Wednesday, June 21

I probably should have looked to see when I last wrote in this blog, but alas I was in a hurry and decided to just give this a go. I think I left off my last evening in Bryce Canyon, so I will begin the morning I set off for Zion.

Monday, June 19th

I woke up pretty early and was able to pack up all of my stuff (and get a shower) in about an hour and a half. That was an improvement on the time before.

I set out for Zion and my new resort/campground. I wanted to make sure I knew where I was staying before I went into Zion. I knew I would get there early, but decided that I had not more reason to delay departure, so I might as well go. I programmed Gerty AND my cell phone. They actually agreed with each other this time, so it made finding everything much easier. It was a non-eventful drive; wait, that should say uneventful, right?

Well, I got to my campground at about 11 AM and check-n wasn't until 4 PM. The gals at the front desk attempted to give me some suggested "shorter" hikes in Zion that I could try.

OK, I forget how much I dislike switchbacks while driving until I am in there. I was OK in Arches with theirs, and Bryce was NO PROBLEM AT ALL, but Zion? Yikes! I was dizzy and I was the driver! My car was reading 104 at 11 AM that day. I was a bit worried about getting out and conquering anything while feeling a big wonky from the drive. I decided that I would like to try, however, because it might help to clear my head.

So, they had circled a place on the map and mentioned that I would need to stop "RIGHT BEFORE" the tunnel. Well, uh oh. I went through a tunnel and hadn't seen the sign for the walk I wanted. I looped back and actually DID find a parking place. I could tell that other people had been down walking around, so I followed the prints and set off. Yeah, people are dumb (me included.) I determined after getting all the way down a wash that I was simply following tracks into a HOT - Breeze-free wash. Not worth it to me, so I climbed back up and out and reclaimed my car.

I started back into the park only to learn in about a mile that there are TWO tunnels into Zion. The second on was labled with the hike I was encouraged to take, but traffic was backed up about a quarter of a mile behind that stop AND the lot (or pull off) was beyond full. I couldn't have stopped there if I had any energy left to try it anyway. I decided that I would just drive into the park, find a shuttle and just explore a little to make a plan for the next couple of days. I would "get a feel" for the place.

HA! By the time I reached the visitor's center (3 million switchbacks later), there were cars parked along all of the roads. All of the lots were full and people were just stumbling along in the heat. No thank you! I drove OUT of the park on the back side and thought I would try to park in Springdale and catch a bus from there into the park. Yeah, that was also a good idea, but there weren't any parking places in Springdale either! I stopped about 1:30 in a park (about a mile up a hill from a shuttle stop) and decided to just eat my lunch in the shade. I thought maybe some better plan would come to me at that time. It didn't.

It was still too hot to function on a good hike while fighting all those people and trying to get parking and there was NO WAY I wanted to walk 2 miles just to go in and catch a packed shuttle in that heat. I decided that I would just go back to my resort and see if I could just check in a bit early to set up my tent.

It took an hour and a half to get back up OUT of Zion and up to my campground, but I got there. The gals at the front desk gave me another hike that wouldn't involve going down into the park that I could try (before checking in). I wasq questioning the wisdom of their advice in sending me on a 6 mile hike in that heat, but thought . . .eh? At leats I can go look at it. I got there and learned by the sign in the parking lot (By the way, it was a driving adventure just to get up to that lot. It was ALL DUST, dirt, pot-holes . . . I went about 10 miles per hour or less the whole way. It was like driving into "First Water Road" in AZ, only longer!) that the trail was actually on the Zion National Park map. I was up on the "East Rim" of the canyon and the East Rim trail was what I would follow to get out to Obervation Point (which was where I was headed) but I knew that there was a spur trail that would veer off to the left that would take me all the way down into the canyon and the park propper (shuttle busses and all). I took it VERY SLOWLY. I had a lot of water and stopped OFTEN in the shade to slow down my heart and just make sure I stayed hydrated.

Eventually, I got to what looked like the rim of the canyon, but there was no overlook. The trail just kept going. Because I was stopping often, I didn't have a good indication of how far I had gone. The trails in Bryce and Zion are very sandy in places. It is kind of like walking on a beach - but that's an aside comment I think. Anyway, I had plodded along and suddenly my trail started snaking around and down the rim that I was on. I kept thinking, "Oh no! Did I miss the overlook or take a wrong turn?" I followed this trail until it took a much more serious downhill turn. Then, I decided, "Well, it is hot anyway. If I am on the right trail, I will just make it a priority to come back some morning when it is cooler to do it again."

