Zion National Park, Utah

We went camping this weekend in Springdale, Utah, just outside of Zion National Park.  It was a gorgeous weekend with consistently sunny weather.  We stayed at the Zion Campground RV Park located just half a mile from the entrance to the National Park.  The campground spots were tightly packed, but everyone in the park was extremely nice and we had a great time chatting with others about their adventures.  Some people park their big rigs here for the whole summer.  You can't beat the location.  We were lucky enough to get a spot right by the river - which happened to be raging this time of year at over 800 cfs.

We used to visit Zion on our family road trips from California to Utah, but I guess I had never really explored the hiking opportunities in the park like we did on this trip.  We logged in 38 miles over five days.  It was amazing.  The variety of the terrain and scenery was surprising and the vistas were just spectacular.  I can't wait to get back and do some more exploring and hiking in the backcountry.

On one of our hikes, we managed to make it to the top of Angels Landing, a ridiculous hike up a fin of red sandstone with 2,000' drop offs on either side.  It actually took me two tries to make it to the top.  The day before, I chickened out.  My pride got the best of me though, and I had to come back the next day to conquer the beast.  Some people scramble up this precipice like it is candy, while others of us slink up it like primordial monkeys, keeping our limbs and gravity as low as possible to the ground.  I'm just glad I lived to tell about it. 

Near the top of Angels Landing, where the views of the cliff walls and Virgin River Canyon below was just spectacular, we overheard a woman talking to her friends.  I just loved her comment.  She said, "I'm not an environmentalist, but I'm glad someone is."  Classic.

My favorite hike of the weekend was the out and back on the West Rim trail.  This is one of those epic hikes through red rock cliffs, white sandstone rims, and 1,000' waterfalls glittering the canyon walls.  Amazing scenery.  Parts of this trail are paved and even chiseled out of the cliff wall as leftover remnants of the work done by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) back in the 1930's. 

Mary heading up the West Rim Trail

View of the West Rim from Telephone Canyon

View from West Rim Spring

I couldn't pass up this shot.

Pause for Peace.

For our final hike, we did Observation Point.  This is an 8 mile hike with about 2,100' of elevation gain through Echo Canyon and then out onto a windy ridge.  The trail seemed interminable.  The winds up on top were so strong we though we might get blown right over the edge.  Needless to say, we did not spend much time at the top!

Lisa at the top of Observation Point

What an amazing place. 

Lisa and Mary - Self Portrait