Road Trip Day 16: Zion NP: Observation Point hike

We woke up early to an overcast sky. The weather was cold, but really had nothing on the chill we experienced at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone. We made coffee and oatmeal and were able to enjoy them outside without getting wet. We packed sandwiches for the day and made sure everything was covered before heading out.
The hike that we chose for the day was just 8 miles up the road.

It was cold and a bit rainy out, so the trails were pretty unpopulated. Observation point was 4 miles up, with about 2500 feet of climbing, and 4 miles back down.

We climbed up through fall colors, smooth rock walls, and stunning narrows.



Parts of our hike were hot, as rock walls protected us from the wind, and we were able to strip down a few layers. As we assented, however, light rain turned to hail, and gusts of wind made us wish we had brought gloves. The view from the top was worth the cold and the climb and then some.



We looked down on the winding Virgin River and countless rock formations, including the White Throne; a light colored plateau atop red and orange mountains.


The foliage at the top of Observation Point was mostly short, dry looking brush. But, there were also a few trees, and their roots twisted around the rock to hold on. There were also a few purple and yellow wildflowers. In short, the terrain was overwhelmingly awesome. Neither of us could hurry our way up, there was just too much to take in. It is unlike anything we’d ever seen. We were definitely experiencing sensory overload.





After descending, we headed back to camp.

 It was not yet 5, but we were tired and wanted to make dinner before it got dark. We arrived to lovely campsite 71 to find that the sun was back. The mountains behind our campsite were aglow an awesome shade of orange.

We made some quesadillas and pozole soup (from a can, we’re not that impressive) for dinner, and enjoyed it in the setting sun.  We retired to our tent early, and were finally able to crack open our books. Clint is reading On the Road again, and I’ve just started my book club book, The Help. It really feels like vacation when you get to read outside. I’m not sure why. We’ve been enjoying ourselves so much on this trip so far that we’ve failed to open our books, despite the amount of free time we have.