It is difficult to capture the depth of the slots we are walking, the trees seen in this photo are hundreds of years old and they work hard to get the sun and water they need to survive in these extreme conditions.
This morning after a nice hot breakfast we headed to the Sunrise overlook for the start of our 3 hour hike. The hike drops from the upper rim of the Sunrise trailhead to the bottom of this part of the canyon, winds through the Hoodoos and then climbs back a series of switch backs up to the Sunset overlook. We used two trails, the Queens Garden and Navajo and it was one of the best hike we have done to date. Well, maybe the one in Italy was a tie but that was a different type of hike. Today's hike was not a difficult hike, the trails are well trodden and marked so there is no chance to get lost. We did the two loops clockwise, as recommended and believe me, you get a work out. The last climb to the top is 600 feet of switchbacks. Good cardio for sure and we will be hitting the Ibuprofen for a day or two.
Hi Gary and Delys,
ReplyDeleteWe have been enjoying your recent posts, as we traveled to several of the same parks and did some of the same hikes in late October 2000.
We did this hike while there was a light, wet snow falling, but we went in the counter-clockwise direction. Little rivulets of water were running down the switchback trail as we were descending. It was a great hike.
Our most-memorable hike on that trip was Angel's Landing in Zion National Park. It was challenging, but it was a great hike, and we had a wonderful sense of accomplishment afterward. A few years later, when our son Erik and his wife did that same hike, they didn't believe we could have done it until we described the upper part of the hike to them.
Have fun on the rest of your trip. We'll look forward to the next time we see you, perhaps next August in Minnesota.
Best wishes,
Paul and Brenda Rasmussen
Hello Paul and Brenda, we are sitting Zion for the next week and the weather is improving after a system moved in last night. We will take the Angles landing and the Narrows while we are here. I am amazed at the beauty in this area. I also love it when people comment and give us advice, like yourself. I know there are several that watch our site but few comment, this s unfortunate because we love the feedback and hearing from all. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteDelys