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3 days in Zion National Park (2020)
D and I spent our anniversary in 2020 on a short, week-long road trip to Utah to see two of the "Mighty Five" National Parks: Bryce and Zion. We spent the first half of our trip in Zion National Park.
Feel free to skip around to any of the sections below:
Zion: a short history
Zion National Park sits on the ancestral lands of the Pueblo and Southern Paiute peoples. The Southern Paiutes were forced from their sacred homeland onto reservations as more and more Mormon and white settlers began establishing ranches, building railroads, and conducting surveying expeditions within the canyon in the 1800s. American geologist John Wesley Powell named the canyon Mukuntuweap, a Native-inspired name from the Southern Paiute language meaning "straight canyon". President Taft designated the area as Mukuntuweap National Monument in 1909; however, acting Director of the newly-created National Park Service, Horace Albright, argued that the name Mukuntuweap was "foreign" and "hard to pronounce", and pushed for the name to be changed to Zion National Monument. A full article on this can be found on the NPCA site here.
I believe that our responsibility as non-natives is to remember that these places we take for granted are stolen Native land, and that it is necessary to restore their indigenous history when we can.
The drive from SF to St. George, Utah
D did the entire 14-hour drive from San Francisco to Hurricane, Utah. We bid the Bay Area farewell just as the first rays of daylight kissed the rolling hills of East Bay at 6am. Most of the drive was going down the I-5 South -- a horribly boring drive that most Californians are loathe to do, but is the fastest route to get anywhere along the West Coast. We got through Las Vegas with minimal traffic: one of the silver linings of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We chased the daylight the whole drive, aiming to arrive at our Airbnb before dark. The last leg of the drive on the I-15 from Vegas to Utah was during golden hour and a tease for the landscapes we would be seeing in Zion. One of the more interesting aspects of the drive was when the freeway starts to run parallel to the Virgin River Gorge, a long canyon carved out by the Virgin River that runs from Utah to the edge of the Mojave Desert.
Our butts and legs were on the verge of atrophying from sitting all day, so we tried to take a short walk around the neighborhood when we finally arrived at the Airbnb. The neighborhood wasn't the most welcoming; there were trucks that drove past with Trump 2020 and confederate flags, and many of the houses were decorated similarly. As the only visibly non-white people since leaving Vegas, and with Asian American hate crimes up 339%, we did an about-face at the end of the street and quickly returned to the Airbnb.
Day 1: The Watchman trail and Kolob Canyons
Our first goal in Zion NP was to make sure we could get a coveted parking spot at the Visitor Center, which usually fills up by 8am. If not, we would have to park in downtown Springdale and take the shuttle in. The shuttle is free, which is wonderful, but it added more time and logistics than were convenient for us. We arrived at the parking lot later than expected at 9am but got super lucky and snagged a spot from hikers who had finished early.
The first hike of the trip was the Watchman Trail: a short, 3-mile trail on an easy grade, and possibly the most popular hike in the park. A series of switchbacks brings you up through the canyon and to an overlook of Zion Canyon. I would definitely recommend avoiding this hike in the middle of the day and bringing a lot of water, sunscreen, and hats! The trail is mostly exposed, and even though it was late October, it was still a hot and sunny 78-degrees by 10AM.
The "ow-wow factor" (credit: one of my bffs for this bit of genius) for this trail is pretty good; the views are phenomenal the entire way. There's a short loop at the top of the trail I recommend taking if you have the extra time; it's not much, but it was a good way to get a break from the thicket of bodies you have to push through from the trailhead to the top. Most people only take pictures at the overlook before heading back down.
To be completely honest, I found it difficult to enjoy the trail with the dense crowd. Large groups would hog the whole pathway, refusing to let people pass, and others blasted music on bluetooth speakers like they were at some rager at a frat house. We were too busy picking up a disgusting amount of trash left by tourists to feel like we actually got to enjoy the hike.
The amount of garbage on the trail is infuriating -- pack in what you pack out. Be kind to nature and to your fellow humans. Read more about Leave No Trace principles here.
We saw everything from bagged dog poop (which is like, why? you've already gone through the effort of putting it in a bag, just throw it away properly), condoms and tampons (I'm not even joking, y'all), takeout leftovers...etc. There are no janitors in the outdoors, so all of us need to be the stewards of this sacred land.
