Zion Day Four - We Bid Adieu

Alas we come to our fourth and last day at Zion post. We needed to head back to Las Vegas to catch a show (David Copperfield!, very entertaining) then to the airport for our red eye flight home.

Before we left Zion, while we had some thoughts of climbing yet more trails with crazy drop offs and views, in the end we decided to take it easy. We strolled along the Pa'rus Trail which meanders along the Virgin River in the valley of Zion Canyon. This gave us a different perspective on the awesome Zion scenery.

Driftwood

I thought I'd try a panorama shot, which in this case was a combination of six separate photos covering at least 180 degrees.

Zion Valley Panorama

Virgin River with Mountains Backdrop

Since it was mid-April, we were a touch too early in the season to see all the Zion flowers, but there were a few. The Watchman Trail and this Pa'rus Trail afforded the best opportunity for colorful flowers to grace our way. Here's a sample:

Utah Purple

Since the Virgin River was the star of this Pa'rus Trail, I thought it only appropriate to take a few more "silky river" shots. These next three pictures are all 1/15 second exposures, which is not particularly slow, but slow enough to cause the water to look this way.

Water Dance

It was mid-day and we were under bright sun. I wanted to slow the shutter speed down as much as possible, so I really needed a neutral density filter on the lens. Lacking that, I thought I'd try my clip-on sunglasses. Deb helped hold them in front of the lens while I held the camera steady atop a rock. Check this out:

High Class Lens Filter

The above photo didn't turn out quite the way I wanted. You weren't supposed to see my "lens filter". After cropping the photo a bit in post-processing, I obtained the next photo. Perhaps it isn't the most spectacular photo, but it's more or less what I originally had in mind.

Virgin River Show

Just twenty feet away from the last shot, this cactus flower was adorning the trail:

Cactus Flowers

This turned out to be the last picture of note. We left Zion to head home via Las Vegas.

We left feeling incredibly moved by the beauty and majesty of Zion National Park. We have had the pleasure of visiting many of our nation's National Parks, and, while they all have something to offer, our Zion visit was truly special. It will remain a fond memory for us always.


All photos © 2016, all rights reserved.  Contact me for licensing or to order prints.

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Zion Day Three

I have a healthy fear of falling when such fear seems appropriate to me. I often tell people I'm scared of heights. Someone with true acrophobia - defined as someone with an extreme or irrational fear of heights - is probably worse off than I am, but I definitely don't like to be close to steep edges. My fear seems generally grounded on the rational, but there's no question I'm acrophobic to some degree.

I knew we were going to attempt Angels Landing this day, so I didn't sleep very well the night before. Angels Landing is a very well known trail at Zion which has chains during the last half-mile with 1400 foot drop offs on both sides, as it travels along a high narrow ridge. Since 2004, six people have died falling off this trail.

My goal was to make it to Scout Lookout, which is two miles up, a relatively flattish safe spot just prior to the start of the chains for the last half mile of the ascent. Deb and I made it to Scout Lookout. Yay! I even went a bit further and tried the chains for a short distance. Deb, who is not acrophobic, made it even further along the chains, but even she decided she was too uncomfortable and returned to Scout Lookout.

There were many brave souls that made it all the way to Angels Landing. Several reported making it there was not all that scary or difficult. Even mothers were hiking to Angels Landing with newborn babies backpack bound for the ride. However, there were also many others, like ourselves, who chose to stop at Scout Lookout, were quite confident in their decision to not attempt the rest of the trip, and weren't the least bit regretful. There were actually a lot of people attempting to pass each other on the chains, some going up while some were going down, and this made it extra difficult for those of us with acrophobic tendencies. Amusingly, one becomes rather intimate with total strangers hiking in these situations: giving each other a hand, wrapping one's body completely around another person's, and similar actions. Some were moving really slowly, even for me, during my short stint on the chains.

One reason I get great joy from hiking is that, without fail, every person we meet or chat with is extremely friendly and pleasant. It is a feeling of community like no other. We are all enjoying this beautiful planet.

The beginning of Angels Landing trail started innocuously enough with a pleasant footbridge crossing over the Virgin River. After some time along the path we began to see several switchbacks up the face of the rock on the left side of this next photo, arriving at the gap seen slightly above the center of the photo.  If you zoom and squint you'll see people in this photo.

Switchbacks Ascend the First Part of Angels Landing Trail

At the gap, we head back into "Refrigerator Canyon."

Deb in Refrigerator Canyon

Looking out from an Overhang in Refrigerator Canyon

After hiking through Refrigerator Canyon, we head up Walter's Wiggles; these are switchbacks to get to Scout Lookout.

Walter's Wiggles

View of Deb from One Wiggle to Another

At last, we arrive at Scout Lookout. We have ascended the majority of the Angels Landing trail and are relieved to have made it this far.

Happiness at Scout Lookout

The next photo shows the dropoff behind Deb in the previous photo.

Virgin River from Scout Lookout

The trail that lies ahead... Angels Landing is seen (we think) atop the furthest green peak left of center in this photo, immediately to the right of the whitish mountain rising in the background.

Angels Landing Trail Final Section

Here's a slightly zoomed version of the previous photo. Look closely. There are many people in this photo traveling along the chains in the left foreground, center, right, and hiking along the top of the ridge.

Chain Travel

Here's another view:

View Ahead from Scout Lookout

We returned back down the trail. Here's a shot of Zion Canyon from the gap:

Switchbacks Down to Zion Canyon

Switchback Detail

After returning to the bottom, we thought we were done for the day, but after a pleasant lunch at the Lodge, we decided to spend the late afternoon and sunset on the Watchman Trail.


The Watchman Trail takes us up to the top of the rock outcropping in the center of this next photo.

Watchman Trail

Color on the Trail

Another Trail Traveler

Deb Relaxing at the Top of Watchman Trail

Kindly ignore my hat hair in this next shot.

Sunset on the Watchman

We were just about to start back down when the moon decided to rise directly over a notch, creating a fitting ending for another wonderful day at Zion.

Moonrise

All photos © 2016, all rights reserved.  Contact me for licensing or to order prints.

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