Yes, sleeping in a real bed does beat a tent. After having breakfast I got all of my gear packed for the trip home tonight. Loaded up the car and headed out for a day of driving to some remote areas of the park. I had plenty of time as my flight is at 1am and I’ve got the whole Time Zone thing working in my favor today.

First route was the Kolob Terrace Road which heads into the middle of the park from the south. The road actually meanders in and out of the park boundaries and ends at the Kolob Reservoir which looked to be a bit low at the moment. A couple of miles before the reservoir is a turnoff back into the park to Lava Point Lookout which provides a long distance view at Zion Canyon from above. There’s a campground here with access to some of the back-country trails. Definitely worth the drive.

View from Lava Point


Second stop was the Kolob Canyons area in the northwest region of the park. There are several trails here as well but as I was planning a relaxing day I only took he Timber Creek Overlook trail which is just a short 1 mile round trip with views southward over the park along with the adjacent Kolob Canyons. Again definitely worth the effort to make it to this section of the park.

Kolob Canyon


I finished touring this section of the park around 3:30 (2:30 in Las Vegas) so still had plenty of time to kill so decided to head up to Cedar Breaks National Monument which was only about 45 minutes north. I had visited this two years ago during my road trip but figured it would also be worth seeing again in a different season. I also took a slightly different route that passed through a portion of the Dixie National Forest which has some spectacular overlooks. I only stopped at one of the overlooks in the monument before heading back towards Vegas.

On the way back to Vegas I realized I was still going to have a few hours to kill so decided I would try to catch a movie. I pulled over after getting into the city and found a theater showing Gone Girl at 8pm – perfect! It was a good show – did not expect the twist. The movie let out shortly before 11 and by the time I filled the car’s gas tank, returned the car, checked my luggage and got through security I arrived at the gate about 15 minutes before boarding started so the timing couldn’t have been better.

Zion is such an amazing place. There really aren’t words worthy to describe it and the pictures that I’ll be posting in the coming days can’t do it justice either. It is a place that simply must be witnessed first hand. Even if you can’t do the hiking, just visiting the canyon along the shuttle route is worth the trip.

​So last night I called an audible and decided that this would be my last night in the central area of the park. Since I didn’t have any activities planned in Zion canyon for Friday I opted to check out of the campground this morning and instead spend some of my Hampton points tonight and relax.

So after getting breakfast made and camp packed up I finally boarded a shuttle to Weeping Rock at 10 o’clock. Was on the trail up into Hidden Canyon by about 10:30. This was only about a 3.5 mile round trip but the first mile was pretty much straight up. About 2/3 of the way up I heard some commotion a couple of switchbacks above me. I wasn’t able to get my camera to the ready quick enough to capture the bighorn sheep ram jumping up the slope so there’s no evidence but it was pretty cool. There were three guys on the trail and they said at first he had headed straight at them! It’s nearing the end of the rut season for the bighorns so you definitely don’t want to be on their bad side…

Once reaching the top of the climb it was then a matter of following the trail along the ledges around and into Hidden Canyon. The park service had again placed some chains for hand holds. I actually think these are a bad idea in most cases. It seems to give people who perhaps shouldn’t be up there in the first place some false security. To me it felt better to keep a hand in the rock because the chains are slack and if you’re falling outwards you may not be able to hold onto the chain. Better to have a hand on the rock and be leaning towards it. But what do I know?

Trail to Hidden Canyon

Anyway after reaching the entrance to the canyon the maintained section of the trail ends. The options are either just turn back or head into the canyon which requires a bit of scrambling over debris in the canyon; rocks, boulders and trees. The payoff is a little arch along the canyon wall. Nothing spectacular but it was fun to climb over stuff!

From there I headed up to the Temple of Sinewava which is at the upper end of the canyon and is the start of the Riverwalk and entrance to the Narrows “trail”. I walked along the Riverwalk as there are some great views but had decided not to do the Narrows hike. Perhaps I’ll make it back someday to do that one. There are so many people heading in there that it just seems too crowded – nothing worse than a crowd on a trail as far as I’m concerned.

