Zion National Park
I have been wanting to go to Utah for a while, but never committed to travel plans since it seemed like such a big trip. I also have a friend who recently moved near Salt Lake City. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find dates that lined up with our work schedules. When C and I were looking at airplane tickets and realized that flights to Las Vegas were fairly affordable, we decided to book them and plan our trip out to Zion and Bryce Canyon. We spent 3 nights at Zion and 2 nights at Bryce. We still hope to make another trip to Utah to visit the other parks. It was an amazing adventure!
Day 1: Travel to Zion
We had an early Monday morning flight. Our airport is usually pretty speedy to get through the scanners, however, on this particular day, the line wrapped around to the baggage claim area. We were waiting for almost 1.5 hours and ended up barely making it to our gate before they were closed for boarding. On the plane, we tried watching Elemental (not good), and after a few minutes, ended up switching to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban instead (classic). We ate tiny bags of Garden Salsa sun chips on the plane. With the 3 hour time difference, we landed at LAS, and proceeded to eat a Quiznos sub for “breakfast.” The long lines continued as we waited to get into the rental car shuttle. Then, another long line at the Avis rental car counter.
Our rental car was a red Dodge Journey SUV. We went to a nearby shopping center, brought groceries, ate lunch, and picked up a small propane canister at REI. We also discovered Pucks Cookie and Treats, where C ordered the “puck drop,” which was a large puck sized cookie, with heaping scoops of ice cream and caramel drizzle. C initially didn’t want to share with me, but when he saw how massive it ended up being, he conceded. According to C, “this is the best deal in Las Vegas.”
It was a three hour drive to Zion Canyon Campground and RV Park. We had booked campsite R-20, which was a nice little patch of dirt, right next to the peaceful ripples of the Virgin River and towering view of The Watchman. We set up camp, and walked to Zion National Park, which was only half a mile away. We walked along the paved Pa’rus trail at night. We were able to see the outlines of the canyon walls and some stars, that were muted by the bright moon. A nice way to end a busy travel day.
Day 2: Angel’s Landing and Emerald Pools Trail
It was still dark out, when we ate our freeze dried breakfasts (A: breakfast scramble, C: biscuits with gravy) at 7am. We had a big day planned, our hike on Angels Landing. C and I had learned that we were given the opportunity to hike this trail, when we entered the lottery system months ago. We were a bit apprehensive of what the day would bring, especially after reading adjectives such as “scary,” “dangerous,” and “deadly,” describing our hike ahead.
We arrived at the trailhead around 8am. We started on the West Rim Trail. The trail was broad and fairly flat. This was followed by a series of switchbacks to an area where we were flanked by towering red, sandstone walls. About two miles into the hike, we encountered Walter’s Wiggles, a series of 21 switchbacks with an elevation gain of 250 feet within a short distance. We stopped to rest a few times for snacks and water, and we weren’t even at Angels Landing yet! I was starting to regret life decisions, yet in awe of the engineering feat it took to make this trail accessible to the public (and, no less, it was originally constructed in 1926!).
We arrived to Scout Lookout (note: there are pit toilets here if needed). This is where we saw hiking groups start to separate, as some people stayed behind as their hiking partners continued their way up to Angels Landing. C and I looked at each other nervously, and we decided to continue. We put on our grippy gloves and trekked onward. The first thing that was surprising to me was the length of the “chained section.” For some reason, I thought it was only one small section that was chained, but actually it was the entire half mile up to the summit. I was most nervous when we encountered the first of the chains, but soon grew more confident. By the time, we reached the Hogsback, or the iconic area where everyone talks about the narrow trail and sheer drop-offs, I didn’t even realize that anything had changed.
When we reached the summit, I felt happy that my body was able to do the hike, both physically and mentally. I was amazed by the beautiful views. It just didn’t seem real! I was also very proud of C, since I know he has a greater fear of heights.
After we descended, we treated ourselves to lunch at Zion Canyon Brew Pub. We shared Bangers and Mash, along with Fish and Chips. We also went to a nearby coffee shop for a latte and hot chocolate. With all the excitement of the day, we headed back to our tent and unintentionally ended up falling asleep. When we woke up, we still had a lot of things left to see, so we headed out again to hike the Emerald Pools trail via the Kayenta trail. Again, we encountered the most beautiful views of the canyon and river. Upper trails pool was very serene.
We made dinner, rice noodles with bone broth and canned salmon. I added green onions and bok choy to mine. It ended up being one of my favorite and easy camp meals. We had another special treat, a Halloween themed vanilla “puck” cookie.
Day 3: Canyoneering and Climbing at Lamb’s Knoll, Riverside Walk
We met our guide, Stephen, outside our campground at 8am. He drove us about 25 miles out to a climbing area called, Lambs Knoll. We donned our climbing harnesses and helmet and were ready to (attempt to) conquer the peaks! C and I had never climbed outside before, but we were excited to try something new. We were definitely being pushed out of our comfort zones this trip! We started with a little bit of rock scrambling and a traverse. We made our way to 80-foot cliffs for our introductory drops into canyoneering. We also did a warm-up climb; it was hard to “trust my feet” against the smooth sandstone rocks. After that, we did a ~5.9 climb that was challenging, yet fun. I also tried a little bit of crack climbing. Stephen taught us how to tie a basic knot (the figure eight) and let C belay him on lead. Stephen was a great motivator and had memorable sayings such as “When in doubt, stem it out,” and “Do you have frosting in your shoes? You made that look like a cake walk.” This was the highlight of the trip for me.
C and I didn’t want to spend too much money on food, but we decided we would have one nice meal out a day. We had lunch at Whiptail Grill right by our campground. I had carne asada tacos. C had a gouda bacon barbecue burger. It was nice to sit inside after being out all morning.
We rested for a little bit in our tent. Then, we visited the Zion Lodge and took the shuttle to the last stop to do the Riverside walk. We saw many people along the trail who had hiked the Narrows, donning dry bibs and carrying long wooden hiking sticks. Our hike, on the other hand, was relatively tame. We stayed on the paved trail and avoided venturing into the cold waters.
Later, back at camp, dinner included freeze dried spaghetti and leftovers.
Day 4: Watchman trail and travel to Bryce Canyon
C and I were sad that this would be our last day at Zion. We woke up early and walked to Canyon Coffee. We ordered everything bagels with cream cheese, coffee/ tea. Then, we hiked Watchman trail, which is about 3 miles round trip. This hike does not get as much attention as Angels Landing or the Narrows, but it is one of my favorites. It’s not too strenuous, but the views are absolutely stunning on the way up and down. By this point, I was able to understand the landscape a little better and could identify the major landmarks such as the The West Temple, The Sentinel, Bridge Mountain and The Watchman. We also observed different plants including juniper trees, rubber rabbitbrush, single-leaf ash, roundleaf buffaloberry, among others.
We packed up our campsite before noon. To get to Bryce Canyon, we needed to drive toward the east side of Zion. C and I were impressed by the this drive. The landscape felt so different than the views we were enjoying the last few days. We drove through the Mt Carmel-Zion tunnel and saw the Great Arch and Checkerboard Mesa. Overall, we really loved our time in Zion and felt very grateful that we were able to spend a few days here.
Continue on to read C’s perspective on hiking Angels Landing and our time in Bryce Canyon.