Zion: A three-year tradition

Yes, I have been very slow going through all the photos from this year's vacation. How did it get to be late November and I'm still going through pictures from May, I don't know. Anyway, so lets get back to that, shall we?

At the end of our trip, we opted to tack on a small detour to Zion, but first we had to drive there which can be quite pretty:

 Vermillion Cliffs

Glen Canyon Bridge & Dam

Surprisingly, after four days in the Grand Canyon and the hiking intensity, we were amazed at how another 5 mile hike with a 1400+ ft elevation change felt good rather than painful. On our first trip to Zion, Mike and I had to work up to the Angel's Landing hike and last year's trip we tried the Observation Point trail in Zion. Since it was a first trip to Zion for both our dads, we opted for the Angel's Landing hike again. Rather than talk about it, I'll just share some photos and a timelapse from the top:

 Walter's Wiggles

 Looking up to Angel's Landing

 Climbing Chains

Zion Timelapse 20120527 from Katrina Kouba on Vimeo.

Next: Kolob Canyons, Zion National Park

This is a series on our 2012 trip. In case you missed them, here are my previous posts:

• Final Day in the Grand Canyon
• Little Oases in the Grand Canyon - Day 3
• The Sky In the Grand Canyon - Phantom Ranch Part 2
• Rockin' the Bottom - Phantom Ranch Part 1
• Trekking the South Kaibab Trail into the Grand Canyon
• Petroglyph National Monument and the Painted Desert

All photos copyright Katrina Kouba Boles

Little Oases on the Route to the Top - Grand Canyon Day 3

So, it's been a while getting back to organizing and just looking at all my vacation photos, but of course it's so wonderful to look back and marvel at how impressive that place is - not that these photos come anywhere near capturing it. For the last two days in the canyon I opted to hike more comfortably, which meant all photos were taken on my phone so that I didn't have to deal with trying to find a way to carry my DSLR comfortably - there is no way, I've decided.

There are two really wonderful things about coming out of the canyon via the Bright Angel Trail over two days: one, the first day is not nearly as steep, and two, the trail often is alongside the creek which provides little oases as relief from the heat and sun. So at the end of the hike, dropping the bulk of our gear at our campsite, we get to make the extra 1.5 mile hike out to Plateau Point for the sunset.

 The guys crossing the creek

 View of battleship rock (I think) from Bright Angel Trail

 From whence we came - Bright Angel Trail etched into the canyon

(Unfortunately the puzzle images I took at Plateau were mostly blurry and the timelapse also didn't work, so the only puzzle I got was with my phone and the colors were all off so I got rid of the color and now I like it.

Next Up: Coming Out of the Canyon On the Last Day

This is a series on our 2012 trip. In case you missed them, here are my previous posts:

• The Sky In the Grand Canyon - Phantom Ranch Part 2
• Rockin' the Bottom - Phantom Ranch Part 1
• Trekking the South Kaibab Trail into the Grand Canyon
• Petroglyph National Monument and the Painted Desert

All photos copyright Katrina Kouba Boles

The Sky in the Grand Canyon: Phantom Ranch Part 2

We were hot by the time we got back to Phantom, where we went inside to eat our sack lunches, drank some lemonade and enjoyed the fans. By mid-afternoon it was announced that due to the water breaks they would be turning off the electricity, so we went out to enjoy the creek. I had hoped to get down to the beach - I was going to jump in fully clothed killing two birds with one stone - but it was so hot that no one would walk all that way with me. Plus, with the water break washing out the trail to the beach, there was no guarantee we wouldn't have to go all the way around. So, we found our little corner of the creek, soaked our feet, legs, etc.

I washed off my pants and tried to help the newly formed rashes on my lower legs from getting too bad - the red dust must have some microorganisms to which I'm allergic in it and that dust blew right through my pants, settling on my lower legs. Then I removed my shirt and washed that out too. Boy was it cold putting that back on! It's hard to believe that I was shivering for a bit in 110+ degree weather. (Someone said they saw the thermostat hit 122.)

