gonyun (工人)

The Mighty 5 (and then some) part 1

When visiting the southwest there is a natural loop many people do to see some of the most iconic parks of the south west.

Vegas –> Zion –> Bryce –> Capital Reef –> Arches –> Canyonlands –>Back to Vegas.

This route also goes through the Navajo Reservation, Valley of the Gods, Bears Ears national monument, Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, and the north rim of the Grand Canyon and Valley of Fire State Park.

Zion National Park

Originally named Mukuntuweap meaning straight canyon by explorer John Wesley Powell as he believed it to be the Paiute name for the area. Isaac Behunin, settled the Zion Canyon in 1863 near today’s Zion Lodge, where he farmed tobacco, corn and fruit trees. He said of the area: “A man can worship God among these great cathedrals as well as he can in any man-made church; this is Zion.” The name stuck.

Shuttles ferry people up to 9 different stops along the valley floor. Given our limited time we opted for exploring the Narrows (Stop 9), and climbing up to Scouts Rest (Stop 6).

Scouts rest offers some of the most amazing views of the valley. It’s also on the way to Angel’s Rest. Half way up out of the valley floor, up the switch backs is refrigerator canyon. In the narrows canyons of the southwest Mexican Spotted Owls find roosts.

A Mexican Spotted Owl tries to catch some zzzs as tourists stream by in refrigerator canyon.

The Narrows offered a particular challenge the first mile was a nicely paved path, with a small river, with giant canyon wall reach upward to the sky. Progressing into the canyon the walls start to close in and eventually the only way forward to to walk upstream through the river. For this journey we rented waders. The canyon narrows leaving only a narrow slice of river 50 feet and smaller in width with canyon walls towering 1000-2000 feet above your head. Walking against the current on unstable rocks below the water was challenging and some of us fell in (not naming names here). The views were amazing and the hike, even though we only went three miles was absolutely exhausting.

Sharleen powers upstream
Kylie pauses (waiting for her slower parents)
The first part is a series of snake-like switch backs meaning crossing after crossing.
Entering “Wallstreet” which is a long narrow straight away with high walls on either side.
Typically people are allowed to hike this trail as long as the water is less than 120 cubic feet
In the wall street section of the narrows the current is deep and strong. Walls are either wiped smooth, or have little nooks eroded by eddies. It becomes clear in this section why the hike can be so periolous. It took us nearly 3 hours to get to this point, and the waters were not high, nor current close the 150 cubic feet
Was she exhausted or just bored waiting for her slower parents?

We exited Zion through the East entrance. We did a brief hike on the overlook trail which provided some transcendent views of the Zion.

Looking closely, you can see Sharleen’s purple hat hiking along a pathway carved into the size of the canyon wall.
A view of Zion from the overlook trail
Kylie says goodbye to Zion National Park

Kolob Canyon

In a slightly less visited area of the park there is a five mile scenic drive with some hiking trails. The canyons are not a deep, but the hiking trails provide a great sample of the untamed wilderness. The Taylor Creek trail winds and back into the canyon until encountering the double arch. There are two homestead cabins along the way that were used in the early 1900s by people who harvested lumber in the valley. The double arch forms a natural cave and was quite serene. Many national parks update and “reconstruct” historical sites due to age and decay. Even though only 100 years old, the cabins really allowed my imagine to transport myself 100 years into the past.

The Larson Homestead cabin. In use circa 1930

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