Zion Traverse

Some friends and I did a spring break road trip out to Zion and Death Valley National Parks back in 2017. The plan was to try for a 40 mile and three day traverse of Zion. We were at the ranger station right as they opened to get a permit, but unfortunately there was one party ahead of us. The party spent the better part of an hour negotiating and asking questions to the ranger, and by the time it was our turn, all of the permits were gone. I offered that we could complete the hike in two days, and there were available campspots, but the ranger would not permit this.

After some back and forth, I announced that I would complete the hike in one day. The ranger was not happy with this idea, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. My rough plan was to try to maintain a 4mph pace and finish just before dark.

Looking back, I’m not sure how I completed this hike. I had never hiked 30 miles in a day let alone 40. I started at a slow jog, and maintained 4.0mph for the first few hours, but then fell off the pace as I trudged through snow and mud.

I finished a few hours after dark, in intense pain, but feeling proud of my accomplishment. I luckily got a few hitches in the dark since the shuttle had stopped running hours ago.