September 8-9

Wednesday, Sept. 8. Today we left the Grand Canyon and headed off to Zion. We took the eastern route through the mile-plus long tunnel into Zion. What an incredible area. The cliffs looked almost like tinted poured cement that had been whirled and stirred or brushed in place. The cliffs were red and coral and pink and white and yellow and black in phantasmagorical textures. The road was under construction so we were not able to stop much. Instead, Mike and I craned our necks out the windows while Mark drove.

Once into the tourist area of Zion, we found our riverside campsite, walked to the visitors’ center, and found the obligatory free tourist shuttle. It is about a 40 minute ride from visitor’s center to the end of the canyon with multiple hop-on/hop-off stops. We viewed the giant rock spire “patriarchs“ as they are known--Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (with a fourth cliff named Maroni, from the Book of Mormon stuck in there). We hiked the half mile up to the Weeping Rocks and Hanging Garden where ancient filtered thousand year old water exits the rocks and sustain small (but not very hanging) green plants along the sheer rock face. Nonetheless, it was a delightful stop of sprinkling, cooling water in the warm afternoon.

Eventually, we stopped at the Zion lodge in order to start the hike to the Emerald Pools, a series of three pools encountered as one hikes farther and farther into and up a side canyon. The upper pool in particular was a memorable destination--a tranquil reflecting pool at the bottom of immense red cliffs. Dozens of cliff swifts (we think) swooped across the blue sky visible only by staring straight up.

On the hike down we were surprised to encounter a large, hairy tarantula in the middle of the path. I actually leapt backwards at the sight

Frozen jambalaya brought from home was a late but satisfyingly quick dinner back at out campsite.


Thursday, Sept. 9. Mike woke us this morning at 6:40 in order for us to get an earlier start on an ambitious hike. We were out to the shuttle stop by 8 AM and began our hike just after 9 AM. Mike had heard from a friend and we had also read about the Angel’s Landing Hike. It is a 5.4 mile hike with 1488 ft elevation gain. The last half mile is extremely challenging. The sign said, “This hike is strenuous and steep, with numerous narrow sections and unprotected drop-offs. Not for anyone who is out of shape or has a fear of heights….The trail ends at Scout Lookout but if you are ready to traverse a precipitous route, and if conditions permit, you may be able to continue on to Angels Landing.” Hmmmm…..

Angels Landing straight ahead

We were pleased to have the trail to ourselves for the entire way up to the Scout Lookout. Amazingly, the entire path is paved--even the very steep 21 switchbacks area called Walter’s Wiggles. Indeed, on the postcard picture, that area looks like a zigzag line up the side of the cliff.

Scout Lookout is a broad saddle section and even has pit toilets. From there, the trail crosses another cliff side requiring the use of chains anchored into rocks. Mark and I had not yet decided if we were going to do this part or not. However, it looked doable so we forged on. The trail went diagonally upwards across the rock face and finally to a narrow 3-4 foot isthmus of rock leading to a wider section and beyond to a very large spire of rock with more chains. At this point, Mark and I decided to stop and let Mike go on alone. In fact, after he left, I suddenly felt almost completely immobilized by the height and the sheer drop-offs on both sides. I crawled back to the chains. Mike said that the view from up top was spectacular.

We were back down in time for a late lunch at the bottom after which we hopped the shuttle to the end of the line to do the 2.2 level Riverside Walk. This canyon walk along the Virgin River ends where the river cuts through steep canyon walls. Many people then proceed to walk in the river. Outfitters rent special shoes and walking sticks but the river water was about 61 degrees. We opted to stop and simply enjoy the view instead. Interestingly, the rock squirrels in this area seemed to match the large number of tourists! They were very bold!

In the evening, we enjoyed dinner in town (via another free shuttle) and were back in time for the Ranger’s fun talk about Zion’s Lions (mountain variety, that is).