EXCEPT for "The Narrows."
And "Angel's Trail."
And the top of the "Hidden Canyon Trail."
And "North Guardian Angel."
Quoting from a NPS webpage, "The Narrows is the most popular hike in Zion National Park, and one of the world's best slot canyon hikes. It is pure fun and can be tailored to suite any ability level. The trail is basically the Virgin River. The canyon is so narrow, the river covers the bottom in many spots, which means you have to wade or swim to proceed. Plan on being wet. In fact, the cool water makes this hike particularly pleasant during the hot months of summer."
What the website does NOT say includes: In October plan to rent wet suits. Always walk at an angle across the stream because the current makes it impossible to walk or swim straight upstream. You will be walking on some sand but many places you will be walking - more likely stumbling and falling down into the river for me - on river rock. You will be soaked to the skin and the air temperature is around 55 degrees.
There are so many people in Zion that the "Scenic Road" does not allow private vehicles. We got there early and took the free shuttle to the end of the line as the sun was rising.
First light on Temple of Sinawava.
We are constantly amazed at the tenacity of life.
At the start of The Narrows there is some river bank along which you can walk.
Carol took this picture for those few of you who still thought I had some pride left. Within 10 minutes of being in the canyon my neck was very sore from straining to look up when Carol kept saying, "Look at THAT." Turning the hat brim up was the best solution.
The carving of the canyon is still occurring. Something that had never occurred to me - the erosion of the stone is not from water. It is from the sediment, stones, and in some cases boulders that the water carries.
Carol says there must be more people like me than she realized. Click on this picture to see it full size in another window. You should be able to see that the arrow has a padlock on it. I had suggested that moving it to "expected" might solve some of the crowd problem.
Some other iconic views.
The sign board.
The real thing.
The Great White Throne.
Carol saw a sign that said "Hidden Canyon Trail" was a "moderate" trail. We'd already completed two "easy" trails so it seemed reasonable to stretch ourselves a little.
Here's part of the description that she did not see.
"This very steep, 2.2-mile round-trip hike begins at the same trail head as Weeping Rock, Observation Point and the East Rim Trail. The winding Hidden Canyon Trail hugs the side of the cliff and although much of it is wide, there are long drop-offs throughout the hike. Be prepared for a steep uphill climb (850 foot ascent) and a steep downhill return. Before reaching the canyon entrance you must shimmy around a large rock buttress as the trail switchbacks around man-made rock retaining walls. Be cautious near the slippery sandstone areas with steep drop-offs. The switchbacks leading to the canyon are narrow and water smoothed sandstone which can be treacherous."
We made it that far.
Further description is " This is a switch backing, narrow cliff-side trail with chains to use for support." We got to where we could see the more courageous people doing this part. The trail is more of that "slippery sandstone." Returning hikers said, "It's really not that bad. It is steep with some loose stones. But you have the chains to hang on to and the trail is never less that 20" or so."
This is a picture of the chained part of the trail zoomed big time. We are across a small canyon from it.
We also learned that about 30 people have died from falling in the Park (although other sources say the number is much higher.
But only two of them were on Hidden Canyon Trail.
We turned around and headed back down.
It's not even the "scariest" trail in the Park. That distinction goes to "Angel's Landing". Besides the narrow cliff side clinging parts, it includes a section of narrow ridge with 1000' drop off on both sides. I found this picture on line.
We didn't do that one either.
We enjoyed a picnic in one of the many picnic areas. Found that we were sharing it with another family.
Mom, Dad and youngsters all had ribs showing. I don't know how they'll make it through the winter.
There were signs everywhere saying, "Don't feed the animals. they will become dependent and unable to find food on their own." Also, if you keep giving them free food, soon they'll all want free cell phones.
The drive into the park from Mt. Carmel Junction is as pretty as the park. The pink seems to "flow more. Creating swirls of color instead of just the strata in the park canyons.
And keeping with our new tradition, we found more wildlife outside the park than in it.
