Zion - What more can you say

Zion - how do you begin to describe the beauty of this little sanctuary in the heart of the desert? My vocabulary for descriptive words isn't that big, and without google to help me, I'm kinda left with epic, awesome and cool, which would work I guess, but they don't really fit... So I'll just show you some of the picture I took and you can come up with your own words to describe the awesomeness of Zion National Park. :p

We didn't get into Utah until pretty late Wednesday night, so when we drove through the park we couldn't see much of anything and had no idea what it was like. Everyone we had talked to said Zion was such a beautiful and amazing place. When we did finally get into the park later the next day, we all were amazed at the beauty of this valley and its sheer white and red streaked canyon walls that surrounded us on both sides. As we rode the shuttle further into the canyon and the walls begin to close in, you couldn't help but wonder how this calm and slow moving little river could carve its way through miles of solid rock.

With only two days to spend at Zion what do you do? With miles and miles of trails which ones do you hike? 

Angels Landing 

Angels landing is one of the most popular hikes in Zion, a 5.4 mile hike to the top and back, with the last half mile of the hike being a really strenuous climb, with plenty of cliff exposures and not enough guard rails. 

We started up Thursday afternoon after taking the shuttle to the trailhead. As we climbed higher and higher along the trail we got a really good view of the river below. After hiking up for what seem like a long time we reached a signpost that said "Angels Landing 0.5 miles, strenuous climb, narrow route with cliff exposures, not for those afraid of heights". 

I'm not sure how accurate this sign was, the strenuous climb and narrow route with cliff exposures was right,  it's the 0.5 miles that couldn't have been right, cause after we climbed and climbed (sometimes vertically) we'd reach a little clearing and think we had arrived, but then you'd look up and see a chain going up along the side of the mountain, and you realized you weren't there yet. This happened about 5 more times before we actually made it to the top. Now honestly the last "0.5 miles" of this hike was more of a scramble/cling to the wall for dear life, than a hike, but seeing the view from the top made it worth it, and now I could understand why this is such a popular hike.

The Narrows

Hiking in The Narrows was the highlight of our stay at Zion for me, wading through the river with the canyon walls towering above on each side, never much more than 30ft apart and sometimes getting as close as 6ft apart. From the waterfalls cascading down the sides of the smooth sandstone canyon walls to the logs and rocks that formed themselves into an unbelievable tangled mess, it was all an amazing sight to behold. With every new twist and turn in the canyon it brought on a new scene, renewing my sense of wonder and kept me wanting to see what was around the next bend. 

Our hike to the Narrows started on Friday morning, after a quick breakfast of cereal and a 35 minute shuttle ride to the temple of Sinawava where the trailhead began. Originally we were planning on hiking the left fork (aka The Subway) a 9.5 mile hike, but when we went to get the permit for it on Thursday, it had already filled up with the maximum amount of hikers for Friday and since we didn't have a full day Saturday to do it we decided to do the day hike into the Narrows. After walking for a mile along the 1 mile paved trail from the temple of Sinawava, we reached the end of the 1 mile paved trail, go figure right? From here on out the trail is through the river, no man-made trails, no signposts, just 2 canyons walls guiding you through its many twists and turns. 

Taking those first couple of steps into the river and watching the water rise up over the six inches of waterproof protection my boots have, you quickly realize how cold the water is. It didn't help that it was a cloudy day with a temperature of 60 degrees and a 30% chance of rain. After the first 200ft or so we were up to our knees in the water wading up river through the canyon. The water ranged from ankle deep to waist deep, although you could usually find a path that wasn't much more than knee deep. As we continued to hike up the canyon, the walls began to narrow, and there were more rapids and slippery rocks to walk across as the river became swifter at the narrower sections. There were plenty of areas with sandbars or gravel and debris that you could walk on for a little while, although it was much colder walking out of the water than in it. Within the first mile of walking in the Narrows we came to this waterfall gliding down the canyon wall.

Further up the canyon we found a nice spot to eat our sandwiches and take a rest. Being out of the water for 20 minutes, you really feel the cold as your boots are still filled with water and your legs are becoming numb. But there is something about having a camera in my hands that makes me forget that I'm cold and that my feet are numb. When I look through my lens at this amazing place I am completely absorbed in trying to capture the moment, but no photograph can give you the same feeling as standing in the river, seeing the canyon walls on each side tower above you and hearing the water rushing over the rocks and logs as the cries of ravens echo through the canyon. 

2.6 miles from the start we got to Orville junction, where another branch of the river joins the main canyon, we took this branch up for a ways to see what lies beyond its many twist and turns. There was much more scrambling and climbing over rocks, logs and small waterfalls in this canyon than in the main canyon. We got pretty wet in this section as there were a good many deep pools also, although we never had to swim, which was nice. Carrying my camera and glidecam up the river was pretty difficult, and more so trying to get a smooth shot while walking over slick stones and rapid moving water. I only fell once, which I though was an accomplishment, I must have gained my "balancing on slippery rocks skills" from all the time I used to spend running in the creek behind our house catching fish, turtles, snakes and what not. 

After working our way up Orville's canyon for a way, it began to drizzle, which is never a good thing when your in a slot canyon. So after looking around the next bend we decided to head back. On the way out of Orville's canyon there were some big rocks you had to climb down into the 3ft deep water. Whether you tried to slide, climb or jump down, you still got soaked with the freezing cold water. I know Sarah and John's feet were cold, hiking in their tennis shoes and vibrams didn't help much either. 

Once we got back to the fork, it had stopped raining for a while and we decided to try going up the main canyon. The main canyon was a good bit wider than Orville's so the water wasn't that deep, which made filming a little easier. I took lots of pictures and a lot more video, sometime once we finish our adventure around America I'll be uploading videos to YouTube, so if you like the pictures we've posted you'll definitely want to see some of the video clips we shot. Also for some more pictures you can follow us on Instagram @jacobandrews02 and @redfangoo.

Ok so after hiking up the main canyon for about another mile we decided it was time to turn back. We had made it to a small spring the trickled out of the moss and fern cover walls. I'm not sure exactly how far this spring was since there were not any markers or signs along the way. As soon as we started heading back it began to rain again, this time it was more than a drizzle, I had to wrap my camera up in my jacket to keep it from getting wet. The rain let up after about 15 minutes, but it was still enough to get us wet from head to toe. And then after another 15 minutes it began to rain again... so I had to wrap my camera back up. As we hurried back down the canyon we passed and were passed by a good many people going in both directions. I'm not sure how long it took us to get back to the trailhead but it didn't seem nearly as long as it had taken us to go up the river. 

Then it was a 40 minute shuttle ride back to the visitor center and a couple minute drive to our campsite. With clean shoes and super white toe nails we headed over to the restrooms for a hot shower. All in all it was a really awesome hike, something I would like to go back to and hike the full 16 miles from top to bottom. I'm not sure how John or Sarah would describe it, but I'm sure the words cold and slippery would come up a lot. But I know they enjoyed it also, just maybe not as much as me. :) I think we probably hiked around 7 miles, with 5 of those being through the river.

We had tacos for dinner that night and then went to bed after downloading all of the footage we shot that day. 

The next morning John and I got up early and took the shuttle into Zion and hiked the emerald pools trail, which after hiking in the Narrows it wasn't much, all though it did have some cool waterfalls. After that we ate breakfast, broke camp, packed the car and headed out for California. 

Next stop: Yosemite National Park!

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sorry this post took us a while to get uploaded, since none of us are good at writing it take us awhile... :p 

- Jacob

Here are some extra photos from Zion.