Zion National Park and Kolob Canyons

On Monday my parents flew here from Alaska for a six-day visit, their first time “outside” in almost a year.  Yesterday we set out for Zion National Park, about a five-hour drive from my apartment.  It would be my second visit, their first.

Here I am modeling the extremely hip and practical backpack my brother Jon got me for Christmas.  It is a Kelty, with supportive straps for your waist and chest.  The apparently floating gray square to the left of my head is a sign saying not to cross that line or you’ll fall off a cliff.

This may be the Upper Emerald Pool along the Emerald Pools trail.  The total elevation gain for hiking to the three Emerald Pools is 400 feet…quite doable.

Today we drove 45 minutes to the north end of Zion National Park: Kolob Canyons.  This felt much more adventurous, as none of us had attempted it before.  Dad suggested Taylor Creek Trail, which was defined as a moderate, four-hour round-trip excursion, with only 480 feet in elevation gain.  The dotted line below indicates the path through the canyon:

We kept a pretty steady pace, but also rested and ate snacks.  Our menu throughout the two hikes included: chocolate chip granola bars, apples, bananas, oranges, Goldfish crackers, cashews, Wheat Thins, chocolate chip cookies, and lots of water.  And for dessert, ice cream.

Here I am practicing for my crucifixion.

Comfort, comfort ye my people.

Red rock.  Green tree.  Blue sky.

Shady path.

We thought the trail ended here, at Double Arches Alcove.  Apparently it continued on a bit more, to a nice picnic spot.  We realized our mistake about four hours into the drive home.  I suggested we turn around and finish what we started.

Carved into the moist sand in this little cavern was someone’s love note:

So much for Leave No Trace Behind ethics.

We experimented with the camera’s flash for this shot.  It almost looks like we photoshopped ourselves into this picture, but no, the background really was there and really was that gorgeous.

This was inside the alcove.  We thought the red part looked like Florida, and underneath Florida’s panhandle was Jesus’ face.

Look at the green slope at the top of this rock cliff.  What a beautiful hike.  So many contrasting colors and shadows along this trail.  I liked having to hop back and forth across the creekbed.  The water was the perfect depth—not so deep our feet got soaked, but full enough to bubble down and coat the rocks.  A lot of the trail was made of dirt, but a significant portion was also covered in orange sand.  We smelled sage bushes and dust.  We saw dozens of little lizards.  We heard crows’ calls echo through the canyon.  I realized as we were walking along that I hadn’t thought about God very much during this trip…very much lately at all…and I felt I should have.  I want to truly appreciate the creation by staying in communion with the Creator.

I also want to take care of this creation so future generations can continue to enjoy it!  A trail like today’s would make an environmentalist out of anybody.

I’m so glad my parents are active and healthy and we are all able to go on hikes like these.