Epic hikes at Zion – Beyond the Edges of Our Desk

Sam mentioned on his last post that we found a near by slot canyon to hike. We weren’t planning to move into zion until Monday afternoon, so we had a perfectly good Sunday (which also happened to be mothers day) to get out and do a little something. So Sam found this near by trail just less than a mile from our camp (Elkhead slot canyon). Smith really needed a good walk anyway, so off we spent with several bottles of water in our pack. Neither of us had ever done a slot canyon so it was a fun adventure. Now not going to lie it was a steep decent down there, and even steeper (so it felt) climbing back out. But we never saw another person out there, so it felt like our own private tour. The slot canyon was so cool! literally, chilly inside a good 10 degrees cooler at least! We had to scramble up and down rocks to get very far but it was really an amazing experience. I can’t wait to do more of this!

Into Zion next. We needed Laundry and a REAL shower, so we had planned ahead and made reservations at Zion Canyon campground, and it was perfect. Really nice showers and even had a pool.We took 2 days off mid week to go into zion and avoid the crowds. Our first hike in Zion was Angels landing. Now, I have had this on my “bucket list” for years and jumped at the opportunty to go. We knew it would be a little scary. But we had NO IDEA just how scary this trail would be. We took the shuttle into the park early in the morning and started our accent up to the trailhead at about 10 am. The hike to the trailhead was about 2.5 miles NO PROBLEM, right? WRONG. Straight up, and the grade going up really stretched your calves and our cardio. To the point where both Sam and I started to worry that this was the wrong trail as there was no sign of the iconic trail of chains we expected from the pictures. After some very crazy switchbacks (12-14 deep) we finally get to the view that terrifies both Sam and I. You can see from the pictures what we saw. A sliver of a path barely big enough to pass someone, and goes straight up with a Chain to cling to with 1000′ cliffs on BOTH sides. Sam and I exhausted already just getting to the trailhead stopped for a bit of lunch and looked at each other and said “I don’t know about this”. But we were there and I wasn’t ready to throw the towel in yet. I encouraged us to go just a little way and if it becomes too much we will turn around. Ok, I have no idea what drove us so far, but let me tell you what this trail was terrifying. Clinging to the only thing keeping us on that slip of a rock until someone comes from the other direction! Then one of you has to let go of your life line to let the other pass. At sections you have to retreat to the side to allow large groups of people pass. We were maybe 100 ft or so from the top when we got to a point where I had to let others pass. I slid to the side and was bear hugging a post, and Sam is standing straight up holding on to me, but nothing else. I sat there for quite awhile allowing people to come down, and at that point I was staring over the edge of the cliff and I called it, no more. It was super scary. But we were at the top! We are proud to have done it, but I do not plan to do it ever again. After we got down we saw the sign where 13 people have died on that trail and we were both surprised it was so few!

Our second day off we planned another “bucket list” hike that we have always wanted to do, The narrows! The water is about 35 degrees so you really need dry pants, and canyoneering shoes, with neoprene socks and a special pole which we rented in advance. And again set out early all outfitted in our HOT pants, and wacky looking shoes to the trail head (did I mention with sore muscles too?). You hike about a mile to where you enter the river and head up river through the slot canyon. Our legs were warm and dry and other than fighting the current for every step on the very rocky bottom, it was a so much fun. We fought between watching our footing, or gazing at the canyon walls, which were mesmerizing and we might have said “wow” 1000 times. The canyon walls on both sides of us looked like they went up 500-600 ft att! and they were stunning. Our legs were very sore after the angles landing hike the day before but we couldn’t stop going! Every turn was stunning. We wanted to get to see wall street which is a famous section of the hike but we had heard it was a 6 hour hike to go that far. But, we made it in 2…no kidding! We were able to make it about 1/3 of the way up Wall street before we started back. We did a total of 12 miles that day and it was worth every step. If you ever get a chance to do this, DO IT! Zion was amazing! We aren’t going to be able to climb the ladder to bed for a week but we feel on top of the world! WHAT A WEEK!