Zion National Park
Virgin, Utah - We spent a big day hiking in
Zion National Park. We
hiked three trails for a total of only six miles (3, 2 and 1) - but it was
brutal because of the 100+ degree weather. (NOTE ADDED LATER: official
weather report had the temperature today at 104.) Zion is one of our
country's most popular parks. They have so many visitors (and only 400
parking spaces) that you must take a shuttle up through the canyon. This is
actually quite convenient and the buses are powered by natural gas and are
very quiet - and slow. No traffic equals no noise - which makes for a very
peaceful day in the park. We left the BC2 at the Visitor Center. (You can
also park in town and take the shuttle from there.) Our first stop was the
Zion Park Lodge,
where we did not book a dinner reservation, but walked across the street and
began a 3-mile hike into a little "side" canyon - Heaps Canyon. Heaps Canyon
holds three "emerald" pools on three different levels and we hiked to each
pool. It was a very beautiful hike - straight up for a half-mile,
pretty-much level for two miles and then straight down for the last half
mile. We walked under a waterfall - just a trickle this time of year. That's
the thing with Zion - it has water! The Virgin River (named after the Virgin
Mary) flows through the center of the canyon. Water that has seeped through
the sandstone springs-out from the canyon walls - years after it has fallen
on the top of the canyon rim. Ferns cling to the cliffs. Vines climb up rock
walls. It is a very dramatic thing to see in the desert.
Upper pool
Waterfall on Emerald Pool Trail
The hike to the upper pool was a extra third-mile un-shaded,
stair-climb spur, but we were rewarded with a beautiful view. There is no
swimming allowed in the pools, but I think the cool water was just too much
for some people to resist. They had to share the water with hundreds of
tadpoles! We walked through a narrow gap - like a tunnel - between two
sandstone rocks - very exciting.
At the end of our hike, we were at The Grotto - which is actually the next
shuttle stop. The Grotto is a picnic ground with shady trees, picnic tables,
water and bathrooms. We had to share our table with a grosbeak, but he
didn't eat much. A small deer was grazing just beyond our table. It was cool
and quiet in The Grotto and we were rested enough to hop back on the shuttle
and get off at the last stop for a hike to The Narrows. The Narrows is a
1-to-16-mile hike. It is a paved one-mile path (and we saw two wheel-chairs
and many strollers on the trail) to where the Virgin River widens-out at the
end of the canyon. To continue past the one-mile mark - a hiker has to WADE
the next 15 miles, through a "narrow", deep, red-rock canyon - 16-feet-wide
at one point. Obviously, it is a dangerous hike and can be catastrophic in a
flash-flood. (Five hikers died in a flash-flood about twenty years ago.) We
met a group of Boy Scouts in Bryce Canyon a few days ago who had just hiked
The Narrows in two days.
The Narrows
DT relaxing next to a cool, wet wall at Weeping Rock
Walking back to the shuttle-stop after hiking the
out-and-back Narrows trail, we saw a doe having a drink in the middle of the
river. So now we were headed back to the Visitors Center on the shuttle, but
we made another stop for a very short half-mile "walk" UP to Weeping Rock.
It was a very short half-mile and one of the prettiest hikes of the day! The
mountain-side of the trail is dripping with water and ferns, grasses and
moss are growing on the walls - very, very lush and pretty! It is also very
noisy with all the water running down, and also cooler! Several places you
can soak your head (or hat, or bandana) in waterfalls. The end of the trail
is at a over-hang where water drips off the ledge - very beautiful and very
relaxing. There are rocks to sit on under the shelf and little drops of
water constantly fall and cool you off.
The Weeping Wall (see the water drops?)
Happy Hiker at the end of the trail
We took the shuttle to the Zion Lodge, where we finished the
rest of our lunch on their cool lawn. We talked to hikers who had just
walked three days from the north park boundary to reach this spot. They said
the second day was in total sun along the top of a mesa. They each had to
carry two gallons of water. Back on the shuttle to the Visitors Center and
our car - which was disguised as an oven. We purchased our usual stack of
postcards and called it a day. We didn't get back to the motor home until
after 5 pm! I guess our Parks Pass has paid for itself many times over by
now. We were filthy - red dirt again - tired and needed a swim. We had the
pinto bean soup I had frozen last week and cornbread. After dinner, we sat
on a bench by the river - we are also camped on the Virgin River - and
decided "it was a good day".
RV Park:
Zion River Resort