Have you ever hit extreme Burnout? Well I was there. On a whim, 6 days prior to boarding a plane from Boston, MA to Salt Lake City, Utah I decided I was going out West. I called my mom to inform her if she wanted to go on a hiking trip with me now was her chance. She jumped at the opportunity and the following Monday night we discussed our general itinerary and booked our rental car and 9 nights of hotels. A few short days later on Thursday August 26th 2021, we were jet setting from our respective cities (Boston, MA and Venice, FL) to the Desert Paradise that welcomed us with open arms.

FIRST STOP: 3 DAYS IN MOAB, UTAH

DAY 1: ARCHES NATIONAL PARK (11.1 miles)

After a small snafu with the rental car Thursday night we drove about 4 hours to our hotel in Moab. The hotel was conveniently located within 4 miles from the Arches National Park entrance and Visitor center. The first morning we drove into the park as the sun was rising. We quickly stopped at Panorama Point Viewing Area to catch the sunrise over the La Sal Mountains then we continued on to the parking lot for the Delicate Arch Trail. My mom was anxious to make it up to the arch so I told her to go on ahead. I instead took my time, sipping coffee the whole 1.6 miles up the trail. I needed the break to take in the quiet, breathe the fresh air and enjoy the perfect lighting the morning had to offer. Once I turned the corner and saw the most well known Arch in the park I knew the trip was off to a great start. On the way back down the trail to the car we took a quick side trail to view the Ute Indian Petroglyphs. These petroglyphs were carved sometime between A.D. 1650 and 1850. We got our first 3.2 miles out and back in for the day but we weren’t stopping there.

We drove further into the park to the very end of the park road (18 miles north of the Visitor Center) and started on the Devil’s Garden Trail. Probably the most magnificent thing I noticed right away is how vibrant you can see the Moon in the sky contrasting against the massive red rock sculptures most of the day. This trail was 7.9 miles as we took all the optional side trails. It is important to note that past the first 3 arches this trail is not for the faint of heart. If this would have been on our last day after we had become experts at scaling all forms of desert rock obstacles thrown our way I think it would have gone quite differently. We overcame some technical battles that we survived but certainly weren’t pretty. The first arches you come to if you take the optional side trails are Tunnel Arch and Pine Tree Arch. These are located between the trail head and Landscape Arch. If you decide to keep going past the Landscape Arch, which has the longest span of any arch in North America so it is a MUST SEE, that is when the trail becomes “strenuous” and several signs with warnings stating you are on the “Primitive Trail” start popping up. We ran into several hikers that turned around not long after starting this portion due to fear of heights and not wanting to take the risk. You do scale several sandstone fins with narrow ledges and steep drop-offs on both sides. You also have to use your hands and feet to scramble and climb at times. At one point on the trail I waded through a pool of water that was up to my thighs (I’m 5’10” for reference) and I couldn’t see my feet. Though difficult you can’t beat the experience and views. After Landscape arch we took two other spur trails first to Partition Arch then to Navajo Arch. After these you come to Double O Arch. We climbed inside the lower level to take a quick rest and have a fun little photo shoot. Next we took a short spur trail to Dark Angel which isn’t an arch but is still an interesting natural wonder to be seen, plus we weren’t going to skimp on any mileage. After Dark angel we kept on the Primitive tail till we came to Private Arch. After this is when we really experienced the other challenging factor of the Primitive trail: in this section specifically it is difficult to find and follow the route.

I can not recommend enough paying for a Pro version membership of AllTrails and downloading the maps to your phone. You will want to do this prior to getting to the park when you still have service or wifi. There is very sparce service anywhere within the park. We might have still been wandering the trail to this day if we didn’t have the map downloaded (I am linking all Alltrail hikes completed in this post). The other tip which we failed to follow is to go in the direction Alltrails recommends (If you zoom in on the thick red line that marks each trail you will notice small arrows indicating a recommended route direction). It recommended going counter-clockwise, yet of course we went clockwise. We ran into hikers trekking both ways. I think the counter-clockwise route is slightly less intimidating as you would be going up many of the steep ledges vs. down. We might have slid down on our butts a couple times. I personally completed all trails in running shoes but hiking boots or any shoes with good traction are highly recommend. All in all, If you are physically able I can’t recommend this trail enough. Yet of course if you are there in the summer as we were start early and pack lots of water.

Once you finish make sure to get a couple local Juicy IPAs. Our evening consisted of switching hotels, showering, grabbing an early dinner at BluPig BBQ, then hitting up the Moab brewery to go through our photos for the day, update my Instagram stories and share a couple laughs and snorts making fun of our performance on the Primitive Trail.

