Zion National Park

Zion

with Timberline Adventures (www.timbertours.com)

(May 2004)

Introduction

Note: This is the beginning of the Classic Canyons Trip--we hiked three days in Zion then drove to the North Rim. After hiking from the North to the South Rim in two days we drove to Sedona and hiked there three days.

Emerald Pools Hike

It took us 4-5 hours to drive from Flagstaff to Zion National Park in the SW corner of Utah and then we hiked a 3 mile loop to the lower, middle, and upper emerald pools. It was an easy hike, but it got us out of the car and let us get a glimpse of the beauty of Zion.

Three sets of pools create a unique oasis in this desert environment and provide year-round habitat for an amazing variety of life forms. One of those, aquatic green algae, led early visitors to dub these the "Emerald Pools."

The rock ledge is harder and more resistant than underlying formations. Over long periods of time, the softer, lower canyon rock layers have slowly eroded away, leaving the 100-foot drop and waterfall we see today. If you are lucky enough to be here at the right time, you might get to see a spectacular thundering waterfall created during spring snow-melt conditions or after the occasional rainstorms that refresh this arid land.

one of the gorgeous views on our hike

pictures of Zion National Park

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canyon tree frogs are common

it was evidently frog mating season

more views from our hike

Saturday morning we left the lodge so early it was still a little dark but the wild turkeys were very active in the parking lot - Two toms are after a hen in the first picture and in the second picture one tom is mating with the hen and the 2nd tom is objecting. They actually got into a fight while the hen just waited.

Observation Point Hike

The reason for our early departure was to hike up to Observation Point (seen in this picture) while it was cool as about 3.5 of the 4 miles was up! The last half mile we were hiking along the ridge out to the point. The view was fabulous.

pictures of portions of the Observation Point trail

some of the pretty flowers growing out of the rocks along the trail

looking down at the trail that we had climbed up

looking across at Angel's Landing

We saw 2 people rock climbing on the opposite side of the canyon.

looking at Angel's Landing, the Great White Throne, and up the canyon from Observation Point

Andrea, Roger, and I on Observation Point

another picture looking up the canyon from Observation Point

looking down at the trail

Virgin River Narrows Hike

When we got down, we took the bus to the starting point for the Narrows of the Virgin River hike and hiked about 1/2 mile to the river, changed our shoes, and started hiking up the river. The depth fluctuated from just above my ankles to above my knees in the part I hiked. The current was strong and there was a lot of big slippery rocks. I would put my weight on my poles, move one foot, make sure it wasn't on a rock, and then step forward. The water was cold, but you quickly got use to it and it felt good. We didn't go very far, but it was a very interesting and very refreshing hike.