HDT 2022 Day 39, May 9, Monday
Start near Zion boundary S14 mile 55.6
End East Mesa Trailhead
Miles walked: 19.2
Entering the national park boundary, the route follows a series of cross-country instructions for five miles, along ridges and washes.
The white/gray rock faces, with accents of pink, tend to be slanted 15-30 degrees from vertical, instead of completely vertical cliffs in other areas.
Not far beyond crossing the highway, the route joins the East Rim Trail, and goes past Jolley Gulch.
The going is easier on park trail, giving me confidence I can finish 15 miles today to complete my trip.
Following park signs, I turn down into Echo Canyon towards Weeping Rock.
I do not hear any echoes, and suspect the slanted rock faces are not ideal to resonate. The canyon is quiet, and I meet no day hikers along this section. (Foreshadowing…)
I see one weeping rock, a seep, but am not sure this is the famous one.
After wide trail carved out of sandstone, the route follows cairns across slickrock, and then trail past a deep narrows.
Suddenly I see a trail closure, blocking my route.
I meet Nathan, a day-hiker looking for a way around. The way ahead, a series of switchbacks down to a parking area, has been wiped out by an immense rockslide.
The hiker had tried climbing down the slide, but concluded it was too dangerous, and would cause further erosion. He plans to hike 5 miles back to his car at East Mesa Trailhead, and I ask to tag along and maybe get a ride out of the park.
The view down to Zion Canyon and the parking area, with free park buses crawling along the road far below us, is pretty cool, despite the circumstances.
Finally, at the trailhead, we see the trail closure notice that N had missed when he started.
Since Hayduke does not go past any trailhead, I have no opportunity to see the trail closure notice– unless the park service would have included the notice on some of the many metal signs we pass during the day.
My new friend and I eat dinner together at Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort, where he has just started working, and he kindly agrees to let me hire him to drive me to St George, the nearest community with an airport, vastly simplifying my journey back home.
Somehow this last minute glitch is a fitting end to a most challenging trail.