Category: Travel

Day Five and we are starting to get used to all of this hiking, but our muscles would say otherwise.We bummed around in the morning and did lunch at Oscar’s Cafe. This was one of the best meals of the week and we highly recommend it to everyone. When we finally arrived at the park, we decided to take it easy and only do one trail. We hiked Watchman Trail which is one of the simpler trails out of the ones we have done. It does have a moderate ascent with a decent view when you get to the top. Also, there was an interesting “off trail” hike just off of the top. It takes you back into the canyon on an unmaintained trail. The views were very impressive and it was nice and secluded. This offshoot was a nice addition to a simple hike. Since the hike itself was so short, we decided to walk back to the lodge from the park. For dinner tonight, we got Chinese which came highly recommended, but in reality it was somewhat disappointing. This may just be a result of the fact that since we live in Chicago, we are spoiled when it comes to dining.

Summary:

• People seen on trail(s): 15
• Miles hiked: 5
• Elevation change: 360ft

Okay, first off, day four in Zion National Park was mostly spent in Bryce Canyon National Park. After three days of hiking, we really needed a day of rest. Our muscles aren’t used to this exhaustion. It is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Springdale which was a nice reprieve. After a brief breakfast at Thunderbird Lodge in Mt. Caramel; we finished the drive to the Visitor Center at Bryce. We decided that, even though it was our day off, we would stretch our legs on a brief hike. Unfortunately, the briefness ended after about 1/2 a mile. We hiked the Fairyland Loop in Bryce Canyon and this was one of the hardest hikes we did all week. It is a beautiful hike that starts on the rim, climbs to a brief summit and then goes into the canyon below. You get an amazing opportunity to see hoodoos up close and personal, as well as from a bird’s eye view. What made it difficult was the fact that it wasn’t a hike down followed by a hike up; it was numerous ups and downs, which is even tougher than doing it all at once. On our way back to Zion, we stopped at Ruby’s for dinner just outside of Bryce. A salad bar and dinner buffet never tasted so good!

Summary:

• People seen on trail(s): 10
• Miles hiked: 8
• Elevation change: 2309ft
• See the pictures!

Since it appears that rainy weather is fast approaching, we decided to hike The Narrows. This is a truly spectacular and unique hike where you spend over 50% of your time hiking through the river. You cross many times and at points the water is waist deep (especially if you are as short as Erin). Of course we didn’t have the equipment for such a hike, so we went to Zion Outdoor for everything that we needed. Since it was still cold (it is the first of May after all) we opted for dry pants and fleece pants, neoprene socks and 5.10 canyoneering shoes. This made the trip much more enjoyable. In addition to this, we rented dry bags and walking sticks for the hike. The staff was very helpful and knowledgeable.

Once the hike was underway, we were concerned by the cloudy skies and the chance of rain ahead. Being the over-prepared people that we are, we knew we had enough supplies to survive overnight in the canyon in the event of a flash flood, so we continued on. There were a number of people who had no supplies and were unprepared in the event of a flood, but we weren’t that surprised (including a few people in shorts and sandals – did we mention the water temperature was only 45 degrees?).

As for the hike itself, it was truly breathtaking. We made it all of the way to the end of the section known as Wall Street and were astounded by the beauty of our surroundings. Also, we made a side trip to Orderville Canyon. This turned out to be one of the most serene and thought proving sections of the hike. We were frustrated that we didn’t have a backcountry pass, so we were limited in how far we could proceed. Next time we come to Zion, we will likely do the thru hike all the way from the top down. This would also let us spend more time in Orderville. Burgers at Blondies were great and highly recommended.

Summary:

• People seen on trail(s): ~60
• Miles hiked: 12+
• Elevation change: 300ft
• See the pictures!

Okay, on our second day we decided to get a little more serious and avoid the crowds. We went “back country” and hiked the East Rim Trail. This is a more serious hike away from all of the tourists. Many of the people who do hike this trail camp overnight in the park. We were sure to pack all of our emergency gear, plenty of food, and lots of water. It was a great hike that was extremely painful, especially hiking uphill in the sand (who knew there was sand on a mountain). However, seeing Jolly Gulch at the 2.8 mile marker made it worthwhile. Today we learned how much hiking really attacks your legs (or so we thought). For dinner, we were craving a simple meal and we went to the Majestic View Steakhouse. The food was acceptable, but really not what we were in the mood for. Perhaps another time in another mood the dinner may have been better.

Summary:

• People seen on trail(s): 3
• Miles hiked: 11+
• Elevation change: 2148ft
• See the pictures!

Today marked our first day on vacation. We are staying in Springdale, UT and visiting Zion National Park. We thought we would take it “easy” by only bumming around the park , but we ended up giving our legs a good workout and breaking in all of our gear (before you ask, our shoes were already broken in). We hit a number of the trails around the park including:

• Upper, Middle, and Lower Emerald Pools
• Riverwalk
• Weeping Rock
• Grotto Trail

Out of these, Weeping Rock was probably the most picturesque. Also, even though it is rated as easy, the Upper Emerald Pools does give your thighs quite a workout, or so we thought. We called it a night with dinner at Zion Pizza and Noodle. Pasta was good but we held off on pizza for later.

Summary:

• People seen on trail(s): 100+
• Miles hiked: 9
• Elevation change: 700ft