Happy new year! Raf and I recently visited the fam in Minnesota. For the return trip, we drove my friends Dave and Amy's car to Los Angeles - they are moving to California in a couple weeks and needed the car dropped off for logistical reasons. The highlight of the trip was a day in Zion National Park.
The night before, I review trail conditions and carefully choose four shorter hikes with minimal ice, mud, and crowds. We roll into the park around 7:30am just as the sun is rising and make our way up to the Zion Canyon Overlook trail, a short hike with great views at the top. There is a light dusting of snow on the high walls and rim of the canyon that makes for a surreal experience.
Next, we make our way to the Many Pools trailhead. This is not an official trail (and a feisty ranger refuses to point us to the trailhead), but I had read some great reviews on AllTrails. Following an intermittent set of footprints from the previous days, we make our way up the slickrock wash. The orange-brown Navajo sandstone glows in contrast to the snow. Raf suggests we pause at a spot where the stream trickles over a ledge, and we sit for some time listening to the gurgling sounds. I'm grateful for the reminder to stop and smell the roses. We don't see any other people on this trail! I feel lucky to have such a peaceful and serene experience in an otherwise chaotic park.
The Scout Overlook Trail is much busier, but has some great views of the misty canyon. Our final trail of the day is the Zion Narrows Riverside Walk, where we see a demon child brandishing an Airsoft gun and shooting pellets left and right while his clueless parents look on. As our Venezuelan host mom Cointa would say, falta de respeto.
I really appreciate the shuttle system in Zion, and I think every national park and ski resort should follow suit:
“No more cars in national parks. Let the people walk. Or ride horses, bicycles, mules, wild pigs, [public transit] -- anything -- but keep the automobiles and the motorcycles and all their motorized relatives out. We have agreed not to drive our automobiles into cathedrals, concert halls, art museums, legislative assemblies, private bedrooms and the other sanctums of our culture; we should treat our national parks with the same deference, for they, too, are holy places. An increasingly pagan and hedonistic people (thank God!), we are learning finally that the forests and mountains and desert canyons are holier than our churches. Therefore let us behave accordingly.”
- Edward Abbey
Zion Canyon Overlook Trail:
Many Pools Trail:
Scout Overlook Trail:
