We left Nevada and quickly found our way to Zion National Park. Celine was shocked by the amount of development that had occurred in the small towns leading up to the park entrance since she was last there in 2008. It was my first time in Utah, but I was also definitely conscious of the new and shiny, yet somewhat sterile, feeling of large commercial investment. As we got closer and closer to the park entrance we realized that summer travel season was well and truly upon us. Signs for twenty dollar parking in what would otherwise be vacant land cropped up around the last mile and we started to feel more and more dread at what might be awaiting us inside the park. After we cleared the gate and scouted all the full campgrounds (because who doesn’t make their camping reservations six months in advance?) we slipped into a newly vacated parking spot and decided it was time to get away from the crowd. We hopped onto the first shuttle headed into the park and picked what looked like a good stop for an afternoon-long hike.
The stress of finding a campsite and not getting fleeced while trying to park quickly fell away as the shuttle moved up the valley and into the park. The bucolic river scenery in the bottom of the valley and the majestic and overwhelming cliff faces above trumped even Willie and, what I know thought of as, his Margaritas for setting the mood. We selected the Emerald Pools hike as a good afternoon candidate as it was still hot and the name was suggestive of shade and cool running water. The choice ended up being a good one.
The trail brought us along the edge of the Virgin river before following a tributary up the rock face and away from the valley floor. As you progress up the side path you encounter several small pools and a rather large waterfall before hitting the back of the side canyon the tributary follows. At that back there is a large bowl that towers hundreds of feet overhead and has a large pool at the base. This amphitheater looks to be perpetually shaded and is thickly inhabited with hanging moss, cliff birds, and a loud species of frog that has overrun the pool at the back wall. The frog’s call was incredibly loud and always a cacophony of every member in earshot. Celine and I thought we had encountered a lost troupe of howler monkeys that had somehow wandered into Southern Utah. But for the REI geared technocrats and somewhat too all-American Mormons we could have been back in Belize. Also our desert crooner and beverage of choice broke the illusion - rum is a prerequisite for the enlivening of the Caribbean mood.
As nice as the Emerald Pools hike was, it was still hot and swimming was restricted in these fragile areas of habitat. To close out or first day in Zion we hiked back down to the Virgin river and found ourselves a sunny swimming hole to rinse off the day and cool off from the sun. This done we shuttled back to the van and went hunting for our evening’s campsite. We knew it might be a challenge as everything so far had been sold out and reserved for months in advance. Our friend Kate, whom we had met earlier in the trip at Travertine hot springs had been trying to reserve us a spot at a private campground she had found earlier, but we had not had service in the park and her site had filled by the time we got back to her. We resolved to see her the next day and exited the East side of the park in search of a place to park for the night.
It was fairly late in the evening as we passed the far boundary of the Eastern edge of Zion and the first thing we ran into was a janky little private campground that had the good fortune to be right on the edge of the park. We registered and got dressed for what was to be our first night out in ten days, but alas the campground’s restaurant closed at 7pm. We consoled ourselves with some more of our desert crooner and made ample use of their limited on-site wifi. We planned a full day in Zion the following day and were concerned about finding parking, so we set our alarm and went to bed early. It occurred, however, that not all campers at the establishment had similar plans and general merriment was heard until at least 3 am.
Refreshed, and generally jubilant with tequila-head and a sharp lack of caffeine, we drove back into the park before the first scheduled shuttle. With parking thus secured we made breakfast and performed the niceties required to meet up with our guest! Caffination was performed, and doubled. Kate met us around 8:30 am and we took the shuttle back to the end of the line to access the Narrows.
The Narrows is a winding canyon hike which runs about 8 miles back into the hills and is almost in its entirety sheer cliff walls on both side with the river at the bottom. You slosh and wade your way through the water while waiting for each twist and turn in the canyon to reveal what’s next. It is dramatically beautiful and, even first thing in the morning before the sun makes it very pleasant, full of people. We hiked for about four hours, picnicking in the middle for lunch, before returning to the shuttle.
We began to make our goodbyes with Kate in the parking lot, but discovered that no one had been that satisfied with their packed lunch and everyone was quite parched. We walked across the foot bridge out of the park and into the small town of Springdale which borders the South. Kate had seen a local brewery on the river front immediately across the pedestrian foot bridge. We used this as an excuse to squeeze a few more hours of companionship from each other and, for Celine and I, to have our first restaurant food in almost 2 weeks. Unfortunately, the food and the beer were nothing to write home about. And we learned a few things about Utah’s liquor laws that dissuaded us from partaking in anymore tap beer before leaving the state. From our understanding - or at least our friendly tavern table neighbor’s understanding - tap beer was not to exceed 4% abv!
We’d have liked to give the Zion Brewery a fair shake at a beer review, but the great state of Utah had interceded itself into our dealings and no such thing was possible. But, given the brewery’s river and park front location I’m not sure they’ll be sweating too much about their loss. They should have a captive and complacent audience for the foreseeable future.
A stomach ache and a full bladder later we made our farewells with Kate again and exited Zion to begin our trek towards Bryce!
