Itinerary

DAY 1: LAS VEGAS – CEDAR BREAKS NATIONAL MONUMENT & KODACHROME BASIN
7:00AM Depart the bright lights and man made fantasy land of Las Vegas and travel northeast through the desert ascending over 6,000
feet before arriving in the natural fantasy land of Cedar Breaks National Monument with a design only natural forces can create. Cedar
Breaks is carved from the same stone, variegated Pink Cliffs (Claron Formation) found in Bryce and Red Canyons, but has its own unique
look and feel. The rim of the Canyon is over 10,000 feet above sea level and towers over 2,000 feet above the canyon floor. Stretch and
breath in the crisp clean mountain air while hiking a short scenic trail giving us a glimpse of the raw natural beauty of our week of
adventure. Following a lip smacking lunch, we climb aboard the vehicle for the second leg of today’s journey taking us past quaint
mountain villages, lakes and ancient volcanic formations in Utah’s high country before descending 2,000 feet into fertile Long Valley which
marks the entrance to our backcountry playground during the week ahead. We arrive at Kodachrome Basin State Park between 3pm and
5pm. Our home for the next 4 nights is Kodachrome Basin’s superb group camping site or the newly updated Kodachrome cabins.
Hiking: 1‐3 miles

DAY 2: BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK
After a hearty and delicious breakfast, we ascend the Paunsagunt Plateau and enter Bryce Canyon National Park. Words cannot describe
the sweeping views before us as we eat lunch at the rim of Bryce’s amphitheater. The erosive force of frost‐wedging and the dissolving
power of rainwater have sculpted the colorful limestone rock into bizarre formations including slot canyons, windows, fins, and spires
called “hoodoos.” Tinted with colors too numerous and subtle to name, these whimsically arranged rocks create a wondrous landscape of
mazes offering some of the most exciting and memorable hikes imaginable.
We start our walk along the rim before descending into this wild land of rock as we hike downhill through a surreal maze of pink hoodoos
and rock windows all the way to the mouth of the Bryce amphitheater. Appreciate your own perspective of what some describe as both “a
scientist laboratory and a child’s playground.” Tonight we return to Kodachrome to relax fire side for a fabulous meal prepared by your
guides.
Hiking: 3‐7 miles

DAY 3: GRAND STAIRCASE‐ESCALANTE NATIONAL MONUMENT
Wake up in the peaceful surroundings of our beautiful red rock home to a nourishing breakfast prepared by your guides. After breakfast
and a short 15 minute drive, you can see for yourself what the Navajo phrase describing a slot canyon means: “Tse neh gi too na aah dis
zjaa”…”A place where water has painted a picture of itself.”
Our hike drops us into a remote slot canyon in Grand Staircase‐Escalante National Monument. This high, rugged and remote region is
sure to be a highlight for many trip members. One of the last wilderness places to be mapped in the continental US, this area of bold
plateaus and multi‐hued cliffs run for distances that defy human perspective. Even today, this unspoiled natural area remains a frontier, a
quality that greatly enhances its value for scientific study. The monument has a long and dignified human history: it is a place where one
can see how nature shapes human endeavors in the American West, where distance and aridity have been pitted against our dreams and
courage. The monument continues to present exemplary opportunities for geologists, paleontologists, archeologists, historians and
biologists – today we learn why.
Relaxing after our hike while your guides prepare lunch, we will be surrounded by a palette of warm shades of red, yellow, pink, white and
brown, which against the deep blue sky and rare green vegetation, led the National Geographic Society to name the area Kodachrome
Basin (with the consent of the Kodak Film Corporation). One especially unique feature of the park is the presence of many spires or
“chimneys” of rock, known as sand pipes, which are thought to be solidified sediment that filled ancient springs or geysers, left standing
after the softer surrounding sandstone rock weathered away.
After lunch, the members of the group can decide to visit another unique canyon or relax at Kodachrome while the setting sun turns our
red rock home into a glowing amphitheater.
Hiking: 4‐7 miles

