Overzealous In Zion
Place: Zion National Park
State: Utah
Closest Cities: Kanab, UT, Saint George, UT
Time of Year: March 2024
How we got there: Road Trip
I would bet that most Americans have Zion National Park on their list of places to see and we were definitely one of them! Cesar and I had visited Zion once before when our boys were young. As most families with young children, we were there to sightsee and not to hike! Earlier this year when my sister in law Stephanie told me that her and my brother wanted to see Antelope Canyon, I hijacked their trip and planned a week long road trip to 3 national parks and some other amazing places in Utah. I mean why get so close to Zion and not go?? Marc and Stephanie can hang with my overzealous itinerates so they were the perfect couple to accompany us on some incredible hikes like Angel’s Landing and The Narrows!
Here is how we spent two days in Zion during our 9 day road trip. We had already been on the road for 6 days and had hiked countless miles all over southeastern Utah. More about that in another post! I decided to book us an Airbnb in Orderville, UT instead of Springdale, UT where most visitors stay when exploring Zion. I wanted to be between Bryce Canyon NP and Page, AZ where we would be headed next. It turned out to be great! Our little house was close to a grocery store, gas and a few restaurants. I loved the stone heart hanging near the driveway!
We had two hikes on our bucket list and one of them needed a permit! Of course we planned this trip last minute so we had missed getting in the seasonal lottery so our only chance was to enter the daily lottery. How hard can that be right? There were 4 of us and we each entered the lottery 2 days in a row with 3 time slots chosen. That would be 12 chances each day with a total of 24 chances. How could we not get just one permit? Each day at 4pm we all check our emails to see if we had one and each day our hopes were shattered! Not one of us got a permit. You can try your luck here: https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/angels-landing-hiking-permits.htm
Day 1 Angel’s Landing
Permitless, but still eager to hike at least up to Scouts Lookout we got up early the next morning and drove the 40 minutes to Zion Visitor’s Center to get parking and catch the shuttle bus. You can only drive parts of Zion either from Springdale or from Orderville/Mt Carmel Junction. Once you reach the visitor’s center you must park and take the shuttle unless you are staying in the lodge or campground. The shuttle takes you to all the great hiking spots and the parking lot at the visitor’s center is completely full by 7:30am. I’m glad we knew this in advance and arrived early enough to get on the first shuttle of the day. If staying in Springdale, there are public busses that can take you to the visitor’s center to catch the shuttle.
As we were waiting in line to board the shuttle, we struck up a conversation with a group of 3 guys who happen to have a permit for Angel’s Landing. And what do you know, they had 3 stops open on their permit and were willing to share! Stephanie did not want to climb Angel’s Landing so it was just my brother Marc, Cesar and I! How perfect was that?! On the ride to The Grotto(shuttle stop #6) we got to know our new best friends just in case there were questions at the permit check! I also had to get my mind focused on the fact that we would be climbing this iconic trail shortly!
At the Grotto, we started our hike up the West Rim Trail which begins across the street from the shuttle stop and over the little bridge. Once we crossed the bridge, we took the trail to the right and soon were headed up the first set of switchbacks!
This trail starts gaining elevation right away but before long we were in Refrigerator Canyon where it levels out a little. There are signs saying that this is a quite zone due to the owls in the area. We were hiking in late March so it was still pretty chilly but I can imagine how hot it must get in the summer months and how great this section must feel as it offers some shade along the route. This was a good respite because Walter’s Wiggles was next! Here is a stock photo to show you these crazy switchbacks! It looks amazing from this angle!
Here is one of our own photos and a video of Walter’s Wiggle from our own perspective:
At the top of Walter’s Wiggles, you get your first real view of Angel’s Landing! Doesn’t look so bad does it?! These are the awesome guys who shared their permit and the sign warning us of the dangers that lie ahead!
From this spot, you can either go up Angel’s Landing with your permit(there is a ranger checking) or you can take the trail to Scout Overlook. Stephanie took the trail to Scout Overlook. We thought it would be a good idea to make a pit stop before attempting this dangerous feat. So glad we did or we would have missed this strange contraption! A conveyor belt toilet with pedal flush!
The time had come! We were headed up the chains! I made sure to make 3 points of contact at all times and I was sandwiched between my brother ahead of me and Cesar behind me! There are sections where the chains disappeared for a few feet but I just stayed low and steady and kept my eyes straight in front of me. Please note that the videos Cesar captured were done with a mount on his backpack as he had to keep both hands free for climbing and hanging on for dear life!
Tunnel vision is what got me through! The drops on either side were over 1000ft! I would have lost it if I looked over the side!
This scares me just watching the videos!!
There were a few times where we thought we had reached the top just to find out we had to go higher! At the top, the chains completely abandoned us and we were left to walk across the stone with no moral support! I found it hard to stand straight up at first, feeling more stable hunched over! We walked along the spine that was slopped on either side and found a lone tree with roots like arms holding itself in place!
