50 Best Short Hikes in Utah's National Parks

161 years ago today the first group of pioneers reached what is now Salt Lake City, Utah.

On the forty-second page of “50 Best Short Hikes in Utah's National Parks” author Ron Adkison wrote (hyperlinks & emphasis added):

beneath the seemingly overhanging wall of Cable Mountain. Views enroute stretch across Zion Canyon to the sentinel rock of Angels Landing.

At the eighth switchback, the signed trail to Hidden Canyon peels off to the right at 0.6 mile and 4850 feet, and from here we have a fine view back down to the shady alcove of Weeping Rock. Turning right onto that unpaved trail, we begin switchbacking at a moderate grade amid pines and firs, directly beneath the sheer walls of Cable Mountain. Above this climb, a traverse leads us into a shady chasm supporting Douglas-fir, white fir, ponderosa pine, and velvet ash. Soon the trail exits the chasm via a low but slippery slickrock wall, where acrophobic hikers may be compelled to turn back.

Beyond that traverse, we curve into the mouth of Hidden Canyon, hanging 700 feet above the floor of Zion Canyon. Numerous potholes have been worn into the Navajo Sandstone slickrock floor of the canyon by abrasive runoff waters. These waterpockets are like those commonly encountered in the same rock unit in Capitol Reef National Park, and they may hold water after substantial rains.

Steps cut into the rock allow passage around some of the potholes, but soon we are forced into the narrow, sandy, rocky wash as giant cliffs close in on either side. The trail apparently ends where we dip into the wash at 1.1 miles (5180'), and some hikers may be content to go this far, but to others, this mysterious chasm beckons. Douglas-fir, white fir, and ponderosa pine thrive in this relatively cool, moist microclimate within the confines of the canyon. Great sheer cliffs soar heavenward on either side of the narrow arrow-straight canyon. A number of small alcoves and other erosional features await those who hike the dry wash upstream, for another 0.5 mile or so. Rock climbinb skills are necessary to reach the head of the canyon.

More information about “50 Best Short Hikes in Utah's National Parks (50 Best Short Hikes series)” (and the book itself) is available from:

• Amazon.com
• Powell's Books
• Barnes & Noble

(Wilderness Press, August 2001. Paperback, 227 pages. ISBN: 0899972608; EAN: 9780899972602.)