Utah Roadtrip, part 1
For years, I’ve heard about the beautiful collection of national parks in Utah, all within driving distance of each other and full of natural wonders. At the end of May 2021, FeFe and I finally got the chance to take a week-long vacation to dive headlong into this majestic wilderness.
Zion National Park
Our first stop was Zion National Park. Due to COVID, the park limited the number of shuttle tickets per day, which could only be purchased one day in advance. Sitting at the airport, struggling with airport wifi, we nearly missed our chance, but by some stroke of luck, I managed to snatch the last two tickets for the next day at 10am in the morning. I would later discover the following morning that in my rush to buy tickets, I had actually only purchased ONE, not two. But the ticket inspector was kind enough to understand that mistakes happen and let us both on anyways.
Angel’s Landing was a bucket-list hike for me, but FeFe was hardly jumping with enthusiasm, knowing the last half mile of chains and steep dropoffs. I managed to convince her to come along for the ride, and she was a champ, pushing through her fear of heights and never looking down! The sights from the top were incredible, as was our feeling of accomplishment.
COVID cases in Utah were at an all-time low in May, so there were quite a few people crammed on this hike, causing quite a few 10+ minute traffic jams on the chains. That being said, I honestly didn’t find his hike to be very frightening at all. The paths are far wider in person than they appear in videos, and there’s only two short passages with a drop-off on both sides.
By the time we made it down from Angel’s Landing, it was past 5pm, and we had long missed our chance of grabbing another pair of coveted shuttle tickets (particularly since there is no reception inside the park). The Narrows were still waiting for us though, and if we didn’t go today we wouldn’t get another chance. So in spite of our tired legs, we hopped on the next shuttle and rode all the way to the end of the park. There was already a huge line of people waiting for shuttles when we disembarked, stretching back at least a quarter mile.
Hiking into the Narrows itself was a mile-long walk. Quite a few groups were assembled at the head of the Narrows, changing into water boots and holding onto walking sticks for stability. Our primary goal for today was Angel’s Landing though, so we were much less prepared.
It didn’t take long for us to realize how woefully underprepared we were. Our hiking poles were too light to provide much stability in the river, and the riverbed was strewn with rocks that ranged from smooth boulders to sharp rocky slabs. We bought pool shoes from Target when we left California, but those provided very little padding and almost no protection from the frigid waters (it was still better than nothing).
We waded through the river in our thin pool shoes, our toes slowly freezing off and losing feeling with every step, until the water started to reach above my knees. I had powered through the river for a few turns, hoping that the canyons would narrow more for a better photo, but after awhile, I realized the canyons weren’t getting any narrower, and with water levels rising and light levels falling, we decided that we had gotten the idea, so we turned and headed back.
Despite being unprepared, I still had a good time. I’d never seen slot canyons before and never waded through a river that snaked through one. The sun had already started to set when we started, illuminating the slick canyon walls with an eerie yellow and red glow. On our way back, we encountered deer and wild turkeys roaming the surrounding marshland.
Bryce Canyon National Park
The next day, we left Zion and headed for Bryce Canyon, arriving in the late afternoon. Our first stops were the various viewpoints along the main road. At Sunset Point, we headed down into the canyons to wander amongst the hoodoos - the name for these towering rock structures that rise from the canyon floor. Some notable hoodoos are given names themselves, like “Thor’s Hammer”. The late afternoon sun bathed these red canyons with a warm glow, and being down inside the canyon was a nice respite from the summer Utah heat.
“Thor’s Hammer” is the hoodoo on the left, where a huge square boulder appears to balance precariously on top.
The hoodoo hike was short and sweet. We got back in plenty of time to catch sunset at Inspiration Point, which provides spectacular sweeping views of nearly all of Bryce Canyon and even other national monuments in the distance. Inspiration Point faces east though, so the sun is not visible at when looking out at the canyon at sunset, but the views are breathtaking anyways.
We have a long drive to Arches tomorrow, so we turned in for bed early after getting back.
