The next morning I hiked to the Lower, Middle, and Upper Emerald Pools and then up to Angel's Landing. I should say that Angel's Landing is definitely not for the feint-hearted or those with a fear of heights.
Unfortunately the weather was cloudy (who else can bring rain to the desert? . . . this guy! {two thumbs pointing back at me}). But that didn't stop me and 1928 of my newest friends from making our collective way up to Angel's Landing at the same time, much of it with room only for one. While beautiful, Zion is definitely not a place to expect any sort of solitude in the front country, much like Great Smoky Mountains, Yellowstone, or Yosemite.
While the hike was crowded and slow going (groups/masses of people wait to go up for the group/mass of people coming down in the thin areas with room for only one direction of travel at a time). It did give me some time to take some photos of the sheer drop to either side.
Later that day I attempted a hike up the Narrows, but it started to rain literally within the first minute of getting my feet in the Virgin River. I continued on, but then the sound of thunder and loads of people practically running out of the Narrows prompted me to turn around too. I decided to have dinner at a local restaurant (camp food wears thin after three, maybe four days). As I was shown to my seat I heard my name; it turns out my three European friends from Death Valley (the three I took to Mesquite Dunes) decided to have some coffee there, which meant I didn't have to eat alone. Nice.
Next day I left the park and went to a little canyon called Kanarra Canyon outside of the park. I was specifically looking to take a photo of the waterfall and ladder (below). I still need to do some work on it, but for now this will do.
It was a short hike in the canyon (the upper falls ladder was washed out in a flash flood earlier this year), but still plenty of fun. I drove back to Zion National Park and made my was back to the Narrows, and hiked to the furthest point that the Park wants you to without a permit. In both canyons there is just no way to avoid walking in the river - it is the "trail" and often fills the canyon from wall to wall. It was a lot of fun and well worth the effort! The photo below is from very early in the Narrows (first five minutes). Two hours or so later I made it to the Orderville Canyon junction. While there, some friendly people told me the barometer was dropping, so we all made as quick an exit from the Narrows as we could...about two hours of walking.
Cheers,
Marc
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