Zion Crossing

Race Information

• What? Zion Crossing
• When? June 1st, 2024
• Distance: 38 miles (61.3 km)
• Where? Zion, USA
• Strava Activity: Strava
• Elapsed Time: 12 hours 37 minutes

Goals

Prologue & Planning

Just three short weeks after my race at the Texas Switchback Half-Marathon, a new running challenge appeared on my calendar. Sam, my friend from various running adventures including the infamous rim-to-rim-to-rim (R3) suffer fest, was visiting Vegas. He arrived a couple of days early so we could head out to Zion, where we planned to tackle the open portion of the Zion traverse, known as “Zion Crossing.” Though slightly shorter and with less elevation gain than R3, the heat and sun exposure would be far worse.

Getting to the trailhead

As we had more time than when we did R3, we decided not to drive straight to Zion and start the run immediately. Instead, we drove up on Friday afternoon, and would spend the night there, starting the run the next day. On our trip up from Vegas, we stopped by St. George and visited a popular BBQ joint, Pica Pica. The BBQ was delicious and worth the minor detour. We noticed that the temperature was around 100°F (37°C), which felt extremely warm. This made us worry about the heat during our run.

After lunch, we leisurely drove the final 60 minutes to Springdale and settled in for an early night, helped by a small pint of beer from a local brewery. A few short hours later, we woke up at 4 AM to head to the Zion National Park visitor center, where we had arranged a pickup service at 5 AM to take us to the starting trailhead, Lee Pass. Another person, Rob (if I remember correctly), was hiking the same route over three days. He shared stories of his hiking adventures and assured us we were unlikely to see any snakes on the trail.

In addition to the drop-off at the starting point, the same company provided a resupply service, leaving snacks and water at Hop Valley Trailhead. This was about a third of the way in (20 km/13 miles). We would have preferred it to be closer to halfway, but it was still better than carrying all our supplies and filtering water for the entire 60 km/40 miles.

When we arrived at the Lee Pass trailhead, our starting point, we stepped out of the van and were greeted by refreshingly cool air. Perhaps today wouldn’t be too warm? A lovely cool day in Zion? Wishful thinking…

From Lee Pass to Hop Valley Trailhead (0 to 20 kms)

At 6 AM sharp, we descended the first section of the run, a lovely single-track trail that was not too steep, very pretty, and quite runnable. We ticked away the miles, enjoying the fresh morning air. The first section of the trail showcased beautiful colors in all different hues. As the sun began to rise, high canyon cliffs protected the trail from the strong rays, allowing us to run in the shade. The trail had been pretty empty until we stumbled upon a food bag hanging from a tree and then suddenly encountered a large group of young hikers. They seemed bewildered and surprised to see two runners zooming past at 7 AM! After about 10 km, we hit a long, winding stream that crisscrossed the valley. We had to make a few large leaps over the water, with mixed success, resulting in slightly wet feet but a lot of fun! Given the heat of the previous day, I did not expect this lush landscape with so much green. Looking down at the stream, Sam noticed thousands of small black spots moving; the river was teeming with tadpoles—what a treat!

After this section, we slowly ascended a rough track—perhaps used by emergency services or tractors—and then passed through a fly-infested stretch before finally reaching our resupply point at Hop Valley Trailhead. At the makeshift “aid station”, we found our box filled with ice, water, and food. It also had an emergency head torch, just in case something went wrong and we got stuck out past sundown. We sat and enjoyed a tasty cheese and ham sandwich, washed down with salt and vinegar chips and ice-cold Sprite. After refilling our water bottles and adding ice to my ice bandana, we bid farewell to this mini-oasis and set out on the second leg.

Fresh start

Cool sunrise

Lovely View

From hop valley until the wheels fell off (20 to 40 kms)

After navigating a brief road crossing, we headed down the connector path from Kolob Canyons to Zion, maintaining a good pace. It was surprising to see two hikers approaching us after not seeing anyone for a while. Just as we were about to pass each other, a very loud hiss and rattling noise erupted! Just a foot from where the hikers had walked was a very annoyed snake doing its morning stretch routine. The first hiker cried out, “Is that a rattlesnake?” to which we all responded, “Yes, it is!” After a few moments of mutual surprise, we had a brief chat before heading our separate ways, giving the snake a wide berth.

After that minor scare, we paid extra attention to the trail to avoid stepping on any more “danger noodles.” We continued to make good time, and it seemed our goal of finishing under 10 hours was possible. The terrain turned into a mini forest, which was fortunate as the sun had come out in full force. The additional tree cover made the heat quite manageable. At the previous aid station, I had put leftover ice into an ice bandana around my neck, which felt amazing. A minor navigational error made me realize that I hadn’t actually loaded the route onto my watch and had been navigating by intuition. Fortunately, this was a relatively easy route to follow—just go straight!

