Zion National Park

First in line, excited about the tunnel drive

After our only drive going over previous ground, the short drive from Kanab to the Zion turn-off, we made our way 
towards the east Zion entrance with Symi very excited about

One of the many bridges on the Pa'rus Trail

our drive through the Zion-Mt Carmel tunnel. Due to the RVs size we had to pay a special fee to make the tunnel one-way. Exiting the tunnel shot us into the spectacular main valley of the Zion NP, heading down numerous switchbacks to the valley floor. We were too late to get into the first come first serve South Campground and only had to drive one mile out of the park to find an overpriced RV spot for the night ($46 vs $16 in Zion!). We promptly returned at 8am the next morning to grab a prime spot and begin our exploration.

Angel's Landing looking from upper Zion Canyon

The first day we cycled up the Pa'rus trail and then the Canyon scenic drive that is closed to traffic except for the shuttle buses. The valley was coming to life with new leaves on all the many cottonwood trees and was extremely verdant. We have been in a repeating cycle of seeing new leaves, Sedona, Moab, Durango and now Zion. There was so much seed (surrounded by fluff that looks like cotton!) blowing in the wind it looked like snow. We parked the bikes at Zion Lodge and hiked up to Emerald Pools. Wow what a great introduction to the park.



On top of Angel's Landing, Zion Canyon 1400ft below

The next day we took on the more challenging and very famous Angel's landing. The warnings for this walk are scary: long drop-offs, not for anyone fearful of heights and the last section follows a steep narrow ridge to the summit. If that is not enough there have been 6 fatalities on this route since 2004. The walk starts up some steep switchbacks before getting to the many tight switchbacks up Walters wiggle. At the top you arrive at Scouts Landing where the walk gets

Descending the ridge

serious. The ridge looks very intimidating and Symi was not keen. Symi's parents were very keen and promptly promised her a horse ride on her birthday if she made it to the top. She did have to put up with the mantra 'keep one hand on the chain at all times' repeatedly. We quickly discovered just how narrow the ridge is, in some places only a few feet wide. There are chains to hang on to but at times they swap sides of the trail leaving you exposed between. Not for the faint hearted. A fall would send you off the side, a 1400 ft cliff! Two hours later the reward of course is the view at the top, thankfully the ridge up there is wider allowing some relaxation although the parents were happier when Symi was sitting. Symi was the only child up there when we went. We are still trying to work out if this means Symi is exceptionally brave or her parents foolhardy! The trip down was easier than the one up in terms of feeling exposed. As you can imagine we are all getting quite fit - especially as lots of this is at altitude.

Hiking up the Narrows

Other walks included the Narrow's river walk and Hidden Canyon. The river walk starts at the Temple of Sinawava and stays on a path for 1 mile. Then follows a walk in and out of

Turn-around point

the river. We achieved our aim of getting to the where the Orderville canyon comes in, two hours upstream. The walk is a unique experience with it's soaring vertical canyon walls, hanging gardens and of course the river walking. Hidden Canyon was another exposed walk using a cliff face to get to the mouth of the canyon. We had attended a ranger bird walk that morning and were told that it was possible to see Mexican Spotted Owls in the canyon. No such luck, but another amazing walk was ticked off the list.

Heading up Hidden Canyon

The cliff access to Hidden Canyon

On May 5 it was Symi's birthday, her parents having trouble believing their daughter had turned 10. She did well with plenty of presents, yummy food and attention. As promised she did a horse ride from Zion lodge that afternoon, followed by some soccer and swim in the river. The river was a regular event, very refreshing at 9 degrees.

In pyjama's, birthday lunch, beautiful campground

Very happy birthday girl!

After six nights at Southern Campground we drove around to Kolob Canyons to do an overnight walk down the La Verkin Creek trail to the Kolob arch. The weather forecast for that

The white stuff is hail!

day wasn't great but the rain was forecast to clear that night. Undeterred we set off in a sunny patch in near freezing conditions, it wasn't long before a black cloud came over and dumped hail on us! Luckily the scenery was worth the effort. After six miles we came across the sign to our campsite, we just had to cross the La Verkin Creek! It was not possible at the usual spot so we trekked upstream until we found somewhere less threatening. Rob did the pack hauling across and we arrived at the camp relatively dry. However it was freezing and we had all retreated to the tent by 7pm! The next morning we awoke to clear skies.

In the wilderness

We did the short walk to see Kolob Arch, then casually set off on the walk back to the car about midday. We made good time and Symi did a great job on the final long climb, carrying significant weight for the first time. We high tailed it back to Hurricane and plugged into power for the first time in 8 days, the electronics breathed a sigh of relief. 

On the rough walk up to Kolob Arch

Big Bend, upper Zion, bucket list views