Trans-Zion (UT)

[Peter Bakwin]

Hayden Hawks, 6h50m49s (east to west), April 14, 2017 Joelle Vaught, 8h26m09s (east to west), May 20, 2016 Previous (M): Mike Foote & Justin Yates, 7h22m08s (East to West), May 26, 2013 Previous (M): Travis Macy, 7h27m46s (west to east), April 5, 2013 Previous (M): Luke Nelson, 7h48m47s (east to west), May 3, 2012 Previous (F): Bethany Lewis, 8h32m (east to west), April 21, 2013 Previous (F): Krissy Moehl, 9h09m (east to west), May 3, 2012 Craig Lloyd & Jennilyn Eaton ran a double Trans-Zion in 24h50m on November 7, 2014. The Trans-Zion Trek (sometimes also called the "Zion Traverse") is a 48-mile route across Zion National Park in Southwestern Utah. It runs from Lee Pass in the Kolob Canyons section of the park, to the East Entrance Trailhead, though stunning and diverse high desert landscape. The route is typically done as a 5-day backpacking trip. West-to-east distances are approximately as follows. Much more detail (and maps) is available on Joe Braun's site.

*** Belt Buckle Route! *** Rickey Gates and partner Elizabeth Thorp have created a series of custom belt buckles commemorating some of the most iconic and hotly contested FKT routes! Each buckle is awarded to the FKT holder, and passed on when that FKT is superseded.

La Verkin Creek Trail	6.5 miles
Hop Valley Trail	6.5 miles
Connector Trail	4 miles
Wildcat Canyon Trail	5 miles
West Rim Trail	15 miles
Zion Canyon Road	1 mile
East Rim Trail	10 miles
TOTAL	48 miles

The crossing was apparently first done in a single day in the early 1990s by Terry Tucker. The idea was picked up by Bo Beck, and dubbed the "Far Far Fest". Beck and friends have made the trek several times, and in both directions. Beck's fastest time is 14h25m, set April 28, 2007 (west to east).

The route was "rediscovered" by Jared Campbell while studying maps of the park. Campbell and champion ultrarunner Karl Meltzer ran the crossing from west to east in 10h24m on April 19, 2008. The two were resupplied by friends at the West Rim TH (near Lava Point), and at the Grotto in Zion Canyon.

On May 2, 2009, a large group mostly from Boulder, CO, tackled the Trans-Zion. 14 runners started at the Lee Pass TH, and 3 at the East Entrance. The west-to-east runners had support at the Hop Valley TH and at the Grotto, but the east-to-west runners were unsupported. Conditions were excellent, with generally cool and overcast weather but little rain, and many water sources running. The Telephone Canyon Trail was closed, so all runners used the West Rim Trail (as did Campbell & Meltzer). All-star backpacker turned champion ultrarunner Andy Skurka ran east-to-west (unsupported) in a new record time of 9h27m. Ever the trip planner, Skurka has detailed information about the route on his website, including a map set and databook. He also posted a nice YouTube video & spectacular photos from the trip on his site. Other finishers of the Trans-Zion that day were Jason Chapman, Greg Poettgen, Peter Bakwin (10h29m, west-to-east), Carol Gerber (13h00m, west-to-east, women's FKT), John Prater, Mark Oveson, Eric Lee, Paul Grimm, Stephanie Ehret, Kari Fraser, and Chris Gerber (the last 5 also did side trips to Kolob Arch and Angel's Landing). Dan Brillon, Jonas Fast, Kristen Alvarez, Louisa Jenkins and Tressa Breindel started at Lee Pass and stopped at the Grotto.

Jared Campbell took back the FKT, with his friend Christian Johnson, on November 27, 2009, running west-to-east in 9h08m. They had about 1.8 "bonus" miles to get aid from Campbell's fiance at Wildcat TH, since her car couldn't get to the West Rim TH.

Campbell & Johnson's FKT held for less than half a year, as Matt Hart became the first to go under 8 hours, running east-to-west in 7h58m on May 14, 2010. About 2 years later, Luke Nelson took 10 minutes off Hart's time, running 7h48m47s on May 3, 2012, as reported below. Nelson ran east-to-west, which seems to be the preferred direction for going fast. His run was supported. Nelson's FKT lasted only 11 months, when Travis Macy ran 7h27m46s west-to-east, supported, as reported below. As the overall FKT, this time lasted less than 2 months, and was broken by Mike Foote and Justin Yates in 7h22m8s east-to-west, supported, as reported below. Hayden Hawks, of nearby St George, UT, finally cracked the 7-hour mark, running east-to-west in 6h50m49s on April 14, 2017. Macy's time remains the west-to-east FKT.

