Taking advantage of an Alaska Airlines one day sale, Jim and I headed to Las Vegas and Zion National Park. I have wanted to return to Zion ever since my half day visit with Erika several years ago.
Jim and I decided to do some of the classic one day hikes: Angel’s Landing, The West Rim, The Subway (from the bottom), and The Narrows (bottom to halfway up). We were treated to 4 days of beautiful weather. Every day we were in shorts and enjoyed the sunshine.
Day 1 – Angel’s Landing and The West Rim:
Our first day in Zion was a Sunday so even though it was November 3, the shuttle bus was packed.
Jim and I were on a mission to get up Angel’s Landing before the crowds showed up. Not sure I would want to be on the half mile ridge run with a lot of people. I didn’t even stop to take pictures until we reached the top.
The views were perfect and went for miles.
We did ask a stranger to take photos of the 2 of us on the summit but they must not have hit the button because there were none on my phone. I thought everyone knew how to take pictures on a phone. Not the case.
After we retreat from the summit on the chains, we headed out towards the West Rim.
As we started up the switch back leading to the West Rim, we marveled at the shear rock wall which the trail was carved into.
The trail was blasted right into the cliff.
On the switchbacks, you could look out over the rock slabs. This picture is taken straight up and down not tilted.
After reaching the West Rim, we looked for a break spot in the rocks. We found a small area of these rocks that looked like coral. They even stumped my geologist husband.
We enjoyed the lighting as we returned towards Angel’s Landing. The trail winds right along the top of the cliffs.
Look for Jim in the upper left corner of the picture.
From here, we had a fabulous view of Angel’s Landing from above.
Day 2 – The Subway (from the bottom):
The next day, we had a permit to hike up to The Subway. A circular tunnel cut into the rock by the river.
When we picked up our permit, the ranger told us we were starting out a little late. Nothing new for Jim and I. As it turned out our timing was quite good. The sun was just starting to hit the canyon and warming up the air.
After descending to the canyon bottom, we worked our way up the river bottom. Basically bushwacking and walking in the river. Lots of crossing back and forth across the river.
After several hours of hiking, the river widened and slabby falls appeared.The rocks was way grippier than it looked.
About the time, it looked like you could go no further up the canyon, the river turned and entered a tunnel.
As we stood there admiring the pools of water and perfectly cut walls, a group of canyoneers appears for the plunge pool. They had started several miles up the canyon and repelled / swam their way down.
We marveled at the rocks and pools for well over 30 minutes. I took at least 50 photos.
As we headed out, we stopped for a snack and then started the hike back hoping to be more efficient and arrive the car before dark. We arrived the car a good 15 minutes before dark.
Day 3 – The Narrows (from the bottom)
Erika and I wanted to hike the Narrows when we visited Zion but it was closed. It was high on my list for Jim and I.
We boarded on of the first shuttles up valley and soon discovered most people were in water proof pants. We knew we had to wade up the river but felt water proof pants were over kill.
After our second river crossing in shorts, we decided we were wrong. And promptly headed back to the shuttle bus and back to town to rent gear.
Equipped with waterproof pants and canyoneering boots, we headed up the Narrows on a mission to see how far we could get. We were completely prepared to return under headlamp but hoped we wouldn’t half to.
Describing what it was like to hike up this river with 1000 foot walls on both sides is impossible. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever done.
You weren’t always in the river. There were lots of sand bars and rocks for people to escape on.
After a couple of hours, Jim and I reached the narrowest part of the Narrows. At this point, most of the other adventures had turned around.
The Colors were amazing.
We loved seeing the walls under cut by the river. No wonder this hike is closed most of the year.
We finally reach the end of the narrows section. The river widened and the walls shortened. It was time to turn around.
As we headed back to the entrance, we looked up to see 3 canyoneers rappelling into the canyon. It was pretty crazy.
Once again Jim and I arrived the shuttle just before dark. We had completed all 3 of our day times without using our headlamps. Definitely not like Jim and I.
I took so many more pictures than I was able to put in the written part of this post. Some if you want to see more, view the individual Galleries below.
——————— Angel’s Landing and The West Rim – Photo Gallery (click to enlarge) ———————
——————— The Subway – Photo Gallery (click to enlarge) ———————
——————— The Narrows – Photo Gallery (click to enlarge) ———————