DAY 4: GRAND STAIRCASE‐ESCALANTE NATIONAL MONUMENT
Grand Staircase‐Escalante is America’s outback! Fredrick Samuel Dellenbaugh travelled the world as an artist and writer, and in 1904
helped to found the esteemed Explorers Club, now located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. On a formative trip in May and June of
1872 at the tender age of 18, Dellenbaugh entered this raw desert with a group of amateur explorers on the last great voyage of
exploration in the Old West, perhaps laying down the framework of his life. He and his friends found the first route through southern
Utah’s maze of canyons, discovering the last unknown river in the Continental United States (the Escalante) and the last mountain range
(the Henry’s). They were also the first group of westerners to peer into the phantasmagoric expanse of Bryce Canyon!
Today we are in search of a natural arch of grand proportions, a treasure found only by the most determined intrepid explorers of this vast
wilderness landscape. After a short drive the horizon opens up to sweeping 360 degree vistas atop the Hell’s Backbone ridge as we make
our way to the trailhead. The beginning of our hike finds us following the natural washes and slick rock ridges as we wind our way into the
Escalante River drainage before heading up to a red stone wonderland to find Phipps Arch. Here we relax and enjoy a delicious picnic
lunch in the shadow of the massive arch. After lunch we trek back down to the drainage with an optional side hike to another hidden arch
on our way to the Escalante River. Once we have arrived at the River we head down stream wading back and forth across the river until we
reach the hundred hands trailhead – hike the short trail to visit the ancient rock art while your guides retrieve our vehicle.
Our action‐packed exploration continues this afternoon with a short hike down a cairn‐studded slick rock trail to the beautiful and mostly
overlooked upper Calf Creek Falls. After arriving at this desert oasis, the brave members of the group jump off a small waterfall into a
beautiful swimming hole while the others cool their trail‐weary feet in the cool water. Tonight we celebrate our final night at our red rock
home in Kodachrome Basin State Park.
Hiking: 5‐8 miles

DAY 5: ZION NATIONAL PARK
After an early breakfast and beautiful morning drive, we enter Zion National Park. Zion's unique geographic location and variety of life
zones combine to create a variety of habitats for a surprising array of plant and animal species. Located on the Colorado Plateau, but
bordering the Great Basin and Mojave Desert Provinces, Zion is home to plants from each region. Ancient cultural artifacts show evidence
of Ancestral Puebloans, known as the Anasazi, dating from 2,000 years ago. Indication of Paiutes from about 800 years ago and more
recently Mormon settlers who arrived in the 1860s are revealed here as well. Inspired perhaps by the overwhelming beauty of the
landscape, the early Mormon settlers named the area Zion, which to Mormons means “the pure in heart” or, in this case, a place where
people with pure hearts live.
Today’s epic hike begins with a stroll beneath shady Cottonwood and Sycamore trees by the Virgin River’s edge. Soon we begin
ascending, and it is time to conquer the challenging hike up Angel’s Landing before the desert sun peaks over the canyon wall. Angel’s
Landing is not just a hike; it is the pre‐eminent trail of our National Park system and the perfect adventurous finale to our fantastic week of
exploring our national gems. Named for Reverend Frederick Fisher in 1916 when he exclaimed: “Only an angel can land on it!" The name
stuck, and its legend grew.
The trail ascends 1,488 feet in 2 1/2 miles to the 5,790‐foot summit of a monolith perched partway between the river and the canyon rim. It
is flanked on three sides by the erosive North Fork of the Virgin River below. The payoffs to landing on this perch are sweeping northsouth
views of the Virgin River gorge, Cathedral Mountain, Observation Point, Cable Mountain and the Great White Throne looming high
above Angels Landing.
After descending back to the canyon floor it is customary to take a cool plunge in the Virgin River and relax under a Cottonwood Tree
before heading into Springdale for a restful evening in this fabulous western town. Springdale is a charming town at the doorstep of the
Park offering a wonderful selection of shops and galleries. We celebrate the week of adventure at dinner this evening as a group. We retire
at the Historic Pioneer Lodge.
Hiking: 5‐8 miles

DAY 6: ZION NATIONAL PARK TO LAS VEGAS
This morning is open for you to choose your own adventure! Each season in this towering wonderland of cliffs, valleys and hanging
gardens is spectacular. Ask your guides for their input on what might best suit your particular interests for this morning. Choices include
riding a bike up Zion’s main canyon, hiking in the world famous Narrows or ascending the East Rim Trail, which winds through slender
Echo Canyon on its way to Observation Point. If you choose one of these options or a relaxing morning strolling around Springdale you are
sure to be pleased with your final moments amid the glory of this red rock cathedral. Waving farewell to Zion, we arrive back to the bright
lights of Las Vegas between 4:00pm and 6:00pm.
Hiking: 0‐7 miles

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