BILL & CARYN'S BIG ADVENTURE OUT WEST 2012: WEDNESDAY, 10/3

WEDNESDAY, 10/3:

Were in Zion about 9:30. Not quite as clear & bright a day as yesterday, which also made it a little cooler.

Our plan was to do two fairly short, easy hikes today. The first one was the River Trail along the Virgin River. This particular trail follows an upper section of the river, along a fairly narrow canyon. It’s an absolutely lovely trail – about ¾ mile one way. The river is very, very clear, and filled with stones of all sizes, so it’s constantly making melodic stream sounds as it travels on its course.

But the river isn’t the only source of moisture in this dry land. There are lots of seeps and run-off’s in the canyon rock walls here, creating a lush oasis in the desert. There are all kinds of green plants, some wildflowers (although not many left now), even ferns! Lots of hanging gardens on the cliffs -

not terribly unlike Hawaii!

We took a long time enjoying this walk . . . the temperature was perfect – much cooler than yesterday, and of course took lots of pictures. And had fun watching the squirrels & chipmunks. They are so used to getting a free lunch from tourists, even though signs constantly exhort us not to feed the wildlife, that one started to bite my cotton backpack to get at some crackers he must have smelled.

The upper end of this trail stops at the river itself – to go any further, you need to actually get in the river and walk upstream. They call this “The Narrows,” because the Virgin River has carved a spectacular narrow gorge in the upper reaches of this canyon, before it widens downstream – at one point, the canyon walls are only 20 feet apart. The river actually cuts the rock straight downward here, not at a horizontal slope which is typical. Not much sunlight gets through there – so on a hot dry day, it probably feels heavenly! I didn’t get in the river itself, but close enough to take a couple of shots. It seems it would be a great hike – but, alas, not for us. It’s rated as “Strenuous” – I’m sure because of the constant rocks you need to navigate in the river. . Bill doesn’t need to tempt fate with his new knees, and I’m feeling the effects of a small blister I developed yesterday (due to wearing thin socks, no doubt.) Plus, at times, the “hike” can actually require swimming. But it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the hale & hardy!

There are conspicuous signs all about which warn of the danger of flash floods in the Narrows and what to be aware of if you’re hiking that part of the river.. It’s no joke – people have been killed. It’s difficult to imagine the beautiful, gentle, playful, benign river we see today as a merciless killer. But that was one of the themes in that Ranger book I read – that the very things in nature that bring us so much pleasure (scenic, mostly) can become deadly in an instant. She (the author) came to view nature as a totally indifferent, impersonal force. Which is kind of sad. As a Christian, I see the deadly side of nature as another result of a fallen world. Which is why I believe that when we experience moments of near perfection in nature, it’s a glimpse of the way things were originally created, and the way we will experience them once again in Heaven.

Well, by the time we walked back to the trailhead, my toe was pretty uncomfortable. I finally listened to Bill’s reasoning that we should forgo the second planned hike today, go into town and get something to eat (we were both pretty hungry by now), and give my foot a rest so that it would be able to heal by tomorrow.

So we caught the shuttle into Springdale (the next town west of where we’re staying – at the south entrance to the Park). Definitely a tourist town! This is where we originally tried to get RV reservations, but they were booked up. On the one hand, it would have been more convenient to stay here – no tunnel and curfews to deal with . . . but would be a lot noisier, a lot less “natural” feeling. At any rate, we found a burger place which someone suggested, and it had outdoor seating, so that’s what we settled on. I originally had my heart set on a Mexican place that I’d read about (“Bit & Spur”), but it didn’t open til 4 or 5, so it put us in danger of our tunnel turning into a pumpkin. Plus, was expensive. So we’ll wait to have good Mexican food on our return trip to Sedona.

Took the shuttle back into Zion, then to the Visitors Center where we’d parked our truck. And another sublime drive home. Unbelievable patterns in the rocks!