This day started around 8am and everyone was very excited to see this park that I had talked so much about. Me and Ashley had hiked to Angels Landing before and had raved about the splendor. It was already one of our favorite experiences we had ever done together. I made sure that they got ready for this hike and me and Ashley decided to do something different…the Observation Point Hike.
Driving in from the east is my new preference of entering this park after this trip. I have been talking to Brandon in the car on the way in and he was noticing the nice scenery changing with layered sandstone rocks, and petrified dunes shaping the landscape. What made it so great was the unexpected look on his face of awe when we exited the tunnel and opened up into the glorious Zion during sunrise. He immediately stopped talking to me and just said ‘Wow!’
We arrived at the park by 8:45 and checked into the visitor center. I had to pickup our passes for the Subway hike we were doing the next day and register. At this point we all filled our water tanks up and got in line for the shuttle.
It was an absolutely beautiful morning. Before we got to hiking we had to have a game plan where to meet and when to meet. Me and Ashley were going to do a 5 mile hike called observation point, as mentioned earlier. This was a great hike that featured the highest point overlook of Zion national Park. I believe Angels Landing was stop number five, and ours was 7, so we dropped them off and decided to come back and meet them at that stop depending on who was done first.
Me and Ashley figured we would be done first so that’s why we decided to come back. The shuttle service was very efficient and arrives almost every five minutes. We enjoyed the hike all the way to the top though very stressful. Once at the top it was one of those magnificent things that made the stress worth it….. to look down on Angels Landing!
The hike itself has a slot canyon that you could explore even though wasn’t part of the trail. There are scary parts of this that feature a 1000 foot drop. This hike took us a total of three hours and once at the top we enjoyed a nice stroll down.
As expected we were back at the bus stop at Angels Landing waiting for them before they had finished, so Ashley took the shuttle back to grab us lunch while I waited there for them and took a nap on the bench. This was a great nap underneath the trees with the breeze blowing after a great hike. It was absolutely mesmerizing being able to do this on a weekday. Finally, about 45 minutes later, the group showed up from the hike absolutely stunned by the park and were so complementary and amazed by the view at the top. The Angels Landing hike is definitely one most famous in the national park system and truly a unique experience for any thrill seeker. Now we had two things to get done on our agenda today….1. was Angels Landing and 2. was the Narrows and as you can imagine our group was already a little tired.
So I had to convince them that the Narrows was a refreshing hike through water….as it was, however I had never been there. The Narrows is the last stop on the tram system. This is essentially a large 17 mile long slot canyon that I believe is the deepest in the world at almost 2000 feet at some places! The blue running waters of the Virgin River that cut these rocks through millions of years is absolutely refreshing. The hike itself is like walking on a bunch of smooth bowling balls underwater. We hiked through the river for about 2 miles and enjoyed some of the nice shade and natural rock formations.
Once we decided we had walked enough into the slot canyon we decided to turn around. On the way out however, a kid must have been using drugs as he was causing a scene with his girlfriend by sitting in the water and hitting himself with rocks. People had to help restrain him and he was escorted out of the park. Overall, It was a great refreshing hike and once everyone was ready we had to rush back to the car to find a campsite.
Now Zion is one the most popular parks in the world and as you can imagine there were no campsites available that late in the day…..nor were there hotels in Springdale which is the town outside of Zion. Also I knew there were no campsites on the private residences or land. We decided to take the road that we are supposed to take the next day to go to the subway hike. This is the road which leads to the Kolob reservoir, and it is equally stunning of a drive and so many times overlooked by visitors to the park. Fortunately we saw some tents on the side of the road and quickly turned in and grab a plot of land and ended up camping for free! I did burn a fire which evidently was not allowed but I learned that the hard way as someone yelled profanities at me while driving by. While the girls set up camp, me and Brandon and Savanna went into the town to grab groceries and snacks for the next day which was our feature hike…the Subway.
Earlier in the day I had to grab the permits from the main office so we were ready for the next days hike. We grabbed eggs for the morning, some meats, power bars and food for the night time. The next day was the longest hike of our trip thus far and I knew everyone needed energy. We even needed to buy a map for the hike, so we didn’t get lost. So we ready for anything that would happen. So we cooked up a great steak and some pasta with vegetables so we had plenty of energy for the next day. This was definitely one most exciting times getting ready for this, as it was one of the highlights of the entire three-month trip. We got to bed around 8:30 and quickly fell asleep.
June 23 Expenses
15.65 gas
2.98 Powerade
49 grocery
2 sticker zion
Total – 69.63
Miles Driven – 83.2