The hike out is all uphill, not steep, but consistent. I can feel my stamina building, I make it back to the top pretty quickly and I’m not really tired. Personal growth, physical or otherwise is always a reason to celebrate, or at least take conscious note of.
I read that Bryce Canyon is one of the darkest places in America so around 1 am I drive out to Sunset Point to have a look. What I see…..is nothing. Thousands of stars are the only points of light for miles. I look out over the canyon…..not one light, not one sign of civilization from where I stand all the way to the horizon I can barely make out……darkness. It’s like standing in outer space.
On my drive back out of the park the animals know the crowds have departed for the day and its safe to emerge from their hiding places. Dozens of mule deer, springbok, and antelope show themselves on both side of the road. It’s probably another nightly routine for them, just like the deer in Capitol Reef. They’re just like me, trying to avoid the crowds in order to pursue their own personal desires. I have more in common with animals than I do with people, and I like the animals better. They're more relatable.
Bryce Canyon is a beautiful landscape, but I’ve seen what there is to see, I’ve turned 31 and now it’s time to head to a new park, one that I’ve heard a lot about and am excited to experience……Zion National Park.
Upon my arrival my intention is to stop at the local post office. My Mom has sent me some packages, but the sign on the door says closed. Apparently it’s Memorial Day and the park is a zoo. I don’t even try to get back in today so I spend the rest of my daylight hours walking around town looking for a place to watch tonights hockey game. It’s here that I discover hotel lobbies to be a great place to cool off in the A/C, rest up, and read in relative comfort. No one hassles me because they have no way of knowing I’m not a guest of the hotel. I’m thinking exactly this when I notice a sign advertising the free continental breakfast in the morning…..and a plan begins to form.
The next morning I show up at the same Hotel during the designated breakfast hours. I walk in the front door all nonchalant and head for the bathroom in the lobby. I don't have to go, but it's down the hallway a bit towards the elevators. I’m hoping when I come out, it’ll look like I came from my “room” on one of the upper levels so that no one will hassle me at the breakfast buffet. It turns out that I needn't worry, the hotel staff actually help me operate the waffle iron and I’m in heaven. I fill up my plate with bacon, french toast sticks, OJ, milk, mini omelets, english muffins, coffee, plus that waffle they helped me make, and it’s all free! After I’m stuffed to capacity, I waddle back to the jeep thinking, “Ill be doing this again,” and head to the post office to retrieve my packages. When I do they are full of snacks and a new load of books. I take stock and then get excited to start exploring Zion National Park.
I anchor the jeep in a desert of parking lot at the park's entrance. No cars allowed INSIDE the Park itself, I must navigate the bus system. It’s pretty simple….slow, but effective. I ride as deep as I can into Zion so I can do the the trail all the way at the back called The Narrows. It leads me up the Virgin River and deep into the canyon where, you guessed it, it narrows until I can't help but walk in the river. Near vertical rock faces on either side that have to be over 100 feet high. Hanging gardens in fissures and crevices with rocks weeping from the rain water dripping from above. A significant drop in temperate finishes off the scene and I take it all in. It’a a poplar trail so there’s more people than I’d like, but I still get the feeling of really being “in it” or “out there”. The landscape feels imposing, imprisoning almost. Isolation, that’s the word I'm looking for. It’s very isolating, after the long bus ride down the park’s winding main road, and now the cliffs always looming, I’ve got no sense of direction, I'm disoriented. I wait till the last of the hikers in front of me disappear around the next bend in the river and really try to feel all alone out here. It’s wild but short lived as more people hike passed from deeper in the canyon. Still a unique experience that I would recommend to anyone. It’s an awful flat hike, but your feet will get wet. Mind the weather, flash floods are no joke.
I find the local library, giant bean bag chairs are a plus, watch the hawks game at Jacks Sports Bar. Jack’s is a pretty nice joint, and I get to sit outside with views of the zion canyon while I watch the hawks avoid elimination. I pass out in the jeep at the Park and Ride just down the road from the park.
No comments:
Post a Comment