I turned around and meandered my way back to my car. I noticed many pretty flowers on the treck home, which was almost all downhill (once I climbed back up onto the rim). It was enjoyable if not hot.

By the time I made it down to my campground it was 5 PM and I could more than check in at that time. I decided it was time to try setting up my brand new tent (purchased for when my nephews are with me so I could have some more room with them.) HA! The whole campsite is this fine red sand. THe wind was blowing, the flies were dive-bombing me, the tent was huge, it was still close to 109 or higher, and I guess my patience wasn't really very good. It didn't go well, but an hour later (after deciding the people who wrote the instruction booklet should not have passed thier instruction English exam. It was a disaster.) the tent was standing (and two days later it still IS standing). I don't know if it is right, but I got it up. It is like a castle compared to the more cramped space I was in before.

After finishing that, I was dusty and hot! I decided I wasn't in the mood for dinner so I would walk over to the pool and cool off that way. It was lovely and COLD (the heater broke on the pool) but it was exactly what was needed.

Once cooled off, I went back to prepare my dinner for the night, clean up, and then just head to bed for the night. My neighbors opted to have a bon fire and talk until about 3 AM, but I had determined that I would catch the VERY FIRST shuttle in the morning (6 AM) and I had at least a half hour drive to get there. I attempted to sleep; I think that's all I've done for a week anyway. (I told my neighbor that I missed my bed. She said, "Your legs would be too tired to climb into it anyway." HA! I have a lofted bed that has 3 stairs up to it.)

Tuesday, June 20th

I awoke at about 5:15 and realized that I needed to hustle if I was going to get down to the visitor's center by 6 AM. I grabbed a power bar and some snacks/lunch for my hiking back pack. I made sure I had plenty of water, and then I set off! I was surprised by the traffic on the roads at that time. I was even more surprised when I pulled into the visitor's center at 6:30 and there were very few spots remaining. I waited an hour or more to catch a shuttle! They were packed as full as commuter trains in Tokyo! Crazy!

I jumped off along with about half the shuttle at the "Grotto", which is the start for the hike up to Angel's Landing. OK! John Sandstrom is a gentelman who lives in Silver Bay who was giving me all sorts of advice on which hikes I would love. As I was doing Fairyland Loop in Bryce I kept thinking that John was trying to kill me, but he was right. It was beautiful and I LOVED it! I was a little hesitant as the shuttle recording said that people have died on this hike. It is high, unprotected, and unsafe if it is too windy. Um...what is "too windy." There were many signs posted before beginning to explain the risks. I decided that I was there and I was going to do it. I don't have a fear of heights and I know what I am capable of doing - it is the crazy others around me I can't control. Oh well.

It was about 69 degrees when I started the hike. It was very comfortable, but within the first 20 minutes the switchbacks began! (Now, I don't dislike switchbacks when hiking like I do when driving, but wow they can wind a person!) There was one gal near me who was convinced that we would have 21 switchbacks, so she was counting them. Most people would hike a while and then stop to regain their breath and continue on. I decided I was NOT in a race, but I certainly moved better than I had a week prior at Rocky Mountain National Park. All of a sudden, we entered this amazing walled canyon (They call it the refrigerator canyon). It was cool and mostly flat and lovely, however, upon coming out of the canyon there I looked up and said, "You've got to be kidding!" That girl counting switchbacks was WRONG! I have never seen a set of them quite like that. There were probably 21 right in that section! They were short, however, and I didn't mind them too much. When they ended, I could tell I was near a rocky top. There were a few chains secured in the rock to help us pull ourselves up and give us grip. I got up to the top and asked a few people which way I was supposed to go, as the trail went to the left and to the right. Nobody actually knew, so I guessed left and was pleased. It was this amazing overlook over the whole canyon area. I thought, "I made it!" Yeah, right! I decided before headding down that I should really follow the other path to see where it went. THe people along with me were as surprised as I was as we looked up and saw the peak before us - covered with chains and a very narrow trail with steep drops on both sides. OK, I guess I wasn't there yet.

I set out and was already stuck in traffic. Some people were coming down as we were going up. It was a maze and a challenge, and I loved it! I stopped an extremely congested point and had a lovely conversation with a gal from Oregon. She showed me pictures from Canyon Lake and we chatted some. Then, when traffic had cleared I pressed on. I made it to the top along-side a gal that had been on my shuttle from the visitor's center that morning. This gal, upon first sight, reminded me of Lori Draxten. She had been with her husband and two children earlier in the morning, but now she was only there with her son. We started visiting and I realized that she was from Scandinavia (somewhere), but her personality was as bubbly and enchanting as Lori's. She was making friends with everyone along the mountain. We stayed together quite a ways down. I learned that the other half of her family had a fear of heights so they had been left back somewhere else. I also learned she and her son took a lot more pictures than I did, so after a rousing conversation about California Condors, I bid them farewell and pressed on.