By the time I finished there it was about 4:30. So after the ~40 minute shuttle ride to the visitor center and walk to the car I finally made it to the hotel about 5:30. Got cleaned up and headed out for dinner. The town of Springdale exists pretty much to serve the tourists, so every place was pretty busy. The third place I hit, The Flying Monkey, I was able to get a table without waiting. It wasn’t great but at least I didn’t have to wait.

Back to the hotel for a good nights sleep. Tomorrow I’m going to spend driving to a couple of the more remote areas of the park before heading back to Vegas for my red-eye flight home.

​There was a full lunar eclipse this morning at about 4:30. Unfortunately Zion was completely overcast so I didn’t get to see it. I wasn’t really surprised as the clouds had started rolling in last night. And anyway I got to sleep longer this way.

For awhile it actually looked like it would rain so I didn’t roll out of my tent until after 7:30. After breakfast and a little reading I finally headed out a little before 10. Today’s hike was to the Emerald Pools. I got off the shuttle at Zion Lodge and then took the Grotto Trail to the Grotto. I got some nice shots of Angels Landing from the canyon floor and then headed up the Kayenta trail, which offers spectacular views of the canyon , towards the Emerald Pools.

 

I had intended to hit the Middle Pool first then the Upper and the Lower last to avoid unnecessary backtracking. Somehow I missed the spur the Middle Pool and ended up first at the Lower Pool which is really not impressive. From there it was up to the Middle Pool which certainly had some potential – at this time of year the water is running rather low. Finally it was onward to the Upper Pool which is spectacular. Photos can’t really do justice unless you have a super wide angle lens, as its a relatively small pool but it’s at the base of this enormous cliff face. I’ll probably post the video I took once I’m back home. Just stunning. It was shaded and cool and being right around noon was the perfect spot for lunch.

After about a half hour I headed back down the trail and ended my hike back at the lodge. I hung out on the lawn for a little while deciding what to do next. Ended up hopping the shuttle down canyon and took in the short film about the park at the Zion Human History Museum. After that I took the Par’us trail back to camp.

I’ve gotten a little reading in this afternoon and now it’s time to make some dinner. Later I’ll be heading over to the amphitheater for the evening ranger talk. No idea what the topic is…

​Today was a pretty lazy day as I wasn’t quite sure what I felt like doing. In the end I made this my driving day, just to the east side of the park which is entirely different from Zion Canyon. In addition to the scenery it’s just a fun little drive up the switchbacks and through the tunnel and back again.

 

It was somewhat cloudy all day so after the little drive I came back to camp and took a little nap. Then got some reading in, made dinner and then went to see Guardians of the Galaxy. I had no expectations whatsoever so have to say I did enjoy it. And the soundtrack is amazing!

Tomorrow it’s back on the trails. I’ll be taking in the Emerald Pools in a loop from Zion Lodge to The Grotto and back. May relax with a nice lunch in the lodge.

​I did not make the first shuttle leaving the visitor center today at 7am. Instead I had a nice leisurely morning and finally boarded a bus around 9am. I road up to The Grotto which is where the trailhead to Angels Landing is found. Was on the trail about 9:30.

This hike is a little over 5 miles round trip with the first half being pretty much entirely uphill. At a little over the two mile point you reach Scout Lookout after making the climb up Walter’s Wiggles, a series of switchbacks, and then the last half mile is the section out to Angels Landing, which is essentially a climb along the side of a cliff. The park service has placed chains for assistance but in my opinion they were generally more trouble than they were worth. In any case I arrived without any issues and the effort was certainly worth it.

Walter’s Wiggles viewed from above.

The view of Zion Canyon from Angels Landing

I relaxed and ate lunch, fending off numerous chipmunks all the while, and then headed back down. Thought I had been drinking enough water or maybe it was something in my lunch but I really wasn’t feeling well by about half way back to Scout Lookout. Took a few breaks along the way and then found some shade at the Scout Lookout and just rested for awhile. Still not sure whether it was something I ate or some mild heat exhaustion but long story short, after I puked I felt great…

Headed back down the rest of the way which took about an hour and then caught the shuttle back to camp. Took a nap, made some dinner and then attended the evening ranger program hosted by Ranger Adam. Tonight’s presentation was about nocturnal life in the park.

Was planning to hike the emerald pools trail tomorrow, but may opt for a driving day around the park instead. I’ll see what the morning brings.