After hiking in Bryce Canyon, I decided to drive down to
Zion National Park for the night since Zion is much lower in elevation and thus
much warmer (a big plus when you live in a tent!). I had the pleasure of driving through a good
portion of Zion at sunset! I was struck,
yet again, by how the setting sun makes the already spectacularly gorgeous
scenery of southern Utah even more striking.
I was also stunned to see how different the scenery of Zion was from
Bryce Canyon even though the parks are only about 80 miles away from each other. This is a phenomenon that really astounds
me. Southern Utah has five national
parks that are all essentially lined up next to each along the bottom of the
state. It seems hard to believe that there
are five separate spots in such rapid succession that are both magnificent enough
on their own to be worthy of being set aside as a national park and remarkably
different from the other parks nearby to warrant being a separate park. While this is hard to fathom before you see
it for yourself, let me assure you that all these parks are both stunning on
their own and easily distinguishable from the other parks! From my experience, Utah is the most
stunningly beautiful and diverse state in the country! It is truly spectacular!
After a most enjoyable (and warm) night of camping next to the
river and getting a tip from a ranger, I headed to the Angel’s Landing trail
head. The trail starts off with a
relaxing stroll along the river. After a
short while and a few twists and turns, the trail takes you up to and along a
ledge of a canyon. I especially enjoyed
the textured rock along the trail in this section. (If my travels have taught me anything, it is
that I really enjoy rocks and the many diverse forms they come in!) After this section, the trail becomes a
series of steep switchbacks (which must have been a challenge to build). After the switchbacks, the trail emerges on a
ridge of rock with a great view of the canyon and river below!
The next section of
the trail that leads to Angel’s Landing is extremely steep and requires holding
onto and pulling yourself up chains during some sections. There are signs all over warning people that
if they have even a hint of a fear of heights they should not continue. I heard a few people hemming and hawing about
whether they wanted to continue. I kept
thinking, “What are you waiting for?!?! This
is going to be incredible!!!” Then I
realized that given the same group of people and the prospect of going snorkeling,
they would probably waste no time in strapping on the gear and jumping in the
water, while I stood on the beach debating if the reward of the experience
would be worth having to see the terrifying creatures I was sharing the water
with. After that realization, I was very
glad that I have fallen in love with deserts, mountains, and canyons, where I
will very seldom have to face my very bizarre, yet real fear of fish! But I digress. I continued up the trail that wound itself
along (at times, the very edge) of a chunk of rock. After snaking my way to the top, I had a wonderful
view made all the better by the rush of endorphins produced by the semi-treacherous
hike up! The fantastic 360 degree view
of the canyon gave me a chance to assess and enjoy the type of beauty that Zion
has to offer. From my assessment, Zion
seems to be the most “traditionally” naturally beautiful. What I mean by that is, that while there are
tons of spots in the park that take your breath away, what you see doesn’t make
you question if what you are seeing is real (like a gigantic and delicate free
standing arch or a strange hoodoo does).
After hiking back down from Angel’s Landing, I headed to the
tail along the Virgin River. The trail
leads you to the jumping off point to hike the Narrows (a “trail” that consists
of hiking in the river through the slot canyon!). It was too cold to hike the Narrows without a
wetsuit, so I didn’t pursue that option (but I will in the future!!! . . .how
amazing does that experience sound!?!?), but I very much enjoyed strolling along
the river and peering as far as I could into the slot canyon from the safety of
the beach. Canyons of all types have
captured my heart, imagination, and sense of adventure lately. I must say though, there is something
especially intriguing about slot canyons!
The idea that it’s such a narrow space that it just looks like a slit in
the earth from the top and the only way to see the spectacular beauty held
within that crack is to hike into and through it is extremely captivating to
me!
After having a snack on a rock in the river and dreaming
about the journey along the narrow canyon, I headed to the Emerald Pools. I hiked a fairly short and easy loop trail to
see a couple of the pools. The pools are
little ponds of water that are created by the springs and run off from snow and
rain at higher elevations. The small
waterfalls that supply the pools with their water were as beautiful as the
small, green ponds were. They were extremely
peaceful spots! The sound of running/moving
water is always relaxing, and the experience in just that much more intense
when you get to hear and witness that phenomenon when you are in the
desert!
While I had plans to do more adventuring in Zion, I woke up
to a tent covered in frost and snow and a storm that was still going strong at
higher elevation (where I wanted to my adventuring), so I decided to move on,
but made a mental note that I had lots more to explore in Zion!
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