Our first camping experience in more than 20 years! When's the last time you and your sweetie ventured out into the wilderness?
NOTE: Terry says I write too much so I've posted the long version of the text of this journey at the end of the pictures for those of you who are either having a difficult time falling asleep or for those of you who just want to keep trekking along with us!
One of the more popular "hikes" in Zion is to venture up the Virgin River thru a series of very slender canyons...thusly named The Narrows.
Unfortunately, The Narrows was closed due to high water. Great excuse to have to go back to this wonderful Park!
This section of the Trek is mucho exciting! The trail narrows down to a couple of feet wide with a 900' drop off to your right and a 1200' drop to your left. After that, you get to shimmy your way up a series of vertical rises using a chain to keep you from falling off the rock!
A much gentler hike is up the Watchman Trail - a 2 mile trek with fabulous views of the Zion Valley and the town of Springdale.
I love texture in nature and here in Zion there is an abundance of it! Gnarly trees set up against a backdrop of the most colorful cliffs you can imagine.
There are no showers back at Camp Bink...so we washed off the sweat from our Watchman Trail trek in the ice cold Virgin River. I still can't believe I talked Terry into camping!
The first two miles of the trail to Angel's Landing is steep...however, its entirely paved! This section is typical of the accent up the face of the cliff. The really fun part is a series of 22 switchbacks named Walter's Wiggles for the man who carved them out of the walls. Once you've completed the Wiggles...you've arrived at Scout Lookout...the last chance to bail out before attempting the final push to the top of Angel's landing.
Yep folks...I made it. Sure glad Terry didn't attempt this part of the hike. Those who don't fare well with heights should avoid this at all costs! I used to think the cable climb up the face of Half Dome was a butt kicker. Angel's makes Half Dome look like child's play!
Zion Lodge Rustic Cabin
I promised Terry that for every night we camped...I'd get her lodged up in a cozy cabin! After camping the previous night and then a full day of hiking Angel's and the Emerald Pools...a nice hot shower and a comfy bed were delightful!
The rest of the story....
June 7th – Day 3
We depart Cedar City in the early morning on our way to the main entrance of Zion National Park. Our strategy…get to the South Camp Ground early as the sites are available only on a “first come…first served” basis. I still can’t believe I was able to talk Terry into camping on this journey. We’ve been married almost 28 years…and we haven’t been camping in at least the past 20 years!
Number one criteria when seeking out a campsite…it absolutely MUST be adjacent to the Potties. We pull into the South Campground at about 8 am. The sign out front says “Campsite Full”. But the Ranger at the front gate said we should be able to find a site.
Eureka! We are able to secure campsite #1 on our Trek thru the Parks. And even better…site 113 sits a mere 20 paces from the Shitter! Time to set up camp! The tent goes up without hassle. We actually practiced setting it up back home. Terry breaks out the #2 most critical criteria for camping…the queen sized AirBed! No Airbed…no camping! She proceeds to fill it with air just as the batteries on the pump run out of steam.
With the campsite secured and set up, we venture out to explore the valley floor. At Zion, the Park Service has pretty much eliminated traffic issues by outlawing the use of automobiles past about 3 miles north of the campgrounds. The approved methods of transportation are via foot, bicycle or propane powered bus. The Buses run a regular schedule throughout the Park from 5:30 am til 11:00 pm so getting around is no problem. They are actually a great mode of transportation. All of the National Parks should adopt this concept.
During our Tram Ride thru the park I mention to Terry that the hike I’d like us to do in the morning is up to Angel’s Landing. Yes, its sort of a strenuous trek…but its only 2 ½ miles up and then 2 ½ glorious miles down! She frowns at me without saying a word. The look means “no friggin’ way are we doing Angels”! But she didn’t say we wouldn’t! (eternal optimist am I)
We stop at the Zion Lodge to get a refreshment and while I’m taking a short nap on the lawn, Terry heads inside to talk with the concierge. She meets Nancy and asks her opinion of the hike up to Angel’s Landing. I wander in just as the two of them are climbing the stairs up to the restaurant. Unbeknownst to them, I follow. Nancy, the concierge, takes Terry over to a large photograph of Angel’s Landing and she proceeds to tell her that she would be insane to try this hike. Now Nancy is from New Jersey and a self proclaimed novice hiker. But she does have an opinion regarding this hike.
