Zion NP has some of the most spectacular trails in the National Park System and here visitors, walk on the canyon floor and look up, rather than looking down from the rim as in many parks! It's one of the most famous parks in the NPS and thus we woke up at like 4.30 to reach the place.
All this to still wait in line ...
.... for the shuttle, as the park doesn't allow drive in. We didn't even get the tickets - luckily for us, the COVID era ticketing system got removed just days before so FCFS it is.
The Narrows is the narrowest section of Zion Canyon. This gorge has walls more than two thousand feet tall and the river sometimes just twenty to thirty feet wide. Here the erosive power of sediment-laden water running at high velocity is demonstrated!
The Zion Canyon is carved by the North Fork of the Virgin River and hiking the narrows literally means hiking the virgin river, which is still carving the canyon. Geologists estimate that the Virgin River can cut another thousand feet (300 m) before it loses the ability to transport sediment to the Colorado River to the south
Starting the hike with some employer flex which no ones care about.
The chilled waters which make the hike in the hot weather a little pleasant is usually ankle of knee deep but can sometimes ...
.... reach upto the waist and make it challenging. Not to forget, that the area is highly susceptible to flash floods. Infact it happened just a few weeks after we were there.
The top layer of the Grand Canyon, Kaibab limestone, is the bottom layer of Zion National Park. Navajo Sandstone is the rock dominating Zion National Park. This massive formation is 1500 to 2000 feet thick and is characterized by its cross-bedding, because it developed from ancient sand dunes.
Gazing up at massive sandstone cliffs of cream, pink, and red that soar into a brilliant blue sky
Sporting our GT Alum t-shirts at the Narrows and celebrating 6 months of graduation!
Natural minerals embedded in the rocks, and minerals washed down from higher layers, as well as plant growth and mineral alteration on the rock faces, create the colors of Zion
A BIG thumbs up to the Narrows hike as one of the best hike I have done in my life, yet!
In softer rocks such as near Springdale the same river leaves wide valleys behind instead of towering canyons.
The views you're greeted with, as soon as you exit the famous Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel!
Onto a "dry" trail in the Zion now to finish the day!
Mount Carmel and its colorful arch-shaped midsection
Is this the same sand, these Navajo sandstone is made of?
A nice shaded alcove offers a bit of a break from the otherwise sun exposed path
At the end, we reached Canyon Overlook and were rewarded with broad unimpeded view to the west over Zion Canyon toward the Towers of the Virgin. To the right is a 7,709-foot summit known as the East Temple, which towers over Pine Creek Canyon
And believe it or not, for these views, we're actually standing over the 'Great Arch' of Zion which is second longest arch in the world measuring 287 feet.
Hitting yet another scenic road back to our base, Las Vegas
