Sanctuary in Zion

Rising in Utah's high plateau country, the Virgin River carves its way to the desert below through a gorge so deep and so narrow that sunlight rarely penetrates to the bottom. As the canyon widens, the river runs a gauntlet of great palisade walls rimmed with slickrock peaks and hanging valleys. The scale is immense - sheer cliffs dropping 3,000 feet, massive buttresses, deep alcoves. 19th century Mormon pioneers saw these sculptured rocks as the "natural temples of God." They called the canyon Little Zion after the celestial city.

A million years of flowing water has cut through the red and white beds of Navajo sandstone that form the sheer walls of Zion. Unlike the Grand Canyon where you stand on the rim and look out, Zion Canyon is usually viewed from the bottom looking up. Streamside on the canyon floor grow thick stands of Fremont Cottonwood, boxelder, willow and a short distance away cactus thorny mesquite trees. Vegetation changes rapidly as the terrain rises almost a mile in elevation. The high plateaus support Douglas-fir and blue spruce.

After setting our base camp we set out each day to ride the shuttle. It is mandatory beyond the canyon junction to head through the mile long tunnel through the mountain. The Zion Human History Museum showcases that humans have lived in this area for thousands of years. They had hunted mammoths, camels and other mammals. After climate changes, disease and overhunting these animals died out 8,000 years ago. Ancestral Puebloans, then Southern Paiute people lived here. Western expansion eventually brought new settlers - in the 1860's early Mormon pioneers came and built small communities and farmed the river terraces. Through hard work and faith they endured a landscape where flash floods destroyed towns and drought burned crops. The same threats exist today. But Zion daily draws new explorers to experience the beauty and the sanctuary of this place that countless generations have considered home.

The Paiute called this place "Makuntuweep" which means land standing up. In 1909, this area was designated Mununtuweep National Monument. It became a National Park in 1916. We hiked through the Riverside Trail at Temple of Zinawava and then barefoot a ways through The Narrows. This place is so captivating, looking up the sides of the sandstone. Richly colored and mostly smoothed by the force of the river. There was the "Probability" of a Flash Flood, so we paid close attention to the weather around us. There were many others also hiking through and they were better prepared with sturdy waterproof booties and Neoprene socks. We would return here in two days to do a deeper trek though The Narrows.

Then we departed at various shuttle stops and did several smaller hikes. Weeping Rock is a moist rock face with a large overhang. Silver water droplets catch and reflect the sun's rays as they descend. Rain and snow melt soaks slowly through the more permeable layers of sandstone and are filtered as they pass. When they reach the impenetrable layers in the rock they are forced to change course laterally and end up "weeping" out of the side of the sandstone. This process can take 1,200 years. Maidenhair ferns, yellow and orange columbines and more grow in tiny rock crevices. The dry dusty earth is just a few feet away.

We hiked from The Grotto down Kayenta Trail to the Emerald Pools. This trail followed the opposite side of the river from the main road and offered stunning views. It was a fairly easy climb over 2.5 miles. After that we hopped back on the shuttle at the Zion Lodge stop. When we exited the shuttle at the Visitors Center we decided to also do the Watchman Trail which is a bit more moderate 2.7 miles but offered over views of our campsite from the other ridge, the Virgin river below and Watchman mountains craggy top overlooking the town of Springdale. (Avg time to do this leg is 2.7 hours and we did it in one hour and 40 minutes at the end of a long day!)

I was tempted to just cross the river as we could see our campsite from the edge of the trail but we followed the main path. Though each day I did end up in the river to cool off. It has a nice shallow and soft sandy bottom here. There were even a few fishes swimming in circles around my legs. Yesterday we headed back up and into The Narrows, better prepared with sneakers designated, and our walking poles. The water usually wasn't more than knee deep so we were able to keep dry. You had to "read" the river. There were some chest deep pools that a group of "scouts" were frolicking in. Again we were captivated by the beauty of this area. Bob could not get enough of it! We stopped on the way back to take in the Court of Patriarchs with views of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob peaks, Mount Moroni and The Sentinel. By 4 pm we were back at camp in time for Happy Hour and to put our feet up! It was nice to see a tent share our site for the night. Two friends, Kelcy and Brekyn had come this way from Ogden, and by 9 or 10 this morning there were no sites left. They were celebrating Brekyn's 18th birthday. We were happy to share.

"Going Places With Smiling Faces"