mancation

Last week a few friends and I went on a hiking trip to Zion National Park. Friday I met Doug and Ryan at the airport in Las Vegas and after a stop at In-n-Out we were on the road to Zion. We had the pleasure of being graced by the presence of Jeremy Iman who met up with us at our hotel in Springdale right outside the park. After having a snack and a couple local beers - particularly enjoyed the Polygamy Porter (with the slogan, "Why have just one?") - we saw a large deer/elk-like animal crossing the dark street. Three of us thought it was neat and went about our way. When Iman saw it, his natural reaction was to start chasing it. Luckily for him he didn't catch it, as it would have been painful to be on the business end of its substantial antlers.

Saturday morning Doug's friend Corey met us and we set out for the first hike, Angels Landing. This is a popular hike in ZNP but also claims the unofficial distinction as being the most deadly NPS hike in the U.S. Angels Landing looks like a giant 1,500 foot tall fin in the middle of a 3,000 foot canyon. The last half mile of the ascent is amazing as hiking ends and scrambling begins on the exposed spine, 1,500 feet above the floor. Fortunately the Civilian Conservation Corps installed chains to allow hikers to hold on to something, otherwise I wouldn't have made it. When I saw the spine, which sadly I couldn't adequately capture with a picture, I was nervous. Not that it was easy, but it didn't seem as bad as it looked. Focusing so much on footing for the next few steps made it easy to forget the bigger picture that one bad move and you are falling to the valley floor.

The next day we set out early in the morning to have the day's trail to ourselves. We drove to the north end of the valley and set out for Observation Point, which sits on the east rim. After a few hours, what seemed like one hundred switchbacks, an incident in which a few deer decided to run past Ryan and Doug on the four foot wide trail perched on the edge of a 2,000+ foot drop off, we made it to the top. The view was was so nice it looked fake and we had the rim all to ourselves for a good 20 minutes thanks to our early start. Not sure if it was the solitude or the varied terrain, but it was my favorite hike of the trip. Unfortunately, after the knee-killing hike back down Iman and Corey had to return to their homes and the real world.

Monday Doug, Ryan, and I woke up hoping the rain that had started when we finished Observation Point and lasted through the night had ended as we planned on spending our last day in the park hiking the Narrows, a river hike in the Virgin River. If there is too much rain rangers close the river to hikers due the risk of a flood. On our way in a ranger told us it was open but that "there were safer places to be". Luckily it didn't rain and we were fine. The water was around 45 degrees, so we had to rent dry pants, neoprene socks, and canyoneering shoes. An hour and a half into the hike we made it to Wall Street, an area where the canyon walls squeezes the river to only ten or fifteen feet wide with the walls towering 1000+ feet above. I've never done a river hike before, but it was surreal. First, we were hiking through the seemingly calm river that created the entire park over tens of thousands of years. Second, the windy river made it seem like we were in the world's largest maze as you could see straight up but only solid rock to the sides.

After a slice of bumbleberry pie, a Springdale specialty, we left Zion and headed to Vegas for a night of muted debauchery to close out the trip. We walked around the strip, went in to a few new hotels I hadn't seen, and had dinner at a place at Palazzo that claimed to be a restaurant/nightclub/bathhouse. It was a restaurant - the food was good - and a club, but sadly it wasn't an actual bathhouse. I tried my best to stay out all night, but a combination of a couple beers, sore muscles, and not a plethora of sleep the previous few mights led to a somewhat early night, for Vegas standards at least.

The next day we all had to go to the airport and the mancation came to a close. It was a great trip. The park was wonderful, it was great to spend time with good friends, several of us realized we are closet McGruder fans. Pretty outstanding. Pics