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Home > Archive > Aug 2, 2007

Hidden Canyon a Good Find
By Sharon May
Managing Editor
They keep some of the best places hidden at Zion Canyon. And to make sure, the Park Service puts them at the top of strenuous climbs or miles into the back country.
If you're tempted to think you've already hiked to the most spectacular sites in the park, like Angels Landing, Emerald Pools, and The Narrows, consider hoofing it up to Hidden Canyon, a narrow hanging canyon in the shadow of The Great White Throne.
The route is a moderate walk up one mile of mostly paved trail. That's what the sign at the trailhead said – "moderate." Maybe for a middle-age bighorn sheep.
For the two-footed hiker, moderate translates to a gain of 850 feet in one mile, which calculates to about one foot of elevation increase for every 6.2 feet walked or, roughly, every two steps taken. That's like walking up a mile of stairs. And it felt that way to me. But I sit in a chair all week, unlike most bighorn sheep.
While I dragged myself up one switchback after another, with "photo-taking" pauses to recover at each bend, no fewer than 30 Zion shuttles discharged new troops who breezed past me on their way up the trail. Good thing there's a stunning view of the canyon to pretend to be viewing while mopping perspiration and gasping.
About two-thirds of the way and 50 jillion steep switchbacks later, an ominous sign warns: "Falls from these cliffs have resulted in death."
Falls of what? I wondered. Falls of squirrels from these cliffs? Of clumsy lizards? But pondering the sign gave my heart time to slow its thudding.
Across the trail is another sign, marking the left fork to Observation Point, reached after another three miles of "strenuous" hiking, according to the sign. My lungs crossed their arms and said "no way, sister." Not one to argue with my lungs, I continued toward Hidden Canyon.
From here, the trail turns to sand and five switchbacks of manmade rock steps. The trail then makes a bend around the end of a high outcropping, on smooth but grit-covered sandstone. A chain handhold is bolted into the rock for the less goat-footed. The temperature cools 20 degrees as the trail slips between canyon walls.
Next, a long hand-hewn stone staircase takes you up to a beautiful pink and orange sandstone ledge that wraps around the point of the cliff. The view is simply stunning! The trail here is narrow in places, with drop-offs that would paralyze an acrophobe's sphincter. Again, chains line the rock wall for safety, especially appreciated on windy hikes. From here, it is amazing to look hundreds of feet down to the river and the trailhead to see the heights you've climbed.
After an exultant moment, you slip around the cliff and move to the mouth of Hidden Canyon, no longer hidden, of course. Follow the carved steps in the rock and the subtle foot-long black arrow painted on a rock to enter the narrow canyon.
Walking up Hidden Canyon requires some scrambling over rock jams between stretches of flat sand, but nothing that a trembling pair of middle-age knees can't handle. Look for blackish-reddish wild berries of some sort in the shadier growth. Layers of maples, box elders, pines, ferns and columbines grace the canyon's floor, although the shade and coolness are reward enough for the sweaty climb. Be sure to locate the standing arch against the right wall of the canyon approximately an eighth of a mile in.
About a quarter mile into the canyon, a large rock fall blocks the canyon. A scramble up the wall on the left will take you above and past the jam, but being a hardy soul with a pair of sticky-sole shoes is necessary. And a hiking partner to catch you if you fall would be nice to have.
Although my knees complained while I minced back down the mile-long trail, Hidden Canyon is worth the pain and the huffing lungs.
If you go, ride the shuttle up canyon to the Weeping Rock stop. Take plenty of water. Morning is best for this hike, as the trail is on the west-facing side of Zion Canyon. And watch out for falling squirrels.

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