I made it down to the bottom of the mountain and decided I needed MORE water and a potty break before setting out again on a different hike. I also felt like I should reapply my sunscreen before setting out in the heat of the day. I sat on a park bench and pulled out my sunspray (I can't really reach my back by myself without using the spray kind.) Oh there were some European tourists watching while I did that! They started shielding and protecting their son. They were talking harshly about "chemicals" and I felt like a was some drug dealer out on the streets poluting society. Um...well, I would rather be protected than get a major sunburt, so I continued, but I may NOT be using the spray bottles any more if that makes me such a horrid person.

I knew there was a loop from that same sight that would allow me to go to Emerald Pools, so I thought that might be easier than trying to shuttle back over there. So, after visiting with a few other people who had been on the hike with me, I set off again (back UP the ridge). This one was only a 2 mile hike, however, and it was much easier. The only downside was that the temps had increased greatly. None of us knew how hot it was, but it was no longer comfortable. They were surveying and monitoring traffic on the trails up to the highest emerald pools so I asked some people of they thought it was worth it. Given their response I happily decided to only hit two out of the three. They were fine, but I wasn't nearly as wowed by them. Getting dripped on by the falling water was pleasant, however. :)

Next, I did catch a shuttle and I didn't even care which direction it would take me. This one took me back a stop, towards the visitor's center, to the Court of the Patriarchs. I learned there were three mountains: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that were named after the patriarchs in the Bible. Interesting. I did the little hike (very little) up to an information board about them and took a picture.

Next, I hopped back on the shuttle to go further into the park. This time I got off at Weeping Rock. This was actually part of the trail accessable from the Observation Point look out that I had attempted to do the day before. I decided if I saw it, using the short hike here, I wouldn't feel the extreme need to do the long one tomorrow. Upon coming down from that hike, I knew I was starting to melt. Fatigue and heat were starting to get me. I was going to attempt to stop at the next two stops to take pictures and maybe go up to try to see the Narrows. When I learned the extreme number of people there and how far I would have to walk to even make it too the Narrows, I decided . . .eh? I don't need to do it. I simply rode the bus all the way back to the visitor center. WHile riding our busdriver told us that 5 ambulances needed to be called that day due to heat/dehydration. She cautioned us to KEEP DRINKING! We asked if she knew the temp and all she said was, "Hell." HA! It was 109.

I claimed my car when getting back and drove up to my campground. My tent was like an oven, so I put on my bathing suit and went to the very crowded pool! It was cool and refreshing at least. I then decided to go prepare my dinner and take a shower. By the time that was done, so was I. Bed time!

Today, Wednesday June 21

I may be staying in a very nice resort/campground, but par for the course internet service and connection is very spotty. I couldn't even access my cell phone at my tent, so I hadn't done very much for the past two days. My plan was to have an "easier" day today.

I ate a hard boiled egg for brekkie and then decided to go reconquer the Observation Point trail. It went much better in the chilly morning air and now that I had studied the map even more. I pressed on past where I had turned around before and made it to the dramatic overlook. I could look and see Angel's Landing and the whole canyon floor. It was great.

Upon getting back to the campground it was about 11:30 AM and I decided to do some laundry, sit at the pool, and then find this charging/internet area (I am writing from a bar in the restaurant -- not eating here, but sitting here).

I was able to find a nice shady table to sit at while waiting to gain access to the only two washing machines for the whole compound! 2! There was an Austrian woman there who was finishing her loads, or attempting to, and then I could wash. We learned the driers didn't work - at all.

Great! The red, silty clay . . .and clean laundry? Wet, clean laundry? Really? Sigh, I had not clothespins, but I lugged my wet laundry back to my tent and started to hang it in trees and on the line. I sat there just picking up random clothing items every time the wind blew for about 30 minutes. By then, many of my rayon items had dried enough for me to throw them into the tent. THe rest, well . . .I abandoned them to come here. I have been on my computer ever since.

The plan now is to go back to rescue what I can of my slightly clean laundry and get ready for a "Dutch Oven" cowboy supper! I may end the night with some stargazing and hot cocoa too (hot cocoa doesn't sound good now, but it does cool off thankfully when the sun goes down.)

Tomorrow, I load up to head to Page.