This was the first time Lynda and I had been into Zion by this route. We got these photos before we got to the end of the snow plowed road and had to turn around.

These photos resulted from a group trip up the Hurricane Mesa Road which connects to the Smith Mesa Road and in turn to the Kolob Reservoir Road out of Virgin, Utah. It is a beautiful route to travel. There is a surprising expanse of beautiful rolling range land on the mesas.

The Right Fork Trail drops into North Creek downstream of where the Left and Right Forks come together. Smoke was accumulating in the valley from a fire in the Springdale area and I didn't want to get too far from the car in case the fire headed my way. I only walked the main section below the junction of the two forks and then returned to the car. I spent the rest of the afternoon very close to the Kolob Reservoir Road. Some of these photos were directly affected by the smoky air. Yesterday, August 1, North Creek received a drenching from a thunderstorm and flash-flooded the valley below to Virgin, Utah destroying a number of creekside homes and closing Highway 9 for a while. How this creek section in the photos was affected by the flood is unknown but I expect it has significantly changed.

I walked the upper part of this trail only going down into Wildcat Canyon before returning to the car. The trailhead is a few hundred feet down the West Rim Trail.

Before hiking this trail, on the drive to the trailhead, I saw smoke on the horizon. It looked to be far enough away that it was not a concern. This trail is very easy going for the first two miles before it actually drops down into Hop Valley itself at which point it becomes steeper and knowing that you have to climb back out makes forward progress less and less desirable. I did get into the narrow valley where the trail levels out again. I met individual and small groups of cattle on the range lands I crossed. They were no problem whatsoever. The trail connects to the LaVerkin Trail which I walked from the Kolob Canyons via the Timber Creek Trail. There is a section in the middle that I have not seen and probably never will. When I got back to the car I noticed a large smoke plum so I drove up to a vantage point some miles away and saw that there were three individual fires burning in another part of Zion National Park. I included photos of the fires and some of the smoky scenes I saw on the way back out of this section of the park.

After the fires had been controlled I went in to walk this trail not knowing what to expect. To get to the Northgate Peaks Trailhead you must first walk a mile on the lower end of the Wildcat Canyon Trail. This is also the upper end of the Subway Trail otherwise known as the Left Fork Trail. To walk the Subway or Left Fork Trail a permit is required. The Northgate Peak Trail is very easy walking through a gently sloping scattered ponderosa pine landscape.

This small area is not far off the road so I had been saving it for a short day. This day was one of those because of the buildup of thunderheads and the lightning storm potential. I had just arrived back at the car when the lightning and rain started - very good timing.

These photos were taken on a trip I made to try to figure out how much longer it will be before the snow will be completely gone from the higher and shadier parts of Zion. I didn't make it to the higher areas because of snow on the road. I estimate it will be a month before I get up there. Meanwhile I took these photos in the lower areas and may visit there again several times before the snow melts. I dedicate this album to Susi (Susi484) in thanks for her comments and continuing friendship.

These photos were taken on a hot blinding afternoon in the Kolob Terrace Area of Zion National Park, Utah. Visiting Zion is therapeutic for me. A visit to this magnificent place of marvels puts everything in perspective in my life. It is more of a cathedral than any structure designed and built by man can ever be.
There, I am in HIS presence, one on one.
There, I will die when my time has come.

With some car shuffling done by friends I was able to start at the upper end of the West Rim Trail in Zion National Park near Lava Point on the Kolob Terrace Road and walk the 13 miles through to the Grotto on the main Zion Canyon Road. I anticipated a long and productive day taking pictures and enjoying the outing. There were several unanticipated problems I ran into on that day. The first 6 miles were through burned-off land so the early summer sun's heat was pounding down most of the way. There were only about 4 places that served as viewpoints in those miles. I had taken what I considered an adequate amount of water and food. I discovered that about 8 miles into the hike I was in trouble. I had not taken enough high-energy food and as I progressed I got hungrier and hungrier and I was becoming unsteady on my legs. Although the elevation over-all was downhill about 4000', there was also a fair amount of uphill going along the way, sometimes steep. I had the great fortune to meet a young lady along the trail when I still had 5 miles to go. She had hiked up from the bottom and was turning around to go back down. Mandy is an EMT from Las Vegas who helps manage the computerized stages for the Cirque Soleil. She recognized immediately that I was in trouble and she had an apple which I readily accepted and devoured. She stayed with me most of the rest of the way out, carrying my camera equipment, making sure I made it out OK. Had it not been for her encouragement and help I might not have made it out that day. It took me 3 days to recover from that hike muscle-wise and sunburn-wise. Some problems with my feet will take much longer to heal properly. This album is dedicated to Mandy as a totally inadequate thanks for her help that day. Without her I don't know how the day would have turned out. I learned a number of things that will help me on my next longer-distance hike, principally that I will not do it in the summertime heat! Also it reminded me that steep downhill is no easier, perhaps harder than uphill hiking. This album has been completed and no more photos will be added.

These photos were taken in the Jobs Head Area, Kolob Terrace Road, Zion National Park, Utah. On the way home I took an alternate route. Included are photos taken from the Smith Mesa Road, a road across broad expanses of rolling farmland and from the Mesa Road, a steep and narrow road that winds its way under Hurricane Mesa and drops down to Virgin and Highway 9. This album has been completed and no more photos will be added.

These photos were taken from the Northgate Peaks Trail in the Kolob Terrace area of Zion National Park, Utah. It is a relatively easy hike from the Wildcat Canyon Trailhead. This album has been completed and no more photos will be added.

These photos were taken on the way up to Zion National Park via the Kolob Terrace Road and back the same way. During our visit, we walked in past a gate about 1/2 mile on a driveway marked as "Private" (not marked "no trespassing") to a rustic old log cabin and other buildings which are apparently on the edge of the park. The door was unlocked so out of curiosity we looked inside taking a few photos and then left. The only surname we could find was "Stout" which is a prominent name in this area with historical origins. The album is dedicated to the Stout family as thanks for sharing this beautiful site with us for our photography hobby. This album has been completed and no more photos will be added.

These photos were taken in the Kolob Terrace area of Zion National Park, Utah. It was a cloudier day than I prefer for taking pictures but it worked out OK for the most part. This album has been completed and no more photos will be added.

This visit was with my daughter and son-in-law to an area of Zion National Park they had not seen before. This album has been completed and no more photos will be added.

These photos were taken in the close vicinity of Tabernacle Dome beside the Kolob Terrace Road in Zion National Park. The last ones were taken on the way home. This album has been completed and no more photos will be added.

I drove up the Kolob Terrace Road to see where the road became blocked by snow. I did not go further than the Wildcat Canyon Trailhead. Most of the photos were taken on the return trip down the road and as it got later the colors grew more vivid. This album has been completed and no more photos will be added.

These photos were taken on a short trip into the Kolob Terrace area of Zion National Park. It is interesting to note how the springtime green grass adds a whole new look to the park. This album has been completed and no more photos will be added.

These photos were taken at Kolob Reservoir and from the Kolob Terrace Road in Zion National Park north of Virgin, Utah. The majestic views from some of the homes in this area on the fringe of the park are amazing to say the least. This album has been completed and no more photos will be added.

These photos were taken during an afternoon in the park. The trip was primarily for the purpose of determining the snow level - how far up the road I could get. Along the way up and back I found it necessary to take advantage of some of the many photo opportunities, a re-visit of ground covered before. This album has been completed and no more photos will be added.

This trip was largely to get some off-road views from the area below the switchbacks in the Kolob Terrace Road. This album has been completed and no more photos will be added.