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| Huber Wash |
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| Petrified Wood in Rock Walls |
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| Variety of Wildflowers |
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| Starting Up Huber Wash |
Kay’s East Rim hike had its maximum 12 people, so this hike was
added. Three hikers went on a
previously unexplored (by the club) hike to Huber Wash. It
turned out to be a great surprise with a bountiful display of wild flowers and
ending at a beautiful dry falls area with petrified wood embedded in the rock
wall.
The hike starts about 6
miles west of the South entrance of Zion just as you pass Rockville and see the
sign changing the speed limit to 65 miles per hour. There is a small dirt pull off on the right
for parking and you then go through the gate and head down the dirt road toward
the transformer station. The big
challenge of the hike is unhooking this first gate!
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| Huber Wash |
Next, there is a second gate
to go through before you are greeted with a sign saying Zion back country. There are only two directional items to
remember, take the left fork of the dirt track into the wash and stay to the
right in the main wash about halfway through the hike.
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| Huber Wash |
Also, after heading down into the wash from
the road, notice the wall on the right as this will tell you where to turn left
out of the wash on the return. The hike
is described in the book HIKING ZION AND BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARKS.
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| Huber Wash |
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| Mt. Kinesava in Background |
Views included the Rockville Bench to the southeast, the
Petrified Forest Bench to the north and Mount Kinesava to the northeast. As we walked down the wash, there was a
tremendous variety of blooming wild flowers to photograph and enjoy. We had our snack break when we reached the tall
dry fall. This is a very interesting
area with a pretty dry fall and a colorful rock area on the right. From the end, if you go back a little you
will see a small trail on the left (on the right if facing the fall) that leads
up closer to the petrified wood area.
From the wash, you need to look up to the rock wall to find wood embedded
in the wall. As you take the small trail
you will continue to see more wood in the wall and on the ground. You can go right up under a long log embedded
in the wall.
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| Interesting Alcove |
It is possible to do a point-to-point
hike returning on the Chinle Trail if a car is prepositioned at the Chinle
trailhead. We did not do this but
decided to climb out of the wash and explore the connection.
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| Exploring Trail Junction with Chinle Trail |
When leaving the dry fall,
there is a small cairn showing where to climb up on the right about 100 feet
back (opposite side as the petrified wood).
We wanted to find the “chimney” leading up to the high shelf above the
wash.
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| Mt. Kinesava |
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| Top of the Chimney |
After some looking,
we found the “chimney” and climbed up. From
this upper vantage point, we could see the Chinle trail across the wash above
the petrified wood logjam area and could see how we would need to go around the
end of wash and intersect the Chinle trail to start heading back above Huber
Wash. On the high shelf, we saw more
petrified wood and flowers as well as views up and down Huber Wash and a close-up
of Mount Kinesava. We then retraced our
steps to the wash and car. It was a
beautiful day for the hike but this area can be extremely hot in the summer. Huber Wash and/or Chinle Trail would be recommended in the spring as a moderate hike. ~ Joan
5 miles, 400 feet, 4 hours
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| Water Worn Arch |
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| Back Down to Huber Wash |
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| View Back while Returning to Trailhead |
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