“…and you see this sp0t here?” (Nancy is pointing at the picture) It’s only about 2 feet wide with a 900 foot sheer drop on your left and a 1200 foot sheer drop on your right! Then, if you survive that…you will have to literally pull yourself up a series of very steep stretches by holding on to a chain! But even before you get to the base of Angels Landing, you have to hike up Walter’s Wiggles! See them here? (she points again to the picture) The Wiggles is a series of 22 very steep switchbacks! This hike is NOT for anybody who is even remotely afraid of heights! I would recommend that you and your husband do the Emerald Pools hike instead.”
Well, so much for the Angel’s Landing Trek! Wipe the slate clean and start fresh in the morning.
“Every trip will have its share of mishaps and so far, other than a little heat exhaustion, this trip has been grief free!” I mention to Terry as we are touring Zion. When we checked back in at our campsite…the first bit of misfortune shows its ugly head. Terry goes into the tent to change her shoes only to find the AirBed flatter than a supermodel….and the Electric pump out of charge! And it takes this charger 12 hours to reboot! Criteria #2 – we MUST have a soft sleeping surface or no go on the camping thing! Grief has found us!
Into town we go and two hundred scoots later, we have a couple of sleeping mats that will do the trick! Back in the camp business, I silently say to myself! Actually, these mats end up being more comfortable to sleep on than the silly AirBed.
Hike number 2 is a bit tamer than the Kolob Arch death march. The Watchtower Trail which is situated right adjacent to our campsite is about a 3 mile round trip up a relatively steep trail. The bad news is its steep going up. The really good news is it is equally steep coming down! Terry’s starting to get the hang of this hiking thing. She’s got her Camelback and walking sticks. Her sombrero to keep the sun of her bean and her pace is beginning to pick up!
The trails in Zion are what I would call a dry burnt sienna colored mixture of sand and dust. Easy to walk on until the sand gets to be about 6” deep. Then it’s like trying to hike on the beach. Not real easy going if you know what I mean.
At the conclusion of our hike on the Watchman Trail, we are greeted by the Virgin River! There ain’t no showers in South Campground…so grab a washcloth toots, we’re going in! We mop the trail dust off our stinky bodies with the ice cold water of the Virgin. Feels sooo good as the outside temperature is still lingering around 95°.
Back to Camp for our first outdoor cookout! We break out the brand new Coleman and the propane…boil up some water for the noodles and heat up the Pasta Sauce in the frying pan…because we forgot to bring along a second saucepan! None the less we dine amongst the pines on spaghetti spiked with left over steak and Ahi from last nights meal at Milt’s in Cedar City. This trip is awesome!
It doesn’t get dark until after 9 here in Zion...but I try to hit the sack by 9:30 so I will be able to get up at the crack of dawn. As soon as my head hits the pillow, the dog begins to bark…and bark…and bark. Second pillow now covering ears. As the dog ceases his barking, the girls two sites down begin playing their Dido CD….loudly. I sort of get into the rhythm of the music and just about the time I’m heading off into lala land…our neighbor begins explaining the cosmos to his 10 year old son. And this kid is full of questions! Even I’m beginning to think maybe this camping thing was a mistake! I need my sleep! Quiet everybody!
5:45am, Tuesday, June 8th. The sun and I get up at about the same time. Now it’s my turn to make some noise! I break out my brand new Coleman Coffee Maker and begin brewing up our first pot of campsite coffee! And not just any coffee mind you! I have brought with me my very favorite Snake River Roasting Company coffee imported from Jackson Hole, WY!
As the inaugural pot is brewing, I’m studying the Trail maps to see what kind of wimpy hike we can do today. OK, we’ll do the Lower Emerald Pool hike and if she’s feeling up to it, we’ll venture up a bit further to the Middle Emerald Pool. The ½ mile Weeping Rock hike shouldn’t kill her. Hmm. Maybe we’ll do the Pa’rus again. It was flat. Sigh! I’m into the “strenuous” hikes like the Kolob arch and unfortunately…the espoza is in no mood for “strenuous”.
As I daydream about of hikes today and along our journey, I notice that my Coleman Coffee Maker is behaving like Mt. Vesuvius…its boiling over and making a huge mess on our Campsite picnic table! The good news is the wife is still asleep. The learning curve on camp coffee making is relatively shallow so I quickly clean up my mess and brew another pot. Success…just as Terry arises!
She immediately heads to the head which is a full 20 paces away. Our camp neighbor (not the one with the kid) emerges from the Men’s side of the latrine and offers up a “good morning”. He and his wife are from British Columbia touring the States and the National Parks. Older geezer…probably my age…but in good physical condition. He mentions that he saw us hike the Watchman the day before and we begin swapping tales of our recent hikes.
