We took a break from hiking (82 miles in the prior 7 days) and explored St. George Utah and saw a movie yesterday (Chappaquiddick). The highlight was visiting the amazing city park Red Hills Desert Garden, full of not just desert plants but some nice birdwatching as well.
Today we return to Zion to hike the Kolob Canyon region. We leave Utah tomorrow.
Here are a few shots that give a glimpse into the climb up to Angels Landing.
We arrived at the park at 6:45am and caught the first shuttle, allowing us to be two of the first 10 people to the summit. Not nearly as difficult as the climb to Observation Point but likely more frightening for many. I’ll share some photos relating the climbing experience in my next post.
We covered about 15 miles early yesterday morning, starting with a private shuttle drop at the East entrance and finishing at Observation Point. It took us about 4 hours to cover the first 11 miles, a decent place for us but more reflective of the gentle nature of the east rim trail than our abilities.
The climb to Observation Point is a BEAST but well worth it. Today we do Angel’s Landing then move on to St. George tomorrow. We still have a bit of Zion exploring to do this weekend in the Kolob Canyon area.
I forgot to mention we spent Monday afternoon at the nearby Red Canyon district of the Dixie National Forest. We expected some second rate trails but were blown away by the castle wall and buckhorn trails. This area doesn’t get a lot of hiker attention because of nearby Bryce but is well worth it. Some tough up and down made this four mile trek challenging and rewarding.