Carol Gerber set the first known FKT by a woman (13h00m, west-to-east) on May 2, 2009. Her report from the run is below. Candice Burt set a new women's FKT at 11h47m (west-to-east, unsupported) on November 16, 2011. Her report is on her blog. Krissy Moehl demolished the previous women's FKT on May 3, 2012, running the route in 9h09m (east-to-west). Moehl started with Luke Nelson, but they only ran together a short time before Nelson pulled away. Like Nelson, Moehl's run was supported. Bethany Lewis reported (below) that she lowered the women's FKT to 8h32m on April 21, 2013. Her run was self-supported and partially paced. Montrail athlete Joelle Vaught took another 6 minutes off the women's FKT on May 20, 2016, as reported below (east to west, supported, partially paced). Montrail produced a nice video of Voight's adventure. In just a few years this has become a highly competative and sought-after FKT!

Craig Lloyd did the first known double Trans-Zion in 26h55m03s on May 11-12, 2012, as reported below. His full report with photos is at www.refuse2quit.com/2012/05/zion-double-traverse-report.html. Lloyd's trip was supported. Lloyd returned with Jennilyn Eaton on November 7, 2014, and completed the double Traverse in 24h50m (supported).

Carol Gerber's run report:
My time was 13 hours (exactly, I think!). I took off at 5:20ish a.m. with 8 other runners. When we were running we were going at a good pace, but we stopped a lot it seemed to take pictures and admire the views. We also took the 1/2 mile Kolob Arch detour. When Peter, Dan & Jonas caught us, Chris mentioned that he didn't think we'd get caught within 10 miles [Peter, Dan & Jonas had started about an hour later than the others]. I looked at my watch and it was 8 a.m. and that meant we had only gone 10 miles in 2h40m! I told Chris we needed to pick-up the pace and he said our pace put us at a 15 hour finish. I decided I didn't want to be out there for 15 hours, so I took off and tried to keep Peter, Dan & Jonas in my sights. I ran solo until mile 15, where Mark's parents provided water. Peter, Dan & Jonas were there. I quickly filled my water bottles and said I'd try to keep up with them until they caught Mark & John. Peter, Dan & Jonas dropped me within 10-15 minutes, so I followed the map and ran solo to mile 37 - The Grotto. It was absolutely wonderful to be out there running by myself. There were quite a few backpackers and I met Andy, Jason & Greg going the opposite direction at one of the water places, so we chatted a bit. I didn't expect to see anyone else that I knew once I got to mile 37, so I went to the restroom, filled my water bottles and ate some food. I didn't see the trail, so I asked a park ranger where it was. He wasn't familiar with Zion... he was a Grand Canyon park ranger, so he wasn't much help. I started walking toward where the shuttles pick folks up to ask someone and low and behold there's Mark's parents and Mark! He was just leaving, so I asked if I could join he and John. We caught up with John at the next shuttle stop and the 3 of us started the climb up the East Rim Trail. Part way up, Mark suffered from dehydration and slowed down a lot. John and I kept going, but we kept Mark in our sights. John and I were talking non-stop catching-up on things, as he and I had met earlier this winter on a snowshoe trek up Quandary peak. We got water at the top of the climb. Mark was feeling better and moving faster at that point. Mark insisted that he was fine and that John and I should run to the finish, which we did. It was a great descent and I finished at 6:20 p.m. Mark's parents were there and it was great to see Dixie walking up the trail! I knew I was close to the finish when I saw her! Mark's parents gave me a ride back to The Watchman campground, which was great as I didn't want to hitchhike or run! Great run overall - great weather - overcast with a nice breeze. Great scenery! -- Carol Gerber


Zion Canyon, photo by Andy Skurka


East Rim switchbacks, photo by Kristen Alvarez

[Andrew Skurka]

Congrats to Jared et al. to putting up a new FKT. This record is still very soft, however, and I reckon that a sub-8 hour time is very possible.