The next day we were back - early again. We found parking both days in the visitor center parking and easily got onto a shuttle. We were a little sore after our Hidden Canyon experience so we decided to hike to the Emerald Pools. Our plan was to hike the "easy" trail to the Lower Pool and then decide if we wanted to continue up the "moderate" trail to the Middle and Upper Pools.
The hike to the Lower Pool was paved and considered "wheelchair accessible." We decided before we had completed it that we were not going to the other pools.
We got off the shuttle at the Lodge and saw these turkeys enjoying the shade.
The pools are fed from "weeping cliffs" above them.
The water you see is not flowing over the top of the cliff. It is flowing out of the cliff. It has seeped into the ground on top of the mesa and trickled down through the softer rock until it reaches a layer too hard for it to penetrate. It flows along that layer until it reaches a cliff. The water coming out of the cliff today is estimated to have been in the rock for about 1200 years.
On the trail. Just an odd boulder with little bumps all over it. The are pebbles that are embedded into the rock.
Also on the trail. A stone bench made years ago by a true stone craftsman.
That's about 12" thick. I didn't take a picture from underneath but I crawled under and looked. It's as perfect a fit on the bottom as it is on top. Amazing work.
Because we were all "hiked out" we decided to take a drive instead. The Kolob Terrace Road starts from Virgin, UT and goes along the "backside" of Zion with unparalleled views. Like other canyons in the area, it gives you a top-down look. Without up hiking from the bottom.
It was near lunch time so we asked a couple of Rangers about places to eat. They both said that Springdale had many excellent choices but they didn't name any. Since it was right outside the park entrance and we suspected, "mediocre food at tourist prices" we pushed them a little. Both again said there were many great places. A little pricey but excellent food. I asked about Virgin, where we would be turning off highway to our drive. Both said that there were only two places and both were bad.
We drove through Springdale. All we saw were Yuppie fancy places. So we decided to take our chances in Virgin. At first we thought the Rangers had given us good advice. "Fort Zion" was such a tourist trap looking location. Picture "South of the Border" 50 years ago when it was still small.
Outside.
Inside.
They called themselves a "family place."
I guess that's why this was their booster seat.
OK. We're there. We're both very hungry and there is NOTHING else within 30 miles. Might as well try it.
I decided to get the "Rib Special"
That's 6 ribs on top of a PILE of fries. Salad. Fresh baked huge sesame seed roll. And we know they were fresh baked because when the hostess/waitress/cashier/bus person wasn't busy she was forming them from a big bowl of dough and sprinkling with sesame seeds. I ate the ribs, the salad and maybe three steak fries. The rest went into a doggie bag for later. The ribs weren't quite "Memphis Dry" but close. They had put a light coating of their "Special Prickly Pear Cactus Sauce" on them before smoking. They were the best ribs I've had since I was in Memphis.
Carol decided on the "Pulled Pork Sandwich Special."
Delicious pork piled HIGH on another of those fresh baked sesame rolls. Carol added most of her fries to the doggie bag for me to make hash browns for breakfast. There were so many that I had enough for two mornings.
$9.99 each including drinks.
One of my Dad's favorite sayings was, "God looks after drunks, little children and - IF we let Him, all the rest of us who don't have enough sense to take care of ourselves."
The Kolob Terrace Road climbs pretty much up for all of its 20 + miles.
The white peak in the background is "North Guardian Angel". It is on the Sierra Club's list of "The Top One Hundred Desert Peaks To Do." Add this to the long list that we didn't do. I'm not 65 anymore.
The road took us through high meadows, woodlands, and desert.
Along the road.
Then the road turned to gravel and we saw this sign.
My Big Red Truck is 23' but no one was looking.
Lava Point. One of the highest point in Zion at 7890'.
Kolob Reservoir.
The drive back down gave us more views of the back of Zion Canyon.
This is an anthill. It's about 2 ft across. But I asked Carol to take a picture because it is sand. But the ants have covered it with tiny pebbles to reduce erosion.
We didn't do anything this day that had been considered up to the day before. The crowds at Zion were massive so we decided to go someplace else just to get away from them. AND had a wonderful drive, meal and found beautiful views of Zion that 95% of visitors never see.
Another great in between day.
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