We entered Salt Lake City in mid-autumn, and when we left, we drove through 3 hours of a winter snowstorm, only to arrive in Zion back in early autumn! It's strange business chasing the seasons south.
We got to Zion National Park just as the sun was setting and were given a beautiful welcome hug in the form of the sun setting on the huge reddish cliff across from the place we were having dinner. There were 4 of us smartphone people and a couple of just plain people taking in the sight. We were already wishing we'd have booked more time here.
The Desert Pearl is the most spendy accommodation on our whole migration and worth every penny. It's situated up against one of the standard Zion multi-colored cliffs and has the Virgin River just yards from the deck. In addition to all the creature comforts, the fridge was in a quiet box, there was no clock to light the room, and there were no blinking LED lights. Ahhhhhhhh! You know you're in a really fancy place when they have one of those special little basins next to the toilet. You know, the kind everyone thinks is cool but doesn't know how to use without making a mess. So we had a very soft landing in Zion.
The park itself is 15 miles long and about a half a mile deep. Everywhere you look you are surrounded by giant red and tan colored sandstone walls. Gwen would say it's more a terra cotta/mauvey color than red, but we agreed on the tan. The Virgin River running through the canyon has helped shape this glorious place. We waited till 10 AM when the visitor center opened and the sun got high enough to warm the valley.
Because we have arrived late in the tourist season, we were not required to take a shuttle into the park. Apparently, in the thick of the season, there are 5000 visitors a day and only 450 parking places. The shuttle is the only way to access the place. We felt lucky driving in for the comfort and having our gear and food with us. It helped a lot when making a last minute trail decision.
When talking with the ranger at the visitor center, I don't know if it was our age or that we said the last time we were in the park was twenty years ago, but she suggested some easy, bottom of the canyon loop hikes. We left pondering that advice, only to discover the routes were still in the shade and cold. So we screwed up our courage and headed to Angles Landing.
Angel's Landing hike is indeed a butt kicker at any age. It takes a couple hours of sweaty, heart pounding, effort to climb the 1500 feet to reach the top at about 5800 feet. But that is really the easy part. There is a long trail, mostly up, with long and short switch backs just to get to the real hike. The last part of the hike is why people come.
The last third or so of the hike is across breathtakingly narrow saddles, scampering across side faces, and moving up almost vertical ascents, with thousand foot dropoffs on either side. There are chains that have been put in place for this last part of the climb, but somehow they almost make it worse by exaggerating the danger, if that's even possible. This photo shows one of a few, maybe eight foot wide crossings
I was doing pretty well for an old dude of 70, feeling good about myself and keeping up with Gwen and the general flow of hikers. It's when I was near the top and passed by an 85 year old woman coming down that my fitness bubble burst. Clearly I have some fitness work to do if I'm going to be doing these hikes in 15 years!
We spent a glorious hour in the sun at the top. It really is one of the best vistas in the park. The sense of accomplishment, being there with Gwen, the sunshine, seeing the beauty and colors of the park stretched out before me, a little lunch, and pretty much putting off all thoughts of the descent, all combined into one of the best hours of the whole trip.
It's strange how going down seemed more difficult. Maybe because sandstone is, in fact, slippery, or the fact that I was tired, legs were a little wobbly, and was now actually looking down at bottomless drop offs. Trust me, there is no way I can communicate that kind of excitement in words. You can find a lot of
pictures of the hike at this link. They just begin to give you a sense of the precariousness of this climb. In the end, we both really loved it and were glad it was our choice for the day.
A soak in the hot tub, an easy dinner out, and crashing early ended the day. Tomorrow we'll head to Phoenix via the Glen Canyon Dam and Flagstaff. The next day we'll be 3 hours from our Tucson home. That's when the flurry of activities to move in starts in earnest. There may be one more final post, but if not, thanks again for the eyeballs and your interest. Hope you had fun coming along on the ride.
Earl and Gwen
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