[candiceburt]

I just completed the Trans-Zion 48 mile route from La Verkin to East Rim, today November 16th 2011. I was on a trip with my boyfriend to do the r2r2r, when he suggested I try to set a trans-zion women's time. We both ran the route today, unsupported, although we ran together most the day, carrying all our own gear. We began at 7:20am at the La Verkin trailhead, and finished at 7:07pm at the East Rim Trailhead. I ran the route in 11:47:00. We have the GPS data and lots of pictures that we will post on my blog within the next week. My blog address is www.runeatswim.blogspot.com

Let me know what kind of verification you need, thanks!

[candiceburt]

I should say that we ran it west to east.

[Peter Bakwin]

That's great, thanks for posting. What a great route! The GPS data & photos should be sufficient for verification. Thanks for considering that. I look forward to your report.

[candiceburt]

My blog URL changed, here is the updated address where you can find my FKT report www.wilddefined.com/2011/11/trans-zion-report-how-to-not-taper.html

[Luke Nelson]

On Thursday May 3 I broke Matt's FKT of the traverse using the same route that he did. My time is 7:48:47. I wrote a full report on my blog here: challengeofbalance.blogspot.com/2012/05/zion-fkt-and-week-in-park.html

Krissy Moehl also broke the female FKT the same day in 9:09:(not sure of seconds). I expect her to post about it soon.

[Craig Lloyd]

This past Friday/Saturday I did what is thought to be the first ever Zion Double Traverse, a double crossing of the now popular Trans-Zion or Zion Traverse.

I started at Lee Pass on the west end and went east to the east gate. I then turned around and came back in a total time of 26:55:03.

www.refuse2quit.com/2012/05/zion-double-traverse-report.html

Stats:
96 total miles
~20,000 vert
Time: 26:55:03

Video to come later.

[krissym]

I attached a write up that will post to the Trail Runner Magazine blog sometime soon. It was an awesome way to share in an FKT attempt!

Admin Edit: Krissy's TR post is here.

Attachments:

[Mateo]

Hello,

I,m gonna do it next week...from kolob to grotto. Thanks for al your información. I will give information about my time.

Mateo

Www.mateorunning.blogspot.com

[Peter Bakwin]

Here's Krissy's report:

Zion Traverse
FKT attempt and success
May 3, 2012

Crispy bodies from time in the sun and tired legs from scaling slickrock and running back and forth for the camera, Luke Nelson and I sat on the tailgate of his truck at 6am the morning of May 3 looking over the map for the last time before starting off across park in our individual assaults on the previously established Trans-Zion records. Accompanied by photographer Fred Marmsater and video-guru Jeff Johnson we cracked a couple of jokes, laced up our Tsali 2.0’s, made final bathroom stops and stripped down to t’s and shorts before making our way over to the trailhead, our start line.

I met Luke Nelson on the trail three years ago at the inaugural Pocatello 50mile trail race. Around mile 30 I headed out of the aid station before him and on the next climb he caught up explaining his massive bonk and decision to hang with me till the finish if I didn’t mind. We chattered away, likely me more than him, and soon found ourselves quickly closing on the finish line tying for 2nd place overall. It was a great day for running in many regards. In looking back on that day and now knowing the friendship that has developed since then, it is one that I am extremely thankful for.

Our talk of meeting up in Zion started in spring of 2011 and it took a couple of attempts to actually meet up there at the same time. After a fall trip with another fellow ultrarunner Jared Campbell this past fall to scope out the traverse I made up my mind that the following spring we needed to put our plan into action. In discussing this with Fred Marmsater on a couple of photoshoots the simple run for Luke and I evolved to a Patagonia project. Now with the financial support for travel and food we also tied photo and video shoots into the days surrounding the actual FKT attempt. Fred and Jeff made those experiences a lot of fun while also appreciating the task Luke and I had established for May 3.

The sandy wash start for the trail on the east rim kept Luke and I stride for stride for the first half mile. We reminded each other how cool it was that we were finally going for this goal and wished each other well for day before Luke picked up his pace and I settled into mine.

The Trans-Zion runs across the park connecting the east rim through Observation Point and the Weeping Rock trail. Once down in the canyon runners must pound the pavement miles to the grotto before heading up Walter’s Wiggles towards Angel’s Landing and making the bend and finishing the climb to the west rim trail. We each accepted aid from UltrAspire’s Cherie Santiago at the grotto swapping bottles for hydration vests as it would be another 20 miles before the possibility for a water refill.

