Have you ever been inspired by a landscape?
If not, this is the spot!
I didn't know what to expect - in fact, how different can mountains really be, right? ...these are different - I have never seen anything like Zion (or Bryce for that matter-see previous day's post).
These pictures will only provide a glimpse of the wonder that makes up this mountain range,,,
- it is as if a sculptor created the entire range. The reds, pinks, greys, and whites layer one upon the other as if swept up off the canvas of famous naturalist painting. The rocks swirl in a seemingly unnatural way - one can only imagine the millions of years of water and sediment rushing over the landscape and getting frozen in time - it is as if the waves themselves were petrified in place. The resulting chasms, canyons, cliffs, and slats are amazing!
- it is as if a sculptor created the entire range. The reds, pinks, greys, and whites layer one upon the other as if swept up off the canvas of famous naturalist painting. The rocks swirl in a seemingly unnatural way - one can only imagine the millions of years of water and sediment rushing over the landscape and getting frozen in time - it is as if the waves themselves were petrified in place. The resulting chasms, canyons, cliffs, and slats are amazing!
This is a must see if you are ever in or near southern Utah - I personally guarantee that it will not disappoint.
The following images were captured on the ascent towards Observation Point -
All of these pictures were captured on the Observation Point hiking path - it is a strenuous 8-mile round trip hike with over 1,600 feet of vertical transition. We hiked up about 2.5-miles (rather than the full 4-mile ascent) and returned (about 5-miles round trip on this hike). I definitely want to do it again - and make it to the top - get ready for a major cardio and leg workout if you attempt this hike. This was our 4th day of hiking, and we elected to do 2 additional shorter hikes in addition to this one to experience other parts of the park - We only had one day in Zion. It was the only park, on this trip, that we felt that we did not have enough time to fully experience and appreciate all that we wanted to see.
Echo Canyon (on Observation Point Hike)
(Our guide - Sonny. Played his flute in the canyon for us - amazing)
... you can almost feel the ancient water that flowed through here creating the flowing rocks - it is as if the rocks are petrified water themselves.
This picture below doesn't do the ascending hike justice, but you can at least visualize the switchbacks at a fairly steep grade that you have to hike in order to reach Echo Canyon and Observation Point - the mountain in the background is the Hidden Canyon branch off hike (a shorter hike; you have to hike on some narrow cliffs and hold onto chains to reach Hidden Canyon, and we just weren't sure that our 8-year old appreciated the risk associated with that climb).
Zion is the culmination of millions of years of sediment layering upon itself. Our guide informed us that it older than Bryce, but not as old as the Grand Canyon - literally part of the staircase of mountains and canyons in the region.
Along our hike, we stopped to smell the Ponderosa Pines - if you ever hike this area, don't miss an opportunity to smell the sweet aroma of butterscotch that seeps from the seams in the rough bark of these sturdy, prolific trees that were once harvested from this very mountain.
(If you look closely, you can see hikers in the distance under the pines on their way up - look in the lower left quadrant of the photo.)
We also hiked Weeping Rock - labeled as Easy, but you still have to ascend almost .3 miles (0.5+ miles round trip) - at least the path is paved - however, after our 5-mile hike up the Observation Point route, our legs were feeling it :).
Weeping Rock
After our Echo Canyon and Weeping Rock hikes, we headed farther into the park to The Narrows - our 3rd and final hike for the day (about 2 miles). Our kids got to put their feet in the frigid water (still very cold from the winter melt) and then we hiked to the mouth of the Narrows - this was the most crowded hike - most likely because it is so beautiful and relatively accessible (almost the entire uphill path to the mouth of The Narrows is paved).
In all honesty, we plan to return here and to the Grand Canyon - we are hopeful to take a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon some day and finish up with some hiking here at Zion again. It is only about 3-4 hours north of Las Vegas if you travel here directly from the city. I think it was 4-5 hours south of Salt Lake City.
