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Published: July 22nd 2008
Admiring the views.....again!
We'd really earned this one thoughAs we made our way to Zion (that’s the US National Park, not Jerusalem) we passed through several very scenic and geologically fascinating areas:
Capitol Reef National Park - This park highlights a Waterpocket Fold created 65 million years ago, when the earth’s surface buckled up and folded, exposing a cross-section of geologic history.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument - A high, rugged and vast (almost 1.9 million acres) landscape that was the last place in the continental US to be mapped, and remains practically unspoiled.
Kodachrome Basin State Park - The spectacles here are towers of sedimentary sand, of which there are almost 70 in this small park, ranging from 6 to 170 feet in height and in various shapes. With consent from Kodak, the State Park was named Kodachrome due to the vast array of colours in the sandstone spires, that change with the sun’s position.
All were spectacular in different ways, but weren’t the ideal places for any real exploration with limited time and a 25’ RV. However, Bryce Canyon National Park is accessible and striking. Here, we returned to pine forests, wildlife, altitude (almost 10,00ft) as well as a new phenomenon, Hoodoos!
What?!
Hoodoo is the name
Morning Glory
Thor's Hammer with the rising sun behind - Bryce Canyon NP given to the unique rock formations that Bryce Canyon is famous for, and they are big and beautiful in shape, colour and uniformity. As people walk up to the numerous viewpoints there’s an audible intake of breath as you are genuinely taken aback by the size and aesthetics of the Bryce Canyon Amphitheatre.
Much like many of the bizarre rock formations we’ve seen throughout this southwest region of the US, these are mainly the result of a bit of time and a bit of water. I’m sure our friend Professor Paul will fall backwards off his chair with that simplistic summary of this region’s geology, but that’s all we’re going to commit to without digging ourselves a large hole by trying to explain the history of the Colorado Plateau.
Since we hit Capitol Reef National Park, we seem to have encountered a change in the weather patterns with thunderstorms that build very quickly, and after delivering several lightning strikes and some rain and hail, are soon gone again. In the state of Utah, Bryce Canyon is the second most common place for lightning fatalities and injuries. In fact, pop pickers, ‘Lightning’ comes in at number 3 on the
‘Bryce Canyon Fatality Hit Parade’, and just behind that, a non-mover at number 2 - ‘Falling off cliff edges’. Staying in at number one is our old foe ‘Heart attack‘, and it wasn’t hard to see why, when we did our own research with a five mile strenuous hike on both the Navajo and Peekaboo Trails.
Both trails are constantly up and down with steep gradients, requiring several stops for two thirty-somethings who haven’t been involved in regular exercise for over eight months. In 2006 death by falling objects could have moved into pole position, proving just how unstable these areas can be, when 400-500 tonnes of rock fell in on the Navajo Trail, covering a section 60ft in length with debris 15ft deep and boulders the size of cars. Luckily no-one was in the vicinity at the time…..
Also at Bryce, just like at Grand Canyon, we rubbed the sleepy dust from our eyes to watch the sunrise over the hoodoos, which was definitely worth the rude awakening at the unsociable hour of 5am. An absolute must looking out over Thor's Hammer!
So, on to Zion National Park, a place that had a lot to live up to
after the hype Sam had been giving it, having been there before. It would also be our last National Park on the west side of the US and we wanted to finish on a high - and that’s certainly what we had planned.
Our first day in the park we did a few small hikes; one along the riverside of about 2 miles, an easy walk with a clearly defined path. Another to what was called ’Weeping Rock’, where in these scalding desert temperatures, water literally pours out of the cliff face. Zion is home to the world’s largest sandstone monolith and it’s this type of rock that leaks water due to it being so porous. As the rain falls, the rock soaks it up and over time releases it through cracks and crevasses. Now, over time can mean quite a while, and some of the water leaking from these rocks has been aged at approximately 4000 years old. That's one hell of a filter!
It was whilst on the trail to Weeping Rock (half mile round trip), that we took the wrong path and found ourselves on the Hidden Canyon Trail which was allegedly a 2 mile
round trip. Armed with plenty of water and food we continued anyway, but it was midday in temperatures around 90-100 degrees, and the trail up was pretty steep. As for the mile up, it’s the longest mile we’ve ever walked; it felt like at least 2 miles and took us two hours to complete. Once in the Hidden Canyon we walked a further half mile up the dry river bed. Warnings are strongly issued here about hiking through narrow canyons, as the unpredictable weather can produce flash floods in minutes. These flash floods carry huge boulders and timber and will more often than not kill you if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time.
As with most steep hikes the descent was a lot easier, but even so, the trail had been tiring in the heat of the midday sun, so it seemed only right to rest and hole up in a bar for the night. There’s a free shuttle bus service that runs through Zion National Park itself and the town of Springdale, which sits right outside the Park, and was the location of our conveniently located RV park that we’d managed to book into for
three nights.
The following day (4th July - Independence Day) we were up at the crack of dawn to catch the first bus to begin a hike that we’d been looking forward to for months. It would be a strenuous hike of approximately five miles, and although the first mile or so was fairly monotonous as we zigzagged on calf-torturing steady inclines to gain height, the last part of the trail was the most adventurous and exciting. Tired legs are forgotten about as you negotiate a knife edge of rock approximately 3ft wide with a 1300ft sheer drop one side and an 800-1000ft drop the other; Oh, and did we mention the cross winds?!
There are metal poles and chains in the most dangerous places for a bit of security, but quite a few people still turn back after getting that far when they see what’s next. When you read the hike briefing at the trail head, and in the free information pack, you are warned that it’s tough with the risk of falling, and it’s not for the faint hearted, or for those that don’t like heights. Some people will never really know until they’re faced with the
In the event of a flash flood, last resort is to seek higher ground
You'd have to be spiderman to do that here - a section of Hidden Canyon (Zion) reality.
Once we’d traversed this short stretch, we were then climbing with hands and feet, grabbing and making use of the chains when provided. Once we’d reached the top, the views were as beautiful as the name given to the rock we were stood on and the trail we’d walked……… Angels Landing.
Early morning, not long after sunrise and with very few people, was a fantastic time to be there. It’s puzzling why people don’t stay longer at such summits, but we weren’t complaining because within five minutes we had the place and the views to ourselves, and it was wonderful. We sat and ate breakfast, which we’d brought along with us, but it wasn’t long before we had company again, but not of the human variety.
We heard it before we saw it, and as it glided into view I knew how much my dad and brother would like to be here now. It tucked in its wings and gave us a glimpse of why this stunning bird of prey rightly holds claim to being the fastest creature on the planet; it was of course a Peregrine Falcon. It circled us several times and at one point was
barely 15’ above our heads, then to our complete surprise it landed! Unfortunately, our pictures didn’t come out that well due to one reason or another, but it was the icing on the cake as we sat on the roof of Angels Landing on the last full day of our road trip, sharing the view with this majestic bird - it was a special moment.
So we did end our road trip on a high, and being the 4th of July, it ended with a bang as well. The independence we’d had over the past five weeks had been brilliant, and although raised gas prices had hit us hard, our journey had been an amazing experience . The next day we would head back to the RV depot and complete our exceptionally scenic route. We’ve been extremely lucky in the things we’ve seen and done over the last several weeks and we’re wondering whether that good fortune might continue in the place where everyone hopes for that little slice of luck, as we drove back to Las Vegas........
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