Climbing out of the canyon at sunrise was spectacular and I was excited to feel energy in my legs to run more and powerhike when necessary. Fred and Jeff met us near the top for a few photos ops, knowing that they wouldn’t get us to run back and forth like the day prior they were busting their butts to keep up and get ahead (especially of Luke) and snag a few shots from the day. From there it was a solo effort up to and across the west rim. In stride I checked in on Luke and was happy to hear he looked strong and was moving along well.

The leg turnover was there for me having run plenty of road miles in the heat on a recent family vacation in hot and humid Florida and with the help of music I enjoyed covering the distance up top. I caught up to Adriane & Bryce who were putting in their CCC training miles and hooted a greeting and hi-fived them on the way by. Down into Potato Hollow and on to Wildcat canyon, my 70oz of water was disappearing quickly and I started to ration. I still ran dry, and found out Luke did as well on the same section. This section became about staying in body management mode for about an hour of running into Hop Valley. The temps were in the high 80’s and the constant breeze/wind felt cooling, but I believe was drying us out quicker than we thought. I guzzled at least 4 pints of icy water while UltrAspire friends Jim Speth, Adriane Frehner ,Cherie Santiago & Bryce Thatcher cheered me on and refilled bottles. Leaving with great energy from them but a heavy belly from the water I trudged through the next few miles trying to absorb and get my legs back under me. I honestly never felt great again, but did get a good laugh when crossing the sandy wash for the final time. I caught my toe on the only stick in the mud and did a fabulous sideways dive into inches of wet sand. Probably the softest landing I have ever had, but I was still finding sand Friday night when I got back home to Boulder.

Criss-crossing the La Verkin creek bed I took the opportunity to clean up and cool off a bit and was completely relieved to see Fred poised behind his camera when I was about halfway up the climb. He spurred me on with the news that Luke had dug deep to find success for his day. The final ascent climbs about 800 feet in 4 miles and in the heat of the day having run out of water twice, I was at more of a stumble than the run or even power hike I had hoped. Fred prompted me along and as I got closer to the rim he pulled away and I listened for the chatter of our friends and found one last bit of energy to climb at a respectable jog to the sign to hit my watch at 9:09. I first looked at Luke to congratulate him on his effort and in return received a great hug that two friends can share. Luke’s impressive 7:48 took ten minutes off of the previous record and my 9:09 was a happy ending to the day. We had time to sit in the dirt, drink Ultragen and tell stories before making our way back to camp in the park and cooling off the legs in the chilly creek that flows through the South campground.

It is awesome to set a goal. Even more to team up with a friend on a similar one. And then again even better when people rally around to make it all happen. Thank you to Fred for working so hard to turn our goal into a project. Thanks to Patagonia for seeing our vision and bringing in the support of Fred and Jeff to capture the experience. Those guys brought humor, hard work ethic and an artistic eye. Thank you to the UltrAspire crew, Cherie, Jim, Adriane, Bryce and Melanie, for showing your forever support and jumping in at the last minute to keep us fueled and hydrated along the way. Thank you to Luke’s girls, Tanae, Brinley and Chloe for being such troopers and providing endless smiles. I am continually thankful for the support from Patagonia, Patagonia Footwear, UltrAspire, First Endurance and Udo’s Oil. They are my constants not only in product, but in their personal interest in the sport and their athletes. And finally a personal, public thanks to Luke for an awesome friendship that has developed quickly and for an experience that will bond us for many miles to come.

[travismacy]

I set the Trans-Zion record today in 7:27:46. Here's the route: app.strava.com/activities/47569051. Ran west to east with support. Got Vitargo bottles from crew at Wildcat and Connector junction and at the Grotto. Thanks to my family, Charles and Nick (support crew), the Fit for a Cause community (www.fitforacause.org), and Vitargo (www.genr8speed.com) for support. Vitargo was awesome for fuel, Hoka Stinson Evos were great, and CamelBack Ultra LR vest was awesome. It was an awesome day in a sweet place. Thanks to Andrew Skurka and Luke Nelson for route info, and I look forward to chiming in on with info for whoever wants to break it next time. Photos and video coming soon at www.followtravismacy.blogspot.com.

[bethanylewis]

I lowered the female FKT for the Zion Traverse yesterday, running it in 8:32. Self-supported run east to west stashing water at West Rim and Hop Valley THs. My husband, Ben Lewis, ran with me from The Grotto onward. Carried a GPS watch with us and took lots of video for verification (will upload these soon via Ben's blog, http://www.ben-runlong.blogspot.com). Details in brief: hit The Grotto in 1h40, West Rim TH in 4h29, Hop Valley TH in around 6h, and Lee's Pass in 8h32.