What heart stopping views all around! For me, the hardest thing to look at was the road below! It really put things in perspective! As we were preparing for the climb down we passed a man trying to calm his partner who was hysterical. Not sure how she made it up there but she was now realizing that she had to climb down! Since we started our hike early, we did not have to share the narrow trail with descending hikers. Now we would be going down at the same time people were coming up. We were very careful making sure to wait on the climbers coming up before attempting a difficult section.
We stopped and took pictures at a few more spots as we waited for climbers to pass. There were early signs of spring on the cliffside!
This is the point I realized I was almost down!
The descend wasn’t as scary as I had imagined and it was pretty quick!! What an amazing feeling to check this off my list! Incredible! On the rest of the hike back down Walter’s Wiggles we noticed how many people where headed up the trail. Late starters! Now, not all of them would be climbing Angel’s Landing as the number of people each day is limited, but it was still a reminder that the early bird gets the worm!
When we arrived back at the bridge, we decided to knock out one more small hike while we were here. The Emerald Pools Trail continued on to the left at the bridge. It is a steady incline and the waterfalls were pretty however there were just too many people on that trail for my liking! We quickly saw the views, took some photos and we were out of there!
After the Emerald Pools, we jumped back on the crowded shuttle to get our car and head to Springdale to pick up our gear for the next day’s adventure! The Narrows! Because it was early Spring, we needed wet gear to hike The Narrows and we rented it all from Zion Adventures https://www.zionadventures.com/rent-narrows-equipment.html. Our package included dry bibs, neoprene socks, boots and a wooden hiking stick. They were nice enough to let us pick everything up the night before so that we could arrive early to the visitor’s center to most importantly, get a parking spot and to catch the first shuttle of the day.
Day 2 The Narrows!
For the second day in a row, we were on the shuttle bus bright and early but this time all decked out in our wet gear! Do we look like the cast of Star Trek?! Can you see the excitement in our faces?!!
The last stop on the shuttle route is Temple of Sinawava and this is where the trail to The Narrows starts. After a quick potty break (there are no restrooms in The Narrows) we were ready for a day of adventure! There is a short one mile paved trail called the River Walk that takes you to the gateway to The Narrows. On the way, we got a tutorial from a couple of deer on how to walk gracefully through the river.
Our hike today would be from the bottom up so we would be hiking against the flow of the river and let me tell you, we were not that graceful! Here is a map of the area:
Right away the canyon walls rose up on either side of us as we entered the river through the gateway. There is not much time to practice walking on river rock through flowing ankle high water. Our balance was tested as we slowly started our journey. The wooden walking stick was definitely a must and I was so grateful for the dry bibs as the water was pretty cold!
Not even a half hour in, the water got deeper and deeper and soon it reached our chests. It was the strangest feeling as all the air was sucked out of our dry bibs like we were in one of those food saver zip lock bags! Backpacks had to come off and be held over our heads to avoid getting wet.
This is an experience like no other! What a vulnerable spot to be in if a flash flood came through! That’s a scary thought! We ended up hiking 3.5 miles up the river and I have to say it was hard work. Some places more challenging than others. We came across just a few spots where you could hike on “dry land” . This meant scrambling over boulders and river rock.
When we reached our turn around spot, we refueled with the charcuterie lunch I packed the night before. It sure was yummy!
The trip back seemed to go a lot quicker! By this time, we were a little more comfortable on our feet and we moved faster with the flow of the river. At times we were laughing so much we could hardly control ourselves! Marc entertained us with his antics pretty much the whole way back. He apparently needed a larger hiking stick!
As we neared the exit point, the crowds started to get thick. There is no permit needed to hike The Narrows so no way to control the amount of people who attempt it. The further in you go the less people you see though. We stopped one last time to get a few more photos before our amazing hike through the river ended. What incredible views the whole way! The canyon just towered above us at every turn.
This was certainly the most unique hike we have ever done! Once we got back to the shuttle stop we were so happy to remove our wet boots and neoprene socks and slip on our warm socks and sandals! And I will have you know that the clothing we wore under the bibs was completely dry!
We got back to the car, dropped off our gear in Springdale and stopped for our national park sign photo.
There was one last stop I wanted to make. The Canyon Overlook Trail. We had passed the parking lot for the trailhead when we arrived through the east entrance on Mt. Carmel Rd every morning. There are only a few parking spots and if they are full, which they usually are in the late afternoon, then you have to just keep going. I was crossing my fingers that we would get a spot. The day before we had no such luck! But as luck has it, there was a car pulling out of a spot just as we arrived!
Canyon Overlook is a one mile trail with a spectacular view!
A mountain goat was out hunting for dinner!
There is even a little bridge and cave on the trail.
On the drive out of the park we got a quick glimpse of Checkerboard Mesa!
Well, there you have it! Overzealous or not it was one amazing trip to Zion! Hope you too get a chance to enjoy it!! Please remember to hike responsibly and leave no trace!
