That's right, we've been to three national parks since our last post. Get ready for another long post. Sunday morning we did the "best 3-mile hike in the world" at Bryce Canyon. While I can't support the claim that it is the best 3-miler, it was a good hike. We walked down into the canyon among the "hoodoos" and through tunnels and narrow canyons. After that we decided to head down to the Grand Canyon since we weren't sure where we'd camp that night and wanted to secure a spot. One good thing about visiting the north rim of the Grand Canyon, other than the fact that it is less crowded than the south rim, is that there is a large national forest right next door. National forests usually have free "dispersed" camping if you venture away from the road a bit, but of course we had to stay at the $17 a night campground since the scary animals won't get you there (according to Steph).
After setting up camp, we drove down to the canyon to walk around a bit and see the sunset. There is a great little trail that goes out about a quarter mile to a little point with some pretty scary cliffs but great views. It was a good spot to sit and read a bit and later to watch the sun set.
The next morning we attempted to hike the Kaibab trail, which is the only trail from the north rim that goes down into the canyon. It's something like 14 miles to the canyon floor, but it's apparently a pretty popular trail to go about 4 or 5 miles in and turn around. I have no idea why it is popular because the dang trail was shared with the mule riders and smelled absolutely horrible. We made it maybe 0.2 miles in and just couldn't stand it anymore. The thought of having to trek back up the hill with every breath full of manure was simply too much. We turned around and decided to head towards our hotel for the night in Kabab, Utah. The Grand Canyon was of course huge and really cool to see, but we decided that unless you are going to hike deep into the canyon, there's only so much looking at a big hole that one can do. Maybe that's just us.
Since we were ahead of schedule and had some time to kill, we decided to go ahead and check out Zion National Park. On the way we detoured to Coral Pink Dunes State Park but didn't go in because of the $6 entrance fee - you can still go up on the dunes from just outside the park. We walked around a bit until our shoes were filled with sand, then moved on. For some reason I was expecting Zion NP to be kinda lame. I had been there before and didn't remember much about it. I also knew there was a cool hike that Steph's dad had talked about. Apparently my memory is pretty bad. Zion is really impressive. It is a huge canyon with towering sandstone cliffs. There is something more formidable and dramatic about staring up and 1000-ft cliffs and mountains than there is looking down into a giant hole. We did the Angel's Landing hike, which is 2.5 miles each way and climbs almost 1500 feet to a peak with incredible 360 degree views. It's got to be the most dangerous hike I've ever done. You are literally 2 feet away from certain death, usually with a heavy chain to hang on to. The last half mile you practically climb up the rocky slope. Still, it is a really popular hike and totally worth the effort. Steph actually handled it pretty well, even though she was complaining about "dizziness" as we neared the peak. Probably not a good symptom to have when you're standing on the edge of the cliff.
Tomorrow we're hoping to head to Lake Powell, one of my favorite places from my family's trip out west when I was a kid. So far my memory hasn't served me too well, but I think this one will work out better. The lake is basically a dammed-up canyon, so it's got vertical, rocky walls and deep water - perfect for cliff jumping. Hopefully we'll find a good little hike where I can find a good swimming/jumping spot. Tomorrow night we head to Vegas for the next 3 days or so. We're looking forward to the down time.
Pretty self-explanatory
Zion N.P.
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