Page 22 - Adelante Magazine March 2021

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ZOOMING THROUGH ZION NATIONAL PARK

With the arrival of vaccines, we are going to see inter- different levels of difficulty, and certainly every hike
national travel get back to its regularly scheduled isn't for everyone. Perhaps the most famous hike is
programming very soon. However, many of us are still also the most challenging, which is called Angels
looking for ways to quell this desire for adventure in Landing. It starts off like a pretty normal but excep-
the meantime. This is why now is a better time than tionally beautiful hike, on a somewhat paved pathway
ever to visit the United States national parks and then it ends up at the top of a peek, where to
continue, you have to wind your way up this incredibly
During my own trip to the US national parks last narrow trail holding onto a chain as you go up. If you
August, every time I arrived at a new park, it was for let go of the chain and just take a step away, you will
that moment my favorite. However, I have to admit fall to your death. In fact, people have died doing this
that when I reflect on the experience, my favorite of all section of the hike, and there is even a sign where
would have to be Zion National Park in Utah. I think that section starts that says how many people have
that in general it was the most varied and the most died doing it. At latest count I think it is 10. Because of
beautiful, but it was also the most cumbersome. the Coronavirus, the park wasn’t allowing access to
Hopefully this article will help you navigate your way that portion of the trail, because you have to grab onto
to a great experience at Zion National Park. this chain and also you will be very close to other
people. My friend and I were bummed out that we
The first Anglo-European settlers, Mormon pioneers, didn't get to do that section because we were looking
arrived in the area in the late 1800s. They named the forward to it for days before.
area Zion, which is ancient Hebrew for sanctuary or
refuge. The name was believed to be a Paiute name However, when you get up to the spot where you can
meaning straight canyon. When we were there, there take a right and go to the really challenging small trail
was nothing straight about it. with a chain, you can alternatively go left, and there is
a fantastic trail that winds up to at the top of another
The thing that makes Zion a little challenging is that to peek where you get spectacular views of the valley,
get to the best trails, you can't really park your car and mountains, and Virgin River.
start hiking. Rather, you have to get a special Zion bus
ticket that will take you to drop off points to then start Near Angels Landing (in fact it shares a shuttle drop
your hiking, and you have to buy tickets in advance off location) are the different Emerald Pools trails.
for specific times during the day. The tickets are only There are three Emerald Pools: Upper, Middle, and
one dollar, and we actually bought an extra ticket for Lower in Zion National Park, and visitors may choose
a day that we didn't use, which wasn't a big deal. We the following trails: a short, 1.2-mile round-trip loop to
just parked in the visitor parking section, and then got the Lower Pool; a 2-mile round-trip visit to the Middle
on our shuttle bus to the different hikes that we took and Lower Pools; or a 2.5-mile round-trip hike to all
within Zion National Park. They have things very well three. These are moderate hikes, and they take you
organized. past pretty waterfalls.

Something that I liked better about Zion than the other By far, for me my favorite hike was the Narrows. The
parks, was that the hotels in the area can accom- hike starts with a paved trail that follows along side
modate a wider arrange of budgets and styles. There the Virgin River for about a mile. After that, you
are just so many options for great accommodations actually have to go into the river to hike the rest of the
as well as restaurants. One of my favorite moments way. So, you are literally hiking over river rocks in
was coming off of a very intense hike, and we got water that sometimes comes up to your chest. It is
back to the visitor center, and there is a really therefore recommended that you have water shoes
incredible microbrewery right there that sells delicious as well as a waterproof backpack or bag for your
food and beer. It was a hot day and I cannot camera and other items.
remember a beer tasting as good as I did at that
moment. Plus, the elk burger was off the chain. The best time to do this is on a very hot day and if the
water is very clear. On the day that we did it, it was
My very favorite thing about Zion however is just the about 100 degrees, but it had rained a few days
incredible beauty and the uniqueness of the hiking before, so the water wasn't very clear and we couldn't
experiences. I literally had the best hike of my life in see where we were stepping. This just added to the
Zion which I will go into later. The various hikes have challenge! After about four miles or so, we got to the

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