 Bright Angel Creek

 Footbridge crossing Bright Angel Creek

But here's the really incredible part: the clouds seem so much clearer, the sky almost smaller than it is back home, but gorgeous and worthy of better timelapses than my feeble attempts. Trying to get a sense of it? Watch my HD timelapse video on Vimeo:



Now that I've done this twice I can say with absolute certainty: If I do this again, I will only do it if I get a day at the bottom. Relaxation and recovery in addition to actually getting to enjoy being inside of the canyon make for happier hikers on the mandatory climb out of the canyon!

 HDR - Colorado River facing West from the Silver Footbridge

 Surreal HDR image of Bright Angel Creek

Next up: Hiking Bright Angel Trail to Indian Gardens and Sunset at Plateau Point

This is a series on our 2012 trip. In case you missed them, here are my previous posts:

• Rockin' the Bottom - Phantom Ranch Part 1
• Trekking the South Kaibab Trail into the Grand Canyon
• Petroglyph National Monument and the Painted Desert

All photos copyright Katrina Kouba Boles

Rockin' the Bottom: Phantom Ranch Part 1

sunburst on Battleship rock in "The Box," North Kaibab Trail

The Grand Canyon... what an awesome place! Backpacking it makes you forget all the troubles and worries of the working world, allowing you to dwell in the moment (particularly on your aching legs and sore knees). Fortunately, when you spend a day at the bottom, you get to enjoy a little of it's splendor without the constrains of carrying all your belongings and mentally reminding yourself over and over "you can do it".

So what exactly is it like at the bottom of the canyon? Rightly, I can't honestly describe it and my pictures/video don't do it justice. That does not mean I did not try to capture it as you will soon see, it just means that no camera can put you there... in that immense space that strangely feels so small, with towering peaks deceiving your well-tuned depth perception, particularly when you realize you can't even see the rim from which you came.

With what did we fill our day at the bottom? We had breakfast at Phantom Ranch. Then, leaving most of our belongings at our campsite, we did a morning walk about 1.5 miles through "the box" on the North Kaibab Trail. Compared to the day before, it was a flat hike that followed the Bright Angel Creek. It's recommended that you make your way through the box before mid-day as the towering walls of the canyon are like an oven that gradually heats during the day and is stiflingly hot from afternoon through evening. Headed North it was mostly shady and we turned back when it looked like shade would be hard to find up ahead.

 testing my slow shutter on the Bright Angel Creek

 (Once I figure out how, I will add a button to enable buying prints of these puzzle/collage photos via Fotomoto)

2 photos morphed together and made HDR

 having fun with HDR and layering photos, created in Photoshop

Up Next: The Sky in the Grand Canyon - Phantom Ranch Part 2

This is a series on our 2012 trip. In case you missed them, here are my previous posts:

• Trekking the South Kaibab Trail into the Grand Canyon
• Petroglyph National Monument and the Painted Desert

All photos copyright Katrina Kouba Boles

The Grand Canyon, Going Down is Optional

The guys admiring the view at Ooh Aah Point - seriously I didn't pose them 

and I didn't name the location either

Our descent into the Grand Canyon via the South Kaibab Trail was... well... let's just call it rough. Lest this be misconstrued as complaining, I'll start off by saying that it's all totally worth it! Exhibit A:

You can actually see where we took the picture of all of us in this collage - that hump on the second picture from the left is the same hump in the background of the previous picture.

The South Kaibab trail is not for the faint of heart. It's hot. The blistery wind whips up the red dust and brushes it like sandpaper against your skin. Almost no shade and no water add to the delights of the almost constant decline of the path. I took precautions for all of these things: carrying at least 4 liters of water, wearing long pants, long-sleeve shirt, and bandana around the neck to safeguard my face through the dust storms, and training by hiking the 9 story parking garage for weeks before the inevitable. However, the almost constant strain on my knees (I wore braces the whole time) and constantly tightening my boots to prevent my toes slipping into the front of my boots over and over again, coupled with my own problem of not drinking quite enough - the bathrooms are too far apart - made it my least favorite day. The phrase "it's all uphill from here" really fit for me.

