May 17, 2010
Day 19: Springdale to Kanab, across Zion National Park
55F overnight, not cold at all. I got on the road a little after 9, heading east through Zion National Park. Uphill pretty much all the way through the park. The first steep climb is a big switchback that climbs 500 feet to the tunnel.
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Park rangers patrol both entrances to the tunnel. Their main task is to control lines of 1-way traffic through the tunnel. There are many motor homes on the road, and the tunnel isn't big enough for two motor homes to pass inside. So it seems to be always 1-way traffic during peak times. The ranger at the tunnel pointed out that I'm not allowed to bike in the tunnel (I already knew that) and also insisted that they are not allowed to help me solicit a ride through the tunnel. The second assertion is preposterous, but I had no trouble getting a ride on the first eastbound pickup truck to arrive.
The unlit tunnel would be fun to bike through because you could stop and look out the 3 windows. I've heard of cyclists doing that very early in the morning before the rangers show up. The eastbound tunnel is uphill all the way, same as the road.
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Yesterday the waiter at the cafe told me how to find some "secret" petroglyphs east of the Zion tunnel. I parked at an unmarked turnout and walked 5 minutes to a large collection of petroglyphs. They are not marked on the park map or by road signs, but there is a railing around the petroglyphs and a sign pointing out a $250,000 fine for defacing archaeological relics. The signs said nothing about the estimated age or the people who made them.
The scenery changes dramatically east of the tunnel. Instead of a canyon with near vertical red walls, the rock formations now consist of cone-shaped tilted horizontal white layers on top of large areas of tilted horizontal red layers. The camera doesn't quite capture how fascinating it is.
Checkerboard Mesa is at the easternmost edge of the park. The view from the road is better than the view from the designated overlook.
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Just east of Checkerboard Mesa I leave Zion National Park and the tilted horizontal rock layers abruptly end. The road continues to climb through juniper forest up to a 6100-foot summit. 2100 feet above Springdale.
I spoke briefly with two westbound touring cyclists doing a 1-week loop of Bryce and Zion.
After the summit the road drops 600 feet to Mt. Carmel Junction where highway 9 ends. I go south on US 89 and promptly climb to a 6650-foot summit before beginning a long descent to Kanab (4970 ft. elevation). Most of that descent is in a beautiful red rock canyon. US 89 has much more traffic, especially trucks. Trucks aren't allowed in the Zion tunnel, so there were NO trucks on highway 9.
Clouds were building in the afternoon at the high elevations, but it became mostly sunny and 80F by the time I got to Kanab. With a population of 3564, Kanab is larger than I expected and it seems to be thriving. It has traffic lights, motels, restaurants, 2 supermarkets, and even a McDonald's. Kanab advertises itself as a base for tourists to visit Bryce Canyon to the north, Lake Powell to the east, Grand Canyon to the south, and Zion to the west. I got a $20 tent campsite at the Hitch N Post RV park in the middle of town. The evening was warm, breezy, and buggy.
Today was a great day. Great scenery. Great weather. Great roads. I felt great. And I had a tailwind all day as usual. From here it will take me 2 days to get to the next park, the Grand Canyon.
Distance: 45.5 mi. (73 km)
Climbing: 3260 ft. (988 m)
Average Speed: 8.6 mph (13.8 km/h)
Maximum Speed: 32.5 mph (52 km/h)
Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 910 miles (1,465 km)
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