taychellewis May 10, 2018
When we left the Grand Canyon, we caught a nice sunrise!
Horseshoe Bend National Monument was on our way to Zion National Park, so we stopped there. So did 200 touring Asians. Sometimes I’m not sure if we’re in China or the U.S., really. The bend was cool though! And it was already 90 degrees at 9:00. What a refreshing day to look forward to (not, it was really hot).
We think Zion Canyon may be our favorite national park so far, right behind Yosemite. The towering canyon walls are incredible, and there are trees next to the North Fork Virgin River to contrast with them.
We set up camp around lunchtime and got going on some trails. The guide divides trails into easy, moderate, and strenuous, and we did two easy and two moderate hikes. I’m pretty proud of us considering the temperature and being pregnant! Our first trails were Lower Emerald Pools, Upper Emerald Pools, and the Kayenta Trail. There were some dripping springs which are usually big waterfalls, but weren’t full yet.
When attempting the Upper trail, we followed what looked like the trail for about ten minutes and then couldn’t figure out where to go next. A young couple wandered out of the woods above us and said they had no idea where they were going, and then soon disappeared again. They were helpful. We turned around and made our way back to the real path, back to people staring at my belly. (This happens non-stop.)
After those hikes, our reward was to take our boots off and wade in the river for a bit. But not for long! These hikers never rest. Off to our last hike, Riverside Walk/The Narrows.
Riverside Walk is an easy, paved pathway along the river. There are many, many people on this route, even wheelchairs! Grandmommy, you could come along next time. Once the trail ends, that’s when the Narrows begins. It’s a 9.5-mile, 8-hour round-trip hike through the river, with parts so deep you have to swim through to continue. We only went on for a short bit, but it was enough to get water up to our knees, fill our hiking boots with water and tire out our ankles. There was a sweet older couple doing the same thing who seemed to take this young preggo under their wing and make sure I was doing okay. It seems that 95% of people will stare at my belly, and the other 5% are very kind and friendly older women who say something encouraging to me. Thank you, nice older women!
We’d like to do the whole thing next time we visit, because the canyon walls get tighter and tighter and it seems like a fun hike to do. It’s in the “strenuous” category. Anyone want to come with us?
We were beat after that, as you can imagine, so we went to our campsite, changed shoes, and decided to treat ourselves to burgers and fries in the town for dinner. We cleaned our plates! The bartender told us about his 15-year-old daughter who kissed her chess-playing boyfriend. Soon we left and went to bed. It’s easy to sleep in the heat and noise from other campers when you’re this tired.