I also didn't travel hundreds of miles to be outdoors, in nature, to be forced to listen to the top 100 hits on Spotify. I am in the outdoors to escape human noise and noise pollution, so I beg everyone to be considerate, put in some headphones, and leave the rest of us in peace.
It was genuinely a relief to get off the trail. After arriving back at the visitor center, we bought a new poster to add to our collection of vintage parks posters, ate lunch, read about Zion's geological history, and refilled all our bottles before we headed off to our next trail.
The Kolob Canyons are in the most northwestern corner of Zion National Park. It's about a 40-minute drive from the Zion Canyon Visitor Center. There is only one road into this section of the park, and it's a beautiful drive if you have the time. If I had known the fall colors would be so stunning, I would've optimized our itinerary so that we could spend more of our time here!
We unfortunately didn't have time for some of the longer trails in the Kolob Canyons area. After talking to some of the rangers, a lot of them recommended a 6-mile RT hike with very little elevation gain that runs along Taylor Creek.
Fall is truly the best time to visit Zion. Even though we missed peak leaf peeping season, the forest was still a canvas splattered in gold, ruby, and emerald. I wish my photography skills were able to do this place justice! Dan and I spent half an hour just trying to get good pictures of the changing cottonwood trees.
This easily became one of our favorite trails ever. We kept saying to each other, "this is one of the best trails we've done, right? Right." It was hard to walk fast on the trail because every step was simply breathtaking. And most importantly, it was incredible to finally find peace on a trail. We passed at most a handful of small groups the entire four hours we were hiking. The trail meanders through the Kolob Canyons, where 2,000-ft high, sheer walls of red and orange Navajo sandstone tower humble you in their size.
The number of creek crossings on the trail was a pleasant surprise! We hopped across on rocks, splashed, and leapt to get over the creeks. The water was never too deep to be worrisome, so it was just pure fun.
We really took our time on the trail, so we started to get a tad worried we wouldn't make it back to the car before the canyon got dark. We were halfway through around 4PM, and the sunlight was no longer reaching deeper sections of the canyon floor.
For a last-minute pick, this trail has phenomenal pay off. We had some trouble trying to find the end of the trail, but it became very clear once we looked up and saw Double Arch Alcove.
Double Arch Alcove was cut into its atrium-like structure by repeated flash flooding, and the constant water seepage through the sandstone formation creates the colorful streaking down the walls of the alcove. I loved the "hanging gardens" of moss, vines, and trees dipping over the lip of the archway. It was hard to capture both arches on my 28mm lens, so bring your wide-angle lenses for this one!
By the time we left the alcove, we had to sprint to beat the darkness since we didn't have our headlamps. There was just enough light to touch the tips of the sandstone peaks, but no more. The drive home was equally breathtaking. It really is that gold and that red and that orange! I actually had to de-saturate and drop the vibrancy on these photos.
Day 2: The Narrows
The real reason I wanted to go to Zion was so I could finally hike The Narrows. If you aren't familiar with The Narrows, it's a one-of-a-kind hike through the Virgin River that allows you to access parts of the Zion Canyon gorge that you simply can't see from just being on land. There is a short and paved accessible path that runs along the river for about a mile, so if you aren't able to hike in the river itself, you still get the opportunity to see some of the gorge.
As for hiking in the Virgin River, you can go as far as 9 miles into the gorge before the trail ends at Big Spring. There's an option to do the hike bottom-up (the most commonly taken route) or top-down. Doing The Narrows top-down is a 16-mile thru hike that requires a wilderness permit and experience with canyoneering, as you'll be rappelling down the gorge to get into the river. We saw plenty of people doing The Narrows in all sorts of footwear, but we opted to rent waterproof canyoneering boots and dry pants so we wouldn't have to worry about freezing our toes and legs off wading in the cold river water. We got our rentals from Zion Outfitters, which offers a pretty cheap day package and is easy to get to for gear pick-up and returns; they're right in the downtown area outside of the park.
The trail gets crowded very quickly. Even though we took the 7AM shuttle to the trailhead, there were already tons of people doing the river walk by the time we reached the trailhead. Unsurprising and always disappointing to see is trash floating in the river. Mountains of used toilet paper were left behind bushes (this is not hyperbole). Also, human poop!! It took a lot of cognitive dissonance and compartmentalization to not think too hard about the fact that we were just wading through people's shit.
