a waterfall that formed over a cliff and cascaded in front of what looked to be the Lower Emerald Trail. The winter conditions made this viewpoint particularly interesting, and here it was easy to see why the trail was closed, as the waterfall had completely coated the trail and the railing in tons of ice! We continued and took the Upper Emerald Pool detour from the main loop. This trail provided the best views of the valley. The Upper Emerald Pool was also not at all what we were expecting. A towering waterfall cascaded down from the top of a rock cliff, but it seemed to freeze into snow or small ice particles before it reached the bottom. These particles had built up into a cinder cone shape that rested on top of the frozen pool. It was a beautiful and surprising sight, especially when we had debated even going up the side trail at all. Needless to say, it was worth it.
After returning to our rental car, it was time to hit the road again. Our original plan of driving through the park to get to Bryce Canyon would have only taken 2 hours, but with the road closure, we now needed to go down and around. Luckily, the new route would only add an hour, but it did eliminate the possibility of us making it in time for a sunset hike. We stopped at a brewery that Brody had recommended in Colorado City, Arizona, called Edge of the World Brewery. Colorado City has an impressive backdrop and an interesting history, so it was worth a quick stop. Once back in the car, our map had us take a side road rather than the highway. It was dark at this point, and on this road, we saw more deer than either of us had ever seen on a singular drive before. It was impressive actually. After cautiously dodging deer left and right for miles, we got back on a main highway and made it to our hotel just outside of Bryce Canyon National Park.
At 6:00 the next morning, it was around 10°F outside. We bundled up and headed into the park. The trail started at Sunset point, where we ironically went to watch the sunrise. We had both been to Bryce Canyon before, but neither of us had ever seen it in the condition we did that morning. I had only been to Bryce in the summer. Although I had never seen it with snow, Alex had never seen the park without it because he had only been in early spring. However, this time there was so much snow! As cold as it was, it was really magical to see the park in this condition. After taking many photos from Sunset point and near Thor’s Hammer, we continued down the trail. We had both hiked the Peak-a-boo Loop before, but we wanted to do it again in the deep snow. Even with the amount of snow there, the trail was packed down and accessible. We chose to hike the loop in a clockwise direction and enjoyed the trail as it meandered up and down and around the iconic hoodoos. After we were about halfway through the loop, we came across the intersection where the trail branches off to reach Bryce Point. It was here that the trail completely disappeared. I grew up in snow and have tons of experience hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, and spending time outside in extreme winter conditions, so I felt confident that if the trail was just windblown in this section we could easily find where it packed back down. We pulled out AllTrails and had just enough service to view the trail map, so we used it to navigate through the untracked snow. We broke trail for less than a quarter mile, and there was still no sign of anything but fresh snow, so we decided to play it safe and go back the way we had come from. Traversing through deep snow can be dangerous, and winter conditions aren’t something to play around with when hypothermia is always a risk. Aside from a few photographers at Thor’s Hammer, we had not seen anyone on the trail. As we hiked back to the parking lot, we saw a few people, and although we alerted them of the trail condition, most were planning on sticking to the shorter and more popular trails that day- a smart decision on their part. We made it back to the hotel just in time to catch breakfast, then we were on the road.
Our friendly bartender Brody had recommended that we take Highway 12 from Bryce Canyon to Capitol Reef. He noted that it was one of the most incredible drives he had ever done. I have spent countless hours on road trips and have been to 31 national parks, and I completely agree with him. The drive was absolutely incredible. Winding over mountains, through canyons, and on top of ridges with huge drops on either side, there was never a moment on this road where I was not enchanted by the scenery. Tons of scenic pullouts were well worth stopping at, and this area (highway 12 and Escalante National Monument) has endless trails and terrain to explore.
We knew that we wouldn’t end up with much time at Capitol Reef, and had already adjusted our plan. Originally, we were going to venture out to a place that has been on my bucket list forever- Cathedral Valley, home of the Temples of the Sun and Moon. However, our new time-considerate plan was to hike a shorter trail to Cassidy Arch and do the scenic drive. Unfortunately, the literal roadblock that happened on the trail in Bryce Canyon that morning meant that we were even more pressed for time than we had been expecting. It was around 1:30, and we needed to be in Salt Lake to return our rental car by 5:00 that evening, and it was a three-hour drive to get there. So our plans shifted yet again, and we ended up just driving to the visitor center and stopping at Panorama Point on our way back out. Before we had even seen the park, I knew it was going to be one that I would want to revisit. Finally seeing its epic proportions from our Highway 12 drive and our short visit to the main section supercharged that feeling for me. I haven’t stopped thinking about when we can go back since.
This trip seemed like it had more hurdles than usual, and even though I felt like I did a good job planning for flexibility, and checking trail conditions and weather reports in advance, it was a good reminder that things can always change. What’s written in a trail review or shown on the weather forecast won’t always be a good indicator of what it will look like in person. At the end of the day, finishing a trail or checking off a big bucket list item just might not end up working out, but it is important to keep safety and flexibility in mind when these things happen. Plan alternatives, have lots of options, and don’t let unexpected obstacles derail your trip or ruin your excitement about traveling.