The Mighty Zion

For a long time I've wanted to visit Zion National Park in southwest Utah, possibly more than any other park. Perhaps that makes it appropriate that it was the last park I visit on my Southwest road trip before heading back up to Carson City for Thanksgiving. How do I describe Zion? I feel like I've overused the cool's, awesome's and amazing's, plus those words do not do it justice. Yosemite meets Grand Canyon, or as a ranger put it, Yosemite in color, that is probably a more accurate description.

As I drove into Zion, the marbled stone cliffs rose up on both sides, in some places as high as 1,200 feet. The colors of the stone were red, yellow, black, gray, white, all twisted together in seemingly random patterns. There was snow capping most of the mountains and a bit in the valley as well. The leaves on the trees had turned yellow which was great because I sort of felt like I missed out on fall this year (dumb San Diego trees just stay green all year). Needless to say there was technicolor overload going on in Zion.


I parked at the Emerald pools and readied for a day of hiking. Like my other visits, the park was largely deserted due to the season. I started my hike toward Upper Emerald Pool and was rewarded with a closeup of a winter-time waterfall. I was surrounded on three sides by sheer walls and a 300-400 foot waterfall, icing up as it fell and landing in a giant snow pile. The trees around it had all become icicles as a result of the spray. Though I tried, the cliff walls were just too big to capture in a photo.

After taking a few moments in the Upper Emerald Pools I headed toward the Lower pool and then on to the Grotto. Nothing too spectacular to report about this place, just being in the park itself is stunning, I actually ended up laughing out loud a few times because it's sort of unreal. The Grotto trail breaks off and heads up to Angel's Landing. I'd heard about the landing but wasn't sure what to expect so I trudged up there next.

The steep three hour hike to the summit was quite an experience. The trail, if you can call it a trail, was really a series of switchbacks cut into the cliff itself. Every corner had a drop off view, and each view became more and more intense. Finally the trail cut through the mountain and turned into what is known as Walter's Wiggles. These are very steep, very short switchbacks that take you quickly to the first landing. These puppies were very icy and it took some careful footing (plus the use of my poles) to make it to the top.


This first landing is where I shot this video (below). While, in the video, I said I was going back down, I did in fact climb part of the way up the chain toward the top. However a quarter of a mile into it there is a vertical drop off on both sides of an approximately 5 foot wide path. Though two other hikers had blazed on ahead of me (most hikers by the way were turning around at the base of the Wiggles), I decided it would take a high amount of courage to do this in the summer let alone doing it covered in snow and ice. So I turned back.

I turn a few more turn offs on the way back to do some more exploring. Overall I estimate I covered 10-12 miles. This park deserves 3-4 days to properly explore. It was getting dark out by the time I got back to my car. I got a surprise treat by spotting a doe and two fawns feeding not too far from where I was standing. Leaving the park behind, I drove out to St George where I had another Hilton points stay reserved. Tomorrow I have a 9 hour drive ahead of me, across the Extraterrestrial Highway, back to Carson City. Looking forward to being back home, relaxing at my mom's house and hanging out with my friends. It's been a fantastic trip, I'm coming back, there's so much more to be explored!

~Scott