Outdoor store on the way West from Vegas

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Rick B

 
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Outdoor store on the way West from Vegas

by Rick B » Tue May 25, 2010 1:25 pm

Next week I'll be flying to Las Vegas for a trip in Utah and Arizona. I'm arriving on a saturday evening however, and I still have to get some supplies such as fuel for my stove (because I can't fly with this) and perhaps some backpacking meals. This means I have to find an outdoor store, open on a sunday. So far I've only been able to find a 'REI' in vegas, but this opens at 11am so this would mean a very late start for that day.

Are there any other good stores on the way from Vegas to Zion, OR, on the way from Vegas to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon? (I haven't decided which way to go yet)

Also, I just found out that that weekend is 'memorial weekend'. Please tell me that this doesn't mean that there will be five times as much people crowding Zion ... ?

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cp0915

 
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Re: Outdoor store on the way West from Vegas

by cp0915 » Tue May 25, 2010 3:06 pm

Rick B wrote:Are there any other good stores on the way from Vegas to Zion


The Desert Rat, on Bluff Street, in St. George. Also, there are two outdoor stores in Springdale itself (right at the main entrance to Zion), though I kinda doubt Zion Adventure Company carries stove fuel.

OR, on the way from Vegas to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon?


There are places in Flagstaff, though it's a touch out of the way. Kinda doubt Williams or Kingman have anything worth a damn, but it's possible.

Grand Canyon's gonna be hot below the rim. It was pretty damn hot when I was there in early April.

Also, I just found out that that weekend is 'memorial weekend'. Please tell me that this doesn't mean that there will be five times as much people crowding Zion ... ?


Zion's been hopping for a month now, but yes, there will be 5x as many people. But the backcountry will still have approximately -zero-.

Out of curiosity, what are you going to be doing in Zion?

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Alex Wood

 
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by Alex Wood » Tue May 25, 2010 10:46 pm

Kingmen only has a Big Five- not much help at all there. If you go to Flagstaff, go to Peace Surplus on RT 66 in Old Town

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Re: Outdoor store on the way West from Vegas

by Rick B » Wed May 26, 2010 5:59 am

cp0915 wrote:
Also, I just found out that that weekend is 'memorial weekend'. Please tell me that this doesn't mean that there will be five times as much people crowding Zion ... ?


Zion's been hopping for a month now, but yes, there will be 5x as many people. But the backcountry will still have approximately -zero-.


Dammit man. I even said please. You could've said 4.9x or 5.1 times as much, but nooo ... :wink:

Out of curiosity, what are you going to be doing in Zion?


I was thinking of doing at least some of the popular stuff such as Angel's landing and hike the canyon a bit.. maybe Observation point. But besides that I looked at Kinesava peak and that looks really nice and at least much less busy. I'm okay with heat, the only worry I have is that I injured my foot a while ago, I'm not sure if it's already up to facing endless scree slopes...

Any other suggestions that would help avoid the crowds but still get some good views (scrambling is fine, but nothing really technical because of said foot) .. ?

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Re: Outdoor store on the way West from Vegas

by cp0915 » Wed May 26, 2010 3:28 pm

Rick B wrote:I was thinking of doing at least some of the popular stuff such as Angel's landing and hike the canyon a bit.. maybe Observation point. But besides that I looked at Kinesava peak and that looks really nice and at least much less busy. I'm okay with heat, the only worry I have is that I injured my foot a while ago, I'm not sure if it's already up to facing endless scree slopes...

Any other suggestions that would help avoid the crowds but still get some good views (scrambling is fine, but nothing really technical because of said foot) .. ?


Angel's Landing and Observation Point will be super-busy but they are still super-classic and worth doing anyway. Do 'em early in the morning to avoid (most of) the crowds. You'll still have to endure the crowds on the way down though.

Mount Kinesava is terrific. I'm not sure how your foot will handle it, but the scree is pretty well non-existent and the talus is minimal. Give it a shot!

The east side of the park is fantastic, though it's also busy. But in most situations in Zion, you can get a half mile off the trail and find yourself completely alone.

Kolob Terrace is another sweet place, though it's more wild. The Wildcat Trailhead is the hot-spot. It takes you to places like North Guardian Angel, Northgate Peaks, the Subway and the like. But you might take the Right Fork Trail down into the Right Fork and head up-canyon for awhile. The trail disappears almost immediately, but it's not hard to find your way up to some beautiful waterfalls a few miles up. Good stuff.

Back in Zion Canyon, it's always classic to take the West Rim Trail up past Scout Lookout into the slickrock wasteland between Sneak Peak and Mount Majestic. You can (easily) cross lower Telephone Canyon in a few spots and then wander around to your heart's content. Twin Peak is a fun scramble nearby with outstanding views of Zion Canyon.

There are many, many more suggestions I could make...but that should get you started.

Oh yeah, if you're gonna make the hike to Observation Point, it's totally worth it to go another couple hundred yards to the actual Observation Benchmark. Frankly, I think it's a much better viewpoint, and you should be completely alone.

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Rick B

 
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by Rick B » Fri May 28, 2010 4:45 am

Alright, thanks a million for the tips! I'll let you know how it worked out. I might change my route and go to the Grand Canyon first and then visit Zion on the way back at the end of my trip.

PS. Also thanks Alex!


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