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Show CONTINUATION FROM FRONT SHEET - STRUCTURE NAME LOCATION: Section 31 ( plus unmapped)State Township 40 S, 41 S Range 10 W________ West Rim Trail Utah________ County Washington USEi CURRENT INTERIOR USE (VPS 28 CODE) Original Use horseback /hiking trail Intermediate Uses horseback/hiking trail PERIOD OF CONSTRUCTION (NPS 28 CODE) HI OWNERSHIP: Present Owner: Original Owner: n *S______;____________ Drawing No. 585 by G.D. Edwards 1-15-29 NPS__________;______ ----------------------- Drawing No. 583 i_by G.D. „ « Edwards «^_ , , ,,. _ 1-15-29 Intermediate Owner (s): --------•---------- NPS_____________ „Negative . „No. „.__ ,. 0 HAER „ No. „_ UT-40-2 ***PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION*** (DESCRIPTION AND BACKGROUND HISTORY INCLUDING CONSTRUCTION DATE(S), PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS, MATERIALS, MAJOR ALTERATIONS, EXTANT EQUIPMENT, AND IMPORTANT BUILDERS, ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS, ETC.) Starting from the parking area across the highway from the Grotto Picnic Area, the trail crosses the Virgin River by me&ns of an arched metal foot bridge installed in 1984. The trail which leads to the top of the West Rim of Zion Canyon is 5.5 miles long. Construction work began in 1925 and the trail was dedicated on July 11, 1926. Work on the Refrigerator Canyon portion of the trail was resumed in 1935 under the supervision oi Park building foreman, Walter Ruesch, and A.E. Cowell, Park engineer. Walter's Wiggles, 17 complete switchbacks were carved into some of the Park's most difficult terrain and buttressed with grouted sandstone blocks, locally quarried. Rock used in the Wiggles and in other "dry" retaining walls was shaped as little as possible to, "provide a stable construction with as rough an appearance as could be obtained." The trail had been re-marked in 1933 and 1934 by PWA and CCC personnel. After crossing the Virgin River, the trail runs along a. talus slope for about 1/2 mile by means of numerous drylaid random rubble sandstone walls. The next 1/4 mile traverses a sheer cliff and rises more than one thousand feet. The trail is half tunneled into the side of the cliff. Then, the trail runs through a narrow notch in the the drainage known as Refrigerator Canyon. From here, Walter's Wiggles, a series of switchbacks up.^a 60 degree chimney brings us to Scout's Lookout. For the remaining 3 miles of its course, the trail winds along the rim and across numerous side canyons. Then it drops into a deep canyon and begins the ascent of the sheer flm of Horse Pasture Plateau. The West Rim Trail was reconstructed in 1956, 1960 and 1969 to repair masonry, replace bridges and install guard rails at a combined cost of over $100,000. Re-paving and additional improvements were carried out in 1984. Landscape architects responsible for trail .design include H.B. Stephenson who represented the Branch of Plans and Design on the work done on the Refrigerator Canyon, 1935. He was succeeded by Landscape Architect George Norgard. SIGNIFICANT ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (INCLUDING INTERIOR AND SETTING) FOR PARK PLANNING PURPOSES: |