Oh, and thanks to our fabulous sponsor CPT[TM] for all their support.

[Mariah Tetzold]

Hi Bethany,

Awesome job on the new female FKT.

Since you carried a GPS, would you mind uploading it preferably on strava.com (which has segment measurements and allows the exact following of CR and such) or if not strava, then on connect.garmin.com or anywhere else (and we can get it from there and put it on strava for you if that's okay with you, under your name, of course)?

There is a big group attempting more FKT's on this in a few days, and we're trying to figure out the exact route. We found 2 so far, and we are very focused on following the exactly precise FKT route (I assume at this point that it's the strava track that's being used here): connect.garmin.com/activity/301392452
and Travis' track: app.strava.com/activities/47569051/overview

Thank you so much and sorry for the inconvience! Very appreciated.

Congrats again on your FKT. I really like the notion of female FKT's. It was about time to have this distinction!

-Maria

[Justin Yates]

Mike Foote and I(Justin Yates) ran the Trans-Zion route, in Zion National Park, from east to west on Sunday May 26th, 2013, in 7:22:08, setting a new overall and east to west FKT. Below is a brief recap of the run.
Mike and I set out from the East Entrance at 5am on Sunday of Memorial day weekend. Our early start had the two fold goal of beating the holiday throngs through the heart of the park and also of avoiding the "real" heat of the day later in the run. With headlamps donned we moved at a comfortable but quick pace along the East Rim Trail. As we fell into a rhythm we made a wrong choice at an early junction where a service road crossed the trail, but quickly realized our mistake and regained the East Rim Tail losing just 3 minutes in total. We continued the climb and subsequent descent and arrived at the Grotto 1:35 into the run. We received aid(from my girlfriend Paige and friend Jeremy), refilled bottles at the spicket and started the climb to Angels Landing and the West Rim Trail. Having never run in the park I had no real feel for what lay ahead and fell in behind Mike who pushed a controlled effort up the climb to the ridge. From the ridge we continued our push to the top of the West Rim Trail where I took over pulling us through the next very cruisable section to the junction of the West Rim and Wildcat Trails 26ish miles in, arriving 3:55 into the run. (A quick note on splits; since Travis Macy ran west to east his splits did not really translate to our effort. I ended up leaning heavy on Luke Nelson's(thanks Luke!) splits. Knowing we had to be 22 minutes under Luke's time I took notes of our splits vs. his(Luke), subtracting our time at each split and adding the remainder to see where we were in relation to Travis.) We received quick aid here from Paige and Jeremy and started the next 9 mile stretch to the Hop Valley Trail. This section along the Wildcat and Connector trails was very runnable and flowy, which led to a quick and enjoyable arrival at the Hop Valley Trail Head, 5:11 into the run. We received aid here for the last time of the run and departed on the Hop Valley Trail. The 6-7 miles on the sandy, relentless, winding, flat Hop Valley Trail were what I consider to be the crux of the east to west route. Staying mentally focused and not fighting the sand is the key to moving through the Hop Valley efficiently, because moving through it quickly is very relative. Grinding down Hop Valley we swung on to La Verkin creek and without any verbal communication began to turn our legs over on the trail to Lee Pass. Keeping a close eye on our watches we fought up the remaining few miles of trail and all of its rolling qualities. I admit that I bonked hard in the last two miles and clung desperately to Mike's finishing kick. In the end we fought the final small climb and tapped the sign and watches in 7:22!
On the whole this is an incredible, aesthetic point to point route that traverses a diversity of environs, never losing its appeal throughout(even in Hop Valley). The route really has a lot of cruisable trail and outside of the West Rim climb has no monster vertical gains or losses. Having said that, the mixture of sand and technical rock serves to keep the overall pace slower. Also, receiving aid at the three logical locations of the Grotto, West Rim-Wildcat junction, and Hop Valley trailhead is HUGE. It was a commitment on their part. Major thanks to Paige and Jeremy for their support and patience! I would also input that running this route as a duo was, i believe, a major factor in lowering the time. Having a bag full of long adventures with Mike was crucial in how well we worked the push-pull of the day and completely added to the experience. Very fortunate to have been able to pursue and accomplish our goal together as a team! Thanks to everyone who posted beta on previous runs, it all added up!

Splits:

Grotto- 1:35
West Rim/Wildcat- 3:55
Hop Vally TH- 5:11
Lee Pass- 7:22