Pack out your used tissues and bag your nasty poop y'all. The Virgin River is not a public toilet! Trash is incredibly difficult to remove on all trails. Paper does not "just" decompose -- it takes decades, if not centuries. And before this can even happen, a bunch of cute, furry critters have probably died choking on your poop tissues.
The Narrows is a grueling, but spectacular day hike. I had big plans to make it to Big Spring within three hours of starting, but did not anticipate that it would take us about a mile an hour, maybe two miles at top speed, for the shallower sections of the river. We couldn't walk too fast in the river since you have to test each step before placing your foot. The same section of river from wall-to-wall can go from ankle to knee-deep, even at the narrowest portions. Additionally, the river bed is very uneven, we were constantly slipping on the rocks. I tweaked my ankle in spite of our gear. Your feet are also wet for the entire 6-8 hours of walking. I highly recommend using hiking poles or a big walking stick as well.
We reached a section of the river that was waist-to-chest deep for people taller than I am, about 1.5 miles from Big Spring. If I went in, I'd be swimming with just my head poking out. There was a very sketchy route you could take by climbing up and around the mossy rocks on the right. I saw a handful of people do this with 50/50 success -- some had to come right back back down. The rocks are covered in algae and wet sandstone does not provide good traction, so keep that in mind if you're considering doing this. Neither option to get across was good, so we decided instead to sit on a boulder and watch other hikers attempt the river crossing while eating our lunch.
When we did The Narrows, we were required to reserve a timed shuttle pass to get into the park. The last shuttle leaving The Narrows trailhead was around 6:30pm or 7pm, so if we missed it, we would've had to hike the entire length of Zion Canyon to get back to the parking lot (it's about 8 miles). We crawled out of the river around 5pm and waited at least 45 minutes in line to get on a shuttle. I'm not sure if the same shuttle system is in place, so I'd check the NPS site for more details.
Once we returned our gear, we hobbled over to the Zion Canyon Brew Pub right outside the park. The food was decent -- your standard American fare of burgers and fries -- and overpriced (of course), but man! The views! The weather was relatively warm despite the season, so we were able to sit outside and bask in the vestigial glow of the surrounding canyons.
The Narrows have been on my bucket list for several years and it was every bit as magical as everything I'd read and saw from photos. I used to be too intimidated to do it. People have died hiking The Narrows: from hypothermia to drowning from a flash flood in the canyon. But if you do your research and have good gear, there was actually nothing scary at all about the hike once we were on it. We monitored the river levels and the weather throughout the week and up until the morning of the hike, making sure that there had been no recent rains for at least the past few days and none in the forecast. The river trekking boots and pants we rented protected us from freezing our toes off and from any rolled ankles. And that's the best we can do to prepare, isn't it? The rest of it is just hoping Mother Nature gives you her blessing for that day.
Day 3: Emerald Pools trail & Cedar Breaks Nat'l Monument
We were so dead and tired from The Narrows by the next day. Everything was stiff and tight and both of us were reluctant to move at all. But it was our last day in Zion, and I was not going to spend it sitting around. The plan for the day was to do the Emerald Pools trail and take it relatively easy: no strenuous hikes allowed. The Emerald Pools trail is an easy, 3-mile hike with minimal elevation gain that takes you on a loop to three different sites of emerald-colored pools (hence the name). It's also incredibly popular and can get crowded by late morning because it's so accessible.
We started our hike mid-morning: still early enough to catch the sun just starting to peek over the canyon ridge. Most of the waterfalls and much of the lower emerald pools had dried up for the season. We did manage to catch a small sprinkle of ground water coming over the canyon wall at the first pool. The trail and viewpoints along the way were already pretty crowded, so we didn't dally too much.
The pools weren't the most interesting part of the hike for me. The best parts were the 180-degree views of Zion Canyon that you get when you come down from the third pool and get to walk on the cliffside. You can trace the Virgin River as you walk the trail and follow the path it's carved into the canyon. It's amazing to imagine what this landscape looked like millennia ago: was it just flat before the river? Which parts were carved by river, and which were uplifted through tectonics? Geology friends, would love to hear from you.
