We must have slept in, because we didn’t get into the car to head out for our first hike until 11:30. Many of the other campers had already left. In fact, many of them had cleared out for good. We weren’t sure why, because the bad weather had passed, and the forecast for today was good: a high of 54 and a low of 34. The visitor center posted a very handy 7-day weather forecast for both Zion and Bryce Canyon every day. Our original plan was to spend 2 nights in Zion before heading north to Bryce Canyon, but after watching the weather pattern, we decided against it. Bryce Canyon is double the elevation of Zion, so lows were below the 20s at night. Zion really has a lot to offer, so we’re not too disappointed. Now we just have to come back to visit the other parks.
We decided to stay another night in Zion, but as there was a 40% chance of rain for tomorrow, we had a lot of hikes to get to. The three hikes that we were interested in depended slightly on good weather: Angels Landing and The Watchman for the clear views, and The Narrows for avoiding flash floods.
We packed a lunch and headed first to Angels Landing.
The good weather and the late start perhaps, brought all sorts of people out. The hike up was just over 2 miles, but there was some good climbing. The rock is just so incredible here. It looks the same as at Observation Point, and yet different.
There seemed to be more cavities in the rock, but the terrain was similar.
The guidebook says that this hike is not recommended for acrophobes, but since it said the same about the Observation Point trail, I thought nothing of it. Wrong. Angel’s Landing is no joke.
After 2 miles, the path turns into a rock with some chain mail nailed into it. Our new guardrail was the only way we knew which way the trail went in some spots. My heart raced from anxiety instead of from fatigue.
The views were beautiful, but I’ll take the safer, albeit longer, Observation Point trail.
The way down was scarier than the way up, but we were back on solid trails before too long. We stopped for lunch about a mile from the bottom, and enjoyed a view of the river before the sun hid behind a mountain and we got cold.
Our next hike was only 2 miles round trip, and was really more of a flat amble than a hike. The Narrows trail started just a few miles down the road from the Angel’s Landing trail.
It was a pretty walk, but after a few minutes we noticed that other people had something that we didn’t. In fact, it was beginning to feel like Yellowstone all over again. You know-where everyone has a tripod and a ridiculously large pair of binoculars and we have mini pocket size ones? Well, everyone on the way back from the hike is wet from the knee down and most of them also have special shoes on.
We decided to stay another night in Zion, but as there was a 40% chance of rain for tomorrow, we had a lot of hikes to get to. The three hikes that we were interested in depended slightly on good weather: Angels Landing and The Watchman for the clear views, and The Narrows for avoiding flash floods.
We packed a lunch and headed first to Angels Landing.
The good weather and the late start perhaps, brought all sorts of people out. The hike up was just over 2 miles, but there was some good climbing. The rock is just so incredible here. It looks the same as at Observation Point, and yet different.
There seemed to be more cavities in the rock, but the terrain was similar.
The guidebook says that this hike is not recommended for acrophobes, but since it said the same about the Observation Point trail, I thought nothing of it. Wrong. Angel’s Landing is no joke.
After 2 miles, the path turns into a rock with some chain mail nailed into it. Our new guardrail was the only way we knew which way the trail went in some spots. My heart raced from anxiety instead of from fatigue.
The views were beautiful, but I’ll take the safer, albeit longer, Observation Point trail.
The way down was scarier than the way up, but we were back on solid trails before too long. We stopped for lunch about a mile from the bottom, and enjoyed a view of the river before the sun hid behind a mountain and we got cold.
Our next hike was only 2 miles round trip, and was really more of a flat amble than a hike. The Narrows trail started just a few miles down the road from the Angel’s Landing trail.
It was a pretty walk, but after a few minutes we noticed that other people had something that we didn’t. In fact, it was beginning to feel like Yellowstone all over again. You know-where everyone has a tripod and a ridiculously large pair of binoculars and we have mini pocket size ones? Well, everyone on the way back from the hike is wet from the knee down and most of them also have special shoes on.
It turns out that the exciting part of the hike is off of the trail and through the river. The Narrows is in between two towering rocks and must be stunning, because people are crossing the river 2 times to get there. 4 times if they wanted to come back. And don’t forget that the high for today is in the low 50’s.
Clint and I learned that people were renting gear in Springdale for $35. This pertinent information wasn’t listed in our guidebook or at the hike’s entrance. Regardless, we had a good time ambling about.
We headed back to our campsite and after a brief brake, decided to try out the Watchman. This hike was recommended to us by the campsite hosts, and started right behind our campsite. The Watchman wound up a mountain with a great overlook after only about 2 miles.
From the top, we watched the sun set and could just make out the campground at which we were staying.
We probably would have needed some of those large, fancy binoculars to find out tent though. We made it back to our campsite just before we lost all of the light and started our dinner. We were having sautéed habanero sausages with macaroni and cheese. That probably sounds gross. It was delicious and warm though; especially after 3 hikes. We enjoyed it out by Clint’s big fire; the sky was clear and we could see millions of stars. It was a very good day.
Wow. What an amazing spot. So jealous. It's like the desert's take on Yosesmite.
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