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| Cable Works on Cable Mountain |
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| Many Pools Canyon |
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| Nearing Top of Many Pools Trail |
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| Scrambling Up to Crest of Plateau |
The strenuous hike on Friday was, perhaps, the most strenuous hike of this week at Zion. The route was premiered in 2013 when Many Pools Canyon was used for an approach to Deertrap Mountain. This year, a group of five hikers used the same beautiful canyon as an approach to Cable Mountain in Zion National Park.
The Cable Mountain Draw Works, located at the very edge of the plateau, is an early 20th century aerial tramway
that was used to move lumber and timber from the mesas of Cable Mountain
to the floor of Zion Canyon. The structure was listed in the National
Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The Draw Works was originally conceived and constructed by Springdale
pioneer David Flanigan, who regarded the Draw Works as a fulfillment of
an 1863 prophecy by Brigham Young that lumber would one day be
transported from the canyon rim “as the hawk flies.” During operation of
the Draw Works, from 1901 to 1927, the structure was used to move
hundreds of thousands of board feet of lumber, goods, people
occasionally, and a dog once, to the canyon floor 2,000 feet below. ~ NPS.gov
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| Arriving near the Crest |
The five hikers began at the Many Pools Canyon trailhead not far past the east side of the small tunnel on Highway 9. Parking is on the south side of the road but the canyon ascends to the north.
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| Cable Mountain view of Zion Canyon (Big Bend) |
There has been a lot of rain of late in the southwest, so the many pools were filled with water. Rita counted 132 pools on the way back down as she and the others no doubt wanted to jump in the water to escape the heat! The Many Pools Trail does not continue all the way to the rim and at a
certain point the wash deteriorates into brush and scrambling.
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| Framework for Cables |
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| Hiking back out the Plateau |
Having already deciphered the route from before, the five expertly maneuvered their way up to the crest of the plateau. ... Not an easy task. Finally on solid ground of the plateau above, the hikers found the nearby Deertrap Mountain trail and took a right. Shortly, a left turn was made onto the Cable Mountain Trail. This took them all the way out to the rim of the plateau where a 2000 foot cliff awaited. Here is where the old cable works (or what's left of them) are
located. They have recently been re-stabilized since the 90 year old
structure was badly deteriorated. After enjoying the history lesson, the
group returned the way they came up.
10 miles; 2500 feet elevation gain
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| A Particularly Tough Spot |
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| Counting the Pools on the Way Down |
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| Nearing the Bottom of Many Pools Canyon |
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