At the end of the trail, you have the option of adding on Angel's Landing to your hike (just remember you need to book a permit beforehand). Angel's Landing is still way too scary for me, so we walked across to Zion Lodge and had an absolutely lovely picnic on the lawn instead.
The weather was perfect: 75-degrees, a gentle breeze, and bright sunshine. We did some cloud gazing, people watching, and really just kicked back to take in the beauty of the park. After we finished lunch, we felt that we had seen pretty much all that we wanted to see in Zion Canyon. I had my eye on Cedar Breaks National Monument during trip planning, but didn't know if we would actually have the time to visit it. D, who is ever accommodating, said we should just go for it.
Cedar Breaks National Monument is about a two-hour drive from Zion National Park. You could take the slightly faster route and use the I-15 to get there. I'd argue that the proper way to do it is to take the Mount Carmel Highway, or State Highway 9, out of Zion and then take State Highway 14 and State Highway 148 to get to Cedar Breaks. Google tells you to take State Highway 143, but the SH148 is definitely the most scenic of the route options -- and it's only an extra 15 minutes compared to the I-15! Mount Carmel Highway is an absolute must-do when you're in Zion. You get to see the upper plateaus of Zion and parts of the park that you can't access from inside canyon.
One of the popular trails you can do along the Mount Carmel Highway is the Canyon Overlook trail. It's a very short and very easy, 1-mile trail that takes you up to a viewpoint overlooking Zion Canyon. The trail has some fun features, like walking across a small, wooden bridge that hugs the canyon wall and leads you into a cave. There is some very light scrambling at the end, depending on how close to the edge of the cliff you want to get for photos.
There's plenty to see and do along the highway, but we wanted as much of the daylight as possible to account for the 4-hour round-trip to Cedar Breaks. Even the landscapes outside the park were stunning: cinematic layers of deep blue sky, dramatic red and white sandstone, evergreen forests, and a foreground of fall gold.
Cedar Breaks is a very small monument. It was certainly beautiful; however, there isn't anything to do besides drive to a couple of viewpoints and take photos. I don't think we spent more than half an hour to an hour there. So was it worth the long drive? Not really. I think I would only go if it was on the way to something else or if we had other activities planned in the immediate area. I'm still glad I got to see it.
Cedar Breaks is called the "crown" of the Grand Staircase. The national monument sits at 10,000ft of elevation and showcases the "newest" layers of sandstone deposits, which are an estimated 150 million years old. The Grand Staircase is a massive geologic phenomenon that starts from Cedar Breaks NM in Utah all the way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. This covers two million acres of plateaus, mesas, buttes, and slot canyons! Each of the differently-colored layers of sedimentary rock are referred to as the "stair steps" and are aptly named after their hues: chocolate, vermillion, white, gray, and pink.
The oldest exposed formation in Zion NP and youngest exposed formation in the Grand Canyon are the Chocolate Cliffs, which are Kaibab limestone and are estimated to be about 240 million years old. This is the oldest layer of the Grand Staircase, but not the oldest layers of Earth you can see in the US -- that's at the Grand Canyon and the oldest layer there is estimated to be 600 million years old. The Vermillion Cliffs, the rich reddish-brown layer, is made up of silt and ancient desert sand dunes: these are the red rock cliffs you see near Kanab, Utah. The White Cliffs layer is Navajo sandstone, which is what you predominantly see in Zion National Park. There's a pretty cool profile of the geologic layers of the Grand Staircase here.
We jumped back into the car after my last photos at the overlook to get back to Zion before it was too dark. The light was fading quickly as we wound down switchbacks of Mount Carmel Highway. I wish we had made it back about an hour earlier for golden hour, but the remaining color on the sandstone was still breathtaking!
Everyone was parked along the side of the road at the bridge on the Virgin River to get that quintessential, Instagram-famous shot of Zion. I couldn't choose which photo was my favorite, so lucky you, you get to see all the different versions that I took! I had dozens of the same shot at different focal lengths and exposures because the light just kept changing.
I actually really love the black and white shots; it really makes you focus on the textures and definition of the canyons. And that's all our time here in Zion, folks!
For the next parts of our adventure, head on over to my other posts, 2 Days in Bryce Canyon (2020) and 1 Day in Great Basin National Park (2020).