 A Century Plant (only blooms once just before it dies) 

I literally had my arms raised all the way as I was standing on a rock to get this picture

 I don't know how tall these things get, but this one was easily 2X my height. Fortunately it was bending over so I could get under it to take this photo.

Fortunately, amazing views the whole route and the exciting prospect of a wonderful stew meal at the bottom got me through. (Last time we did this - six years ago - the hike down wasn't so bad, except for the last mile that Mike and I ran - yes literally ran with a 30-40 lb backpack - to get to the ranch in time for dinner, but the struggle getting out was so much worse for me as a result. Also, it actually rained on us in 2006 and the cloud cover made it more bearable.) At any rate, we did this trail in record time - for us - with my dad always the first to get our butts moving after a break, and an overwhelming urge to get out of the heat, I think it only took us like 5-6 hours!

Not quite a 360 ° panorama (click on the image to enlarge it)

The fact that we made it to the campground in the early afternoon turned out to be a really REALLY good thing. We were too late for the best campsites, but we got there before the second break in the water line washed away a good portion of the trail. Had we arrived later, we would've had to backtrack and come around a different - longer - way. The breaks in the water line did affect us. Those who were staying at the ranch were more inconvenienced in that their promised showers were taken away. As it was, there was only one place to get fresh drinking water and all flush toilets required carrying a bucket full of creek water into the restroom with you and pouring that into the toilet to get it to flush.

 Our first view of the Colorado River - probably a little more than half-way to the bottom!

All meals were still served and fun was still had. After a delicious stew meal where we met new friends and shared tales of journeys had and yet to have, we went to a ranger talk about the geology of grand canyon - Grand Canyon ROCKS! - and then attempted to sleep in our hot tents as the wind pushed the dust through the screens. Those who did get to sleep woke up covered in a thin layer of red sand. I, however, was glad to have a view of the moon and stars as I lay awake wondering if it would ever cool off enough to get to sleep.

Next up: A Day at the Bottom!

This is a series on our 2012 trip. In case you missed it, here is my first post:

• Petroglyph National Monument and the Painted Desert

All photos copyright Katrina Kouba Boles

Bryce Canyon, NP, Utah

After taking the Observation Point trail too quickly on our way back to camp the day before, hiking in Bryce Canyon was a challenge. But here's the thing: typically I like to hike up first and down on the way back, but when you're hiking into a canyon it just doesn't work that way. Yet, after such a hike, it was painful hiking into the Bryce amphitheater (it's not really a canyon), and coming out was much much easier!

We've finally learned our lesson about paying for more than one day at a campsite, and though we'd planned to spend two nights in Bryce, we paid only for one in case we changed our minds - which we did. Anyway, after we found the spot we wanted at the sunset campground, we walked up to catch the bus out to Bryce Point.

 Bryce Point, Elevation 8300 ft

The plan was to take the Peek-a-Boo trail to the Navajo trail and come out through wall street at the sunset point parking lot. The Peek-a-Boo trail took us down into the amphitheater, through arches and switchbacks.

As we descended, there were numerous panoramic moments.

Once we were at the bottom, most views were hindered by trees and "dead" hoodoos. However, wall street (two really tall fins that haven't yet eroded into arches or hoodoos) was pretty cool.

We were lucky I guess. Last year we hiked the Navajo to the Queen's Garden loop, and since the wall street side of Navajo was closed, we went down the thors hammer side. This year, the opposite was true: thors hammer was closed so we got to do the wall street side. Amazingly, I made it up the 20+ switchbacks out of wall street with only one short stop in the middle. I guess I was pacing myself and had gained some muscle endurance on all our other hikes this trip.

The next morning we got up early to see the sunrise from sunrise point. 

Though we should've been prepared, we didn't expect it to be as cold as it was. One hour of waiting and watching, then we packed up our campsite and drove to see the south end of the park before heading to Colorado.