As he begins to tell me about his hike up to Angel’s Landing, Terry joins the conversation. “Yes, it is a strenuous hike for the first two miles but it’s a paved trail”, he explains. Terry mentions her conversation she had with Nancy the day before. The Canadian tells her that his wife joined him for the first part of the hike…the 2-mile climb to Scout Lookout…the bailout point for those who wish not to cling to the chains to get to the top of Angels. She didn’t do the hard part, he says.
My jaw drops as Terry agrees to trekking up Angel’s Landing this morning! She says she won’t do the scary part…but she says she’s in for the hike up to Scout’s! Now why is it that it takes a third party to convince one’s spouse that an idea is a good one? Why argue? After our breakfast banana and peanut butter bagel, we’re off to Angel’s Landing!
“Strenuous…ha! How strenuous can it be?” I ask. I’m in pretty good shape for a geezer. Besides, I’ve been training for “strenuous” for the past 3 months.
We arrive at Angel’s Landing trailhead at about 9 in the morning…and as advertised, the trail is paved! Steep…but the entire 2 miles up to Scout’s is paved. We take our time going up…make it thru Walter’s Wiggles without incident and reach the bailout point after a hour of huffing and puffing up the hill. I am beginning to notice that Terry’s pace is improving. This is a good sign as I have many hikes planned during our Trek thru the Parks!
Terry takes a look at the first section of the half-mile accent to the top of the landing and decides she’s going to give it a try. On a scale of one to ten in terms of degrees of difficulty, one being the easiest…ten being the Mother of all Hell…this part of the climb is a point five. I go a bit ahead of her and experience a section I would call a 2 or a 3 on the difficulty-o-meter. I backtrack only to find Terry struggling with the first section. I tell her…do NOT even attempt to do this…and I leave her behind.
And thank god for that! The last half-mile section of Angel’s should be rated “extremely strenuous”. It kicked my butt all over the rocks. And scary? Just keep your eyes on the chain and the hand and foot holds for if you dare look about you…you will see air…and lots of it. I’ve done the cable climb up Half Dome in Yosemite a couple of times and that is a bit scary when you find yourself clinging to a steel cable on an almost sheer face of this famous granite rock. But the last half-mile of Angel’s makes Half Dome look like child’s play!
Terry waited patiently for me at the base of this monster chatting it up with Lisa, a fellow flight attendant that she met. She asks me how difficult it was…and I let her know that she made the right decision by sitting this one out!
After finishing up at Angel’s, we head over to check into the Zion Lodge where we will spend the next two nights. What a pleasant surprise to have been assigned to one of their rustic cabins. And after a night of camping and then hiking Angel’s this morning…an even better feeling – a steamy hot shower! My deal with Terry was to camp a little…Lodge it a little. She’s ok with that agenda. And for the first part of our journey, we will be “Lodging it” for 6 out of the first 7 nights! That should keep the Espoza in the mood! After that…I hope to camp a couple of days…then hit the showers. Camp a couple more. Hotel. Camp two. Hot shower. You get the drift.
After we get all cleaned up, much to my surprise, Terry suggests we hike up to the Lower and Middle Emerald Pools. Hell yes…I’m always up for a hike! And before we go, I’ll fire up the SpottyMan (SpottyMan defined in the Capitol Reef chapter) and send the kids a message as to our whereabouts. We choose the trail that takes us up to the Middle Emerald Pool - another semi-strenuous climb uphill. We’re almost up to the Middle Pool when I realize I’ve left SpottyMan on the hood of our car! Crap! Terry lets loose a deep sigh of disappointment. Down the hill I race in hopes of finding Spotty still atop the hood. Good fortune follows good people and I find our Spotty still beeping signals skyward atop our hood!
Terry meets me at the Virgin River Bridge, beams a huge smile when I flash Spotty and unexpectedly suggests we take the Tram up canyon and hike the Kayenta Trail back to the Upper Emerald Pool. Whenever Terry suggests we hike…this Trekker squeals with delight! And with our SpootyMan in hand, we continue Trekking thru Zion’s incredible trails. All the way to the Upper Emerald Pool and back down to our cozy Cabin at Zion Lodge.
At dinner that evening, I ask Terry if I’ve scared her off yet with all the hiking we’ve been doing. She exclaims “No, this is actually been good. Because of all this hiking, I can actually see my knees again!”
Post-card worthy views, just perfect to a weekend family trips & bonding.
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