The trail begins by immediately climbing a set of steps carved into the sandstone (with handrails to provide assistance), which set the tone for the rest of the trail. Leaving the steps behind, you traverse a series of ledges high above Pine Creek, which has cut the narrow slot canyon on your left. On a hot day, you can find relief from the heat in a deep alcove immediately after you cross a short steel walkway that is bolted to the face of a cliff.
The towering cliffs of Zion (and those where you are standing) are made of Navajo Sandstone, which is comprised of petrified wind-blown sand dunes laid down about during the Jurassic Period, about 175 million years ago. Navajo Sandstone is one of the hallmarks of the Colorado Plateau, but only in Zion and the surrounding area was it deposited in a 2,000-foot-high layer. The slope below the cliffs is called the Kayenta Formation. Deposited by streams rather than wind, the Kayenta dates from the early Jurassic, about 200 million years ago.
