Hiking at Zion National Park
Hey y’all. Zion National Park was on my list of parks to visit for a long time. Who wouldn’t want to see a valley of paradise framed by dramatic red cliffs? In May of 2018, I was finally lucky enough to pay Zion a visit.
My mom and I took a road trip to the canyon from Las Vegas, and we stayed in a hotel in a town just outside of the park. Zion Canyon has a shuttle for its visitors, so it was very convenient to get from trail head to trail head.
We did a few hikes over the course of the few days we were in Zion. Our first stop was Weeping Rock. This site has water constantly flowing out of the rock from above, as water moves so slowly through the pores in the rock. This trail was very short and paved, which was a good short hike for us, since we arrived kind of late that day.
To finish off our first evening, we also hiked the Upper Emerald Pools trail. This trail was a bit longer, and it had a couple of waterfalls to ogle. It was a great start to our weekend, and it was quite a sight to see waterfalls with a red rock backdrop.
My mom and I standing under the sprinkle from the Weeping Rock.
Sitting on the edge of the teeniest waterfall.
The next day, we woke up early to run Angel’s Landing. We saw a lot of websites saying that Angel’s Landing was a very strenuous, arduous hike, but, upon arrival, we thought it looked easy enough to run. So, we ran.
Once we got to the top where the cables were, we had to slow down, of course. I loved that portion of the hike, because I could lean over just slightly and see the very bottom of the canyon. The top view was beautiful. You could see a long way through the canyon, as well as the bright green vegetation on the canyon floor. On the other side, you could look down and see the river meandering around Angel’s Landing. We hung around at the top for a short while, ate a snack, and began our descent. This hike was well worth doing, and the views are unmatched.
A beautiful lookout over Zion Canyon.
Chilling on a big rock.
My kickass mom being a kickass mom.
Our last hike in Zion was through the Narrows. This hike was definitely the most unique hike that I have been on, since I had not been on a hike through a river before. My experience in the Narrows was a memorable one without a doubt.
We started in the afternoon, so we knew we wouldn’t be able to make it all the way up the canyon as far as a lot of people go. I walked the river the whole way. I wore Chacos and my swimsuit, and I packed all of my normal clothes and my hiking shoes in my Camelbak, so that they would stay dry, and I would stay warm (since the water in Narrows in May is pretty freezing). My mom and I hiked/waded in the river for a good while, and then turned off of the main canyon into one of the smaller canyons. Walking in that river was a weird feeling with the walls towering high above us, with only a sliver of the sky visible at that point.
After we began walking down this canyon, things got pretty interesting. My mom and I stumbled upon a French woman laying (semi-conscious) in the river with her boyfriend and a group of three Americans were sitting/standing around her. Unfortunately, they didn’t speak any English. We thought she may have hit her head, because her boyfriend was holding her head. My mom and I decided to investigate, and it turns out the woman was extremely cold and hadn’t eaten much that day. So, we made her boyfriend put her in his lap, so that she wasn’t in the freezing water. The three Americans (including the only person who spoke any french), decided that the smartest thing for them to do was to leave the french people with us, and to go get help, leaving us without any means of communicating with the french people. My mom and I both knew how hypothermia works, and we knew that wet equals cold. I took off her cold, wet clothes and put all of my dry clothes from my backpack on her, along with my wool socks and hiking shoes. We sat there trying to warm her up for about 40 minutes, and we even started a small fire. My mom and I gave her whatever food we had in our backpack once she luckily started gaining consciousness. Then, my mom, her boyfriend, and I tried to help her make her way towards the entrance to the Narrows. My mom gave the lady her walking stick, and the boyfriend and I were on either side supporting the lady. After a long time, we finally got her out of the Narrows, and out of the river. (In case you were wondering, we passed the people who left to get help on our way out of the Narrows.)
Luckily, they made it out okay. I am glad that my mom and I found the people when we did, because I am not sure things would have been okay, had she laid in the river for much longer. Memorable is an adjective inadequate in describing our experience in the Narrows.
My visit to Zion National Park was extremely fun, and the landscape was unlike any other landscape I had ever seen. Utah’s first national park was a great taste of what Utah has to offer, and I definitely will be back to see more of it.
If you are planning to head to Zion sometime soon, I would recommend spending a little bit more than a weekend, because there are a lot more hikes than what I had time to do. If you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them!
