Zion National Park

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Nature's rock art takes another unique form in Zion national park. Zion seems to have an aura that is ethereal. If this park were in India, I bet it would have become a place of worship with the devout seeing God in every towering monolith in the park!

It is the most visited park in Utah. High colorful towers of rock with vegetation on the floor. Fall was nearly at its peak during the time I visited the park. Yellow is the most visible fall color with some spots of red.

The park has a shuttle system which ferries tourists from the nearby Springdale town and from the visitor center to all the points of interest in the park.

I arrived at the east entrance of the park just before sunrise. This was after taking about a 30-40 min drive from my motel in Kanab. Before the entrance tunnel there is a hike to an overlook. I hiked to the overlook but found the view a little hazy. Later I found that Park Rangers had deliberately started a fire several miles away somewhere in the park and smoke had been filling the canyon during the morning time for the past few days.

Later I drove to the visitor center, parked my car and boarded the shuttle. Did a short hike to Emeralds pool. The view of the canyon walls was still not crystal clear due to the lingering smoke. The next hike I did was not a minor one. The Angel's Landing hike is about 5 miles round trip and it just goes up and up on a canyon. The last half mile or so of the hike is not meant for the faint of heart or for people with fear of heights. Imagine trying to walk over a 3 feet wide trail with over 1000 feet vertical drops on both sides! Chains are provided for the hikers to hold on to. Well, I did hike a couple of miles to reach the lookout. Saw the canyon filled with smoke and thought if it would be worth the effort to go up on the Angel's Landing. I didn't chicken out but used the smoke in the canyon to convince myself not to scramble on the rocks and negotiate narrow vertiginous trail sections!

I got down on other stops of the shuttle bus and took pictures. In the evening, I did the leisurely Riverside Walk. It is about a mile and runs parallel to Virgin river. It ends in the Narrows section of the canyon. Narrows is another famous hike in Zion where you wade in the river and walk couple of miles in the slot canyon. I saw just one couple walking towards the Narrows. The water was cold at this time of the year. This hike is very popular in the summer months. No wet stuff for me!

I repeated the Riverside Walk after bringing my tripod from the car. Sun had already set and there was hardly anybody on the trail. The ambience was romantic and I was alone!!

I stayed in the town of Springdale which is right near the west entrance of the park. Small sleepy town with a few motels and restaurants.

Next day, I spent another couple of hours in the park driving around and taking more pics and soaking in the beauty of Zion. This landscape is so different from the dreary northeast US landscape! No amount of sightseeing in a day or two is going to satiate the yearning for this red rock country! At least for me.

It was time to leave for another national park nearby - Bryce Canyon. The majestic hoodoo country awaited me!

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Photos

View from Scott's lookout
on the way to Angel's Landing

A small tree all dessed up in leaves!
Riverside Walk

Comments

[PD]

Narrows
You'd have fun hiking narrows if you had gone in summer. Good ruminations -- it's informative and easy to read.

[Hem]

Yes Narrows seemed like a fun hike to do. On the flip side, southern Utah can be scorching hot during summer months!