verdant valley escape from Zigzag Canyon to Paradise Park

Discussions and Trip Reports for off-trail adventures and rediscovering lost trails
Post Reply
User avatar
Chip Down
Posts: 3037
Joined: November 8th, 2014, 8:41 pm

verdant valley escape from Zigzag Canyon to Paradise Park

Post by Chip Down » September 24th, 2022, 8:21 pm

There's a broad green draw leading from upper Zigzag Creek to Paradise Park. Today I finally got around to it.
Attachments
1.jpg
Yellow arrows indicate alternate routes: climb to top of either waterfall and follow gully up to rim.
2.jpg
ZZ creek about to fork around Mississippi Head.
3.jpg
Narrow spot on the Paradise-side fork.
4.jpg
5.jpg
This is higher than I needed to go, but I saw snow and had to go check it out.
6.jpg
Distraction behind me, coming back down to pick up my route.
7.jpg
Love this contrast, looking into ZZ canyon from Paradise side. Dropping in from that far rim isn't as tough as it looks, if you find a sensible place. If not sure, don't.
8.jpg
White River Glacier. Can blew off rock seconds after this pic. Was only 15' away, but recover would result in a fatal fall, so I decided against it.

User avatar
adamschneider
Posts: 3711
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:02 pm
Location: SE Portland
Contact:

Re: verdant valley escape from Zigzag Canyon to Paradise Park

Post by adamschneider » September 24th, 2022, 10:58 pm

When heading up the creek, how did you get around the waterfall that drops about 100' near the 5000' contour line? (Or did you drop into the valley above those falls?)

User avatar
Chip Down
Posts: 3037
Joined: November 8th, 2014, 8:41 pm

Re: verdant valley escape from Zigzag Canyon to Paradise Park

Post by Chip Down » September 25th, 2022, 6:57 am

From ZZ overlook, there's a crumbly ridge that drops into the canyon and terminates just upstream from the falls. It's brushy at the bottom. I suppose someday it might erode into an abrupt dropoff at the bottom, especially if the creek meanders over that direction. It seemed to be in fine shape yesterday, but for variety I followed the canyon rim uphill a bit to a gentle grassy/sandy slope. Got a little sketchy in spots, but mostly because I wandered offtrack for views.
Attachments
Untitled.jpg

Post Reply