DAY 2: DEAD HORSE POINT STATE PARK, CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK, AND MORE ARCHES (9.5 miles)

I didn’t realize Dead Horst Point State Park was almost 45 minutes away from our hotel. Canyonlands National Park was even a little further so we missed sunrise but still had a great day of exploration. Yet if you learn from our miscalculations you should plan to see sunrise at the Mesa Arch in Canyonlands… yet I digress.

All we did at Dead Horse Point was the Rim Loop Trail which was an easy 5 mile loop to start off the day. The view of the point which you can simply drive to if you wish was amazing and worth the trip. I was only 6 years old when I saw the Grand Canyon so it wasn’t as easy for me to relate, yet my mom kept saying the park reminded her of the Grand Canyon on a much smaller scale. Apparently the iconic end scene of Thelma & Louise was filmed driving off the end of the point. The movie set the stage as it being the Grand Canyon so my mom’s observation was spot on. Also the park apparently gets its name from a possible dark past. According to one legend around the turn of the century the local cowboys used the point as a corral for wild mustangs. The famous neck of the point narrows to only about 30 yards wide. The cowboys fenced this off and formed a natural corral for the horses. They were not able to escape as the cliffs on each side of the point were straight down. The Cowboys would choose the horses they wished to keep and let the others go. Yet for some unknown reason on one occasion the corralled horses weren’t set free and they sadly died of thirst within view of the Colorado River 2,000 feet below. We didn’t stay late enough to view the stars. Yet the park is an international “Dark Sky park”. Thus if you can squeeze it in check out the star gazing and let me know what we missed.

After this we were honestly considering heading back to Moab but decided we should take the side road to Upheaval Dome, and I am so glad we did. I’m still not able to name a favorite hike of the trip as they were all so different and rewarding in their own way. Yet I really loved this section of the park and if we had more time we likely would have stopped at some other trails and landmarks that we drove past i.e. Whale Rock and Aztec Butte. When we parked and got started up the Crater View Trail to the Upheaval Dome outlooks 1 and 2 I immediately was obsessed (1.8 miles out and back if you venture to the second outlook). I felt like I stepped into the real life version of Walt Disney World’s Frontierland at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, FL. This is the part of the amusement park which hosts the Big Thunder Mountain (runaway train) ride. I couldn’t get enough of the juxtaposition of bold green trees with dark brown to black trunks against the vibrant rusty and deep red rock. I also liked that unlike the massive Canyons we had witnessed all morning this was a much more immersive experience and you really were “in the thick of it”. When we got to the first Dome lookout we were greeted by a Park Ranger who explained the mysteries of how the Dome was created. It is still widely debated whether it was caused by a sudden meteorite impact or salt dome collapse or even possibly a combination of the two. The mixture of colors looking into the dome from rust to turquoise to white in the varying sedimentary layers was one of the most beautiful and unique sites I have ever seen and the hike was truly breathtaking and enjoyable. I wish I had a better quality camera at the time to capture it. Yet it truly is a site you have to witness in person for yourself. I can not recommend taking this trail enough.

After this we finally headed back to Moab, pulled up Yelp and ended up at this great Pizza joint, Antica Forma, which we ate at the following night as well. Their namesake pizza is to die. Of course I had a couple more Juicy IPAs. Then we decided to head back into Arches.

We stopped at Balancing Rock which has a super quick .3 mile loop around it. Then we drove to the Windows section of the park. After doing the quick Windows Loop trail (1.2 miles) from the North Window to the South Window we walked up and through the Turret Arch to the less commonly traversed back side of it and just sat in the shaded breeze for a couple hours. Ironically we also had 5G service at this location. If I find my self back there I will have a bottle of wine and charcuterie and wait till dark to stargaze for hours in that perfect little cove. On the opposite side of the parking lot you will find a quick .5 mile approach trail to Double Arch. We finished out our day with that magnificent view.

DAY 3: FINAL DAY IN ARCHES AND MOAB (10.3 miles)

Before you travel to any of the National Parks you will want to check the Recreation.gov app to see if you need to purchase any permits or make advance reservations for activities you want to do. Some parks have this for certain popular sunrise/sunset locations, hikes, climbing, some of the scenic roads, etc. For Arches we needed a Permit for the Fiery Furnace. We found out some of the other permit holders picked their’s up the day before. Yet per the website we were not supposed to be able to pick these up till the park visitor center opened around 8am so we decided to check out sunrise at the Delicate Arch one more time. I didn’t sleep well the night before so googled the best sunrises in the park and found a post about viewing Delicate Arch from Twisted Donut Arch. We got