Here marks the end of our national parks tour for this trip. We loved the beautiful sights we got to enjoy and I've really had fun making all the collaged photos and little planets. The last days of our trip were spent driving and a two-day stopover in Boulder, CO. There, we relaxed, went to a movie, and I spent some time in the Butterfly Pavilion, which was awesome! So, stay tuned...

Photos copyright Katrina Kouba Boles

This is a series on our 2011 trip. Here are the previous posts:

• Hiking to Observation Point, Zion NP
• Zion NP
• Grand Teton NP
• Sunrise at Yellowstone NP
• Day 4 in Yellowstone NP
• Day 3 in Yellowstone NP
• Day 2 in Yellowstone NP
• Day 1 in Yellowstone NP
• Devils Tower and Little Planets
• Hiking in the Black Hills AKA Custer State Park

Hiking to Observation Point, Zion NP, Utah

While last year we really loved hiking to Angel's Landing, we decided with only one full day in Zion, that perhaps we ought to do another trail with spectacular vista views. Of course, we opted for a harder trail than last year.

Sidenote: last year Zion was one of the last parks we visited, knowing that we'd want to attempt the nearly 5-mile and 1488 ft ascension to the peak, and worked up our stamina to be able to do it. I guess I figured since we managed the 7-mile and 1100 ft ascension at Harney Peak merely days before, that we'd be fine doing a harder and longer trail.

The trail to Observation Point begins at the Weeping Wall trail-head and it starts climbing almost immediately. This trail is an 8-mile round-trip with a 2147 ft ascension and is not for those who are afraid of heights. However it's almost entirely paved and switchbacks make it do-able.

It begins with a series of switchbacks that quickly lead you up the side of the rock-face,  producing more and more beautiful views at every turn.

This is the last view of the main canyon for a while as the trail bends southeast into Echo Canyon. Having done little research for this particular trip to Zion, I did not realize that the canyon would narrow into a slot canyon, delving 20ft down a very narrow passageway. Frankly, this was one of our favorite parts of this hike. Maybe because it was unexpected?

Once you leave the narrow section of Echo Canyon, the trail begins ascending again up the north side of Echo Canyon and the views are of the primarily white canyon walls where trees and shrubs precariously grow, providing little shade in this arid and bright landscape.

(This photo was actually taken on our way back, but I wanted to show the trail etched into the cliff.)

Relief from the climb came in the last mile or so to observation point. It was mostly flat and occasionally provided some shade. There were several times where the view seemed spectacular enough to stop and head back, but then the trail led into an area of brush where the view is less interesting, and suddenly out of the brush and voila: 270 degree panoramic views.

 

Mike had fun pulling out his binoculars to see if he could spot people on Angel's Landing, which seemed a lot higher up when we were there last year - and a LOT more crowded. That place would've looked like an ant hill with the swarms of people. This year we saw very few over there.

So it took us about 3 hours to hike to Observation Point, we spent an hour at the point, just soaking in all the views (thankfully my camera also did some soaking so my brain would not have to remember it all), and then the two hour hike back down would inevitably come back to haunt us the next day.

We were too tired to cook, so in the name of a new tradition, we went back to have pizza at Springdale's Pizza and Noodles restaurant where we could sit outside and enjoy our food.

Feel free to comment. If you've been to Zion, I'd love to know what you saw and if you'd recommend other hikes. Though I have a hard time wanting to go back to parks I've already seen - there are just so many and I want to see them ALL - I could go back to Zion. It's so beautiful.

Photos copyright Katrina Kouba Boles

Next up: Bryce Canyon NP, Utah

This is a series on our 2011 trip. Here are the previous posts:

• Zion NP
• Grand Teton NP
• Sunrise at Yellowstone NP
• Day 4 in Yellowstone NP
• Day 3 in Yellowstone NP
• Day 2 in Yellowstone NP
• Day 1 in Yellowstone NP
• Devils Tower and Little Planets
• Hiking in the Black Hills AKA Custer State Park