Zion National Park

I headed out from Bryce to get to Zion. I passed a huge wreck along the way where a semi had crashed, rolled, exploded and burned and it was a mess. I must have got there after a while because the wrecker was already there ready to tow it away. I got to Zion and went in the East Entrance. There’s a really cool Checkerboard Mesa that you drive by and it has eroded perfectly to look like a checkerboard. Apparently vertical lines are rare and to have it end up looking like a checkerboard is neat. I hiked to the Canyon overlook trail and it literally puts you on the canyon. Most overlooks have a few feet around as a buffer but this one had a fence nailed to the cliff edge and you were right on it.
I was feeling pretty hot as this point and when I got back in my car to drive through the tunnels it read 100 degrees. The tunnel was really amazing. You could only go through it one side at a time because it was built in 1930 and not designed for motorhomes. There are 6 huge windows inside but they don’t allow stopping to look out. It’s a mile long and was an engineering marvel in its day. I sped over to the campground taking pictures out my window because I didn’t want to get out of my car. Believe it or now I had actually entered on the cool side of the park. I checked in and the lady told me I was in the RV loop so I would have electricity. I was excited as this meant I could type up my blog posts while overlooking the red rock canyons. However, my site had no shade whatsoever and I was dripping with sweat after setting up my tent. I chased a deer out from under a tree and sat in the little bit of shade. (p.s. this pic was taken at 8:45pm)

I couldn’t handle it so I hopped on a shuttle and took it into town. I wandered around some galleries and shops and got some huckleberry ice cream which was delicious. I got back on the shuttle and the driver asked where I was going and I said “just keep driving”. I discovered there was a “river” that ran behind the campground so I donned my bikini and spent the rest of the afternoon splashing around as it wasn’t deep enough to swim in. it was a great refuge. It was at this point when I realized I had spent the better part of a week wandering around half naked because it’s so hot and cooling off in creeks. That’s what’s so liberating about being a nomad. I will never see any of these people again so if I want to wander around in a bikini and wear blue eyeshadow while mainlining Gatorade then damn it I will. I was apprehensive about this trip but I am having a ball! It is completely normal for me to sleep in a cot, pee in a pit toilet, bath in a creek, then drive a couple hundred miles and do it all again elsewhere. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I’m in grad school. Luckily, New England is small so I have a feeling I’ll be taking a lot of weekend road trips 

Well it was a horrible windy night and I didn’t get any sleep. It also never went below 70 so it was hot as well. I got up early and decided to hike around Zion because I did not want to be hiking in the inferno later on. I decided to start with the Emerald Pools.
Now, after Yellowstone I expect emerald to be emerald not like a faint tinge of algae. It’s always nice to see water in a desert though. I hiked to the Lower, Middle and Upper pools before descending back down. I went to the next shuttle stop and decided to do the Hidden Canyon hike. It was only 2 miles roundtrip however the ascent was about 1000 feet. So basically it was straight up and down. Well I huffed my way up and it kept warning that is trail was not for those afraid of heights. Granted, it did look down over the switchbacks but I didn’t see anything too bad. Well then I see metal glinting off the rocks and I realize it’s chain attached to rebar which is stuck on the cliff face so you could climb your way across. Now I knew the signs meant business. To top it off it was very sandy and my shoes have no traction so it was dicey going for a few stretches. Then it finally gets to the end and it says there’s an arch up the way and there is some scrambling required. Since I had worked that hard to get up there I soldiered on. Now this was a canyon with lots of evidence of flash flood. Trees and other debris were piled up in various spots and I found myself looking for an escape route just in case. It was 10am without a cloud in the sky so I figured I wasn’t in too much danger. The scrambling wasn’t too bad once I figured out where other people had gone. The arch was small but I’m glad I went out there. Coming back it was straight downhill and I was coming down one steep section of stairs when I see a girl sitting at the bottom. She jumps up bare assed and turns out she was peeing at the base of the stairs! On the trail! Now, I have peed in the great outdoors many a time and I always go off the trail at least and usually find something to hide behind. That is twice in three days I have come across people peeing in the trail. No respect for National Parks anymore. It was warming up at this point so I took the shuttle into town to buy some postcards. I ate lunch by the river and headed back up the canyon to a museum so I could be in some air conditioning. I rode out to the end of the canyon and hiked the trail that goes along the river. It ends where the river enters the canyon and its called the “Narrows”. People just wade up the river as far as they want. It was only up to my knees so it was pretty easy going. It’s getting on towards monsoon season though so I didn’t go too far. I stopped at a few more overlooks but I think it was around 105 degrees at this point so I went back to camp and sat in the river to cool down. This is the first day on this trip that I have not driven my car. Zion has a very nice setup where the shuttle runs from town, up into the park and all the way across it. The old Rock needed a rest. I was grateful for the electric connection so I could type up these blogs in the shadows of the mountains of Zion.