When we came across a natural water spring, Sam and I doused our clothing in water to keep cool. With far less tree cover, we were both starting to feel the heat. After soaking our ice bandanas, hair, and hats in the cold spring, we took a brief break to relax and eat some more food. I also loosened the laces on my shoes as they were proving a bit too tight.

There’s an old saying: “Don’t try anything new on race day.” Unfortunately, it’s hard to test out new shoes for ultra-distance running because how a shoe feels during a 10 km run is vastly different from how it feels after 50 km. What feels soft and comfy can become hard and painful over long distances, and a roomy toe box can suddenly feel very tight. I was testing out a new pair of shoes, the Nike Zegama 1s, which I had bought on sale. I had gone true to size and was now paying the price as my toes were cramped and were going numb. Despite the shoes having Nike’s bouncy ZoomX foam, they felt like running on a hard brick surface.

As we pushed past 35 km, the temperature really started to climb. The tree cover was almost gone, and we were now constantly exposed to the full force of the sun. With temperatures still in the early 33s°C/91s°F, the going got tough. We adopted a run/walk strategy to keep our heart rates and heat levels down, focusing on our picnic plan for a long break with lunch at the 40 km point, which was aptly timed for 1 PM, a little over 7 hours into the run.

Hitting our final descent, a few cowboys on horses passed us by. We then found a delightfully shaded tree to rest under. We sat down and took out our delicious snacks. Sam was looking a little rough, and after his first bite, he keeled over and emptied his stomach on the ground. Oh no.

Snek

Vomit 1

Vomit 2

A Challenging Afternoon Stroll (40 to ~61 kms)

I slowly worked my way through lunch while Sam tried to eat a bit of food. He had a bunch of grapes, which seemed to help, and he took a turmeric pill, something that had helped mitigate his stomach issues in previous 100-mile races. After about 15 minutes, we decided to press on. Thankfully, we weren’t worried about time since we had plenty of hours before the last bus out of Zion Canyon.

Adopting a run-walk approach, we kept a slower but still decent pace. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to hide from the sun, and it kept beating down on us. After about 30 minutes, Sam had to take another break to empty what was left in his stomach. He took another turmeric pill to see if that would help. He was not a happy camper. Perhaps we had been pushing too hard during the run segments of our run-walk strategy. From now on, we aimed for a consistent push, erring on the side of walking.

We maintained a consistent pace, now reduced to a fast march rather than a run. We slowly ascended and descended very exposed hills with the sun beating down on us. Dropping into a lovely valley, we started running again, but this was premature. We had to break again, and once more, Sam bent over and retched. Ninety minutes and three vomits—likely a record for him! We sat in some shade to relax and avoid the worst of the 2:30 PM heat, hovering around 35s°C/95s°F. I put on a little music for us, and after about 10 minutes, we pushed on again.

Sadly, we entered another very exposed area with little cover, which then became a steep, long climb. We slowly ground our way up the hill. I had opted not to use running poles to simulate a race where I couldn’t use them, though Sam had a pair, and I think they proved useful. We took a few tactical breaks as it was a steep climb, though thankfully with intermittent shade. During this period, I’m pretty certain I encountered my second snake. As I sat down for a rest, I heard the same hissing and rattling sound as earlier. I quickly jumped up and took a step away. I never saw the snake as it was hidden among the bushes, but my heart rate rocketed.

Reaching approximately the top of the climb, we sat down in the shade for a relaxing break. It was now 4:20 PM, just over 10 hours into the run, and we had around 7 miles (12 km) to go. We looped around the top of the West Rim, which had truly epic views and lovely warm breeze, before dropping down and then back up to Scouts Point/Angels Landing. We then descended to the grotto and the river. The views were spectacular, but we were both quite tired and low on water at this point. As we crossed the bridge at the end, we swiftly jumped onto a well-timed bus back to the visitor center.

Hot and Suffering

Getting close

Walter Wiggles

done

Epilogue

Overall, it took us just under 13 hours to complete the run—slightly slower than we expected but still a decent time given the conditions. In terms of difficulty, I found this run easier than R3. This was likely due to it being shorter, having less elevation gain, and the fact that I hadn’t run 100 miles 10 days before! Sam also thought it was easier overall.

After dropping off the car, we headed to Zion Brewery for a big burger and a well-earned pint. Mission accomplished!