Generally, “February” and “Wildcat Canyon” are not words you hear in the same sentence around southwest Utah, except for maybe in this sentiment: “Wildcat Canyon? You can’t hike there in February. There’s too much snow!” Or perhaps in this little nugget: “Wildcat Canyon? On the Kolob Terrace road? You need a snowmobile to get up there!”
 |
| No snow on the Kolob Terrace Road in February? |
I have never met a trail in Zion National Park that I did not like. Long, short, steep, level, paved, rocky, hard sandy slickrock or soft forest soil, it does not matter. I will hike wherever and whenever the opportunity presents itself. A few weeks ago when I had to be in the Park for a 1:30pm volunteer meeting, just such an opportunity appeared. Dizzy and hyper after snacking on a German chocolate brownie during the drive over, I left my friend Lucy happily napping on a picnic table in the early February sunshine. When I exited my meeting two hours later, we headed for the Watchman Trail.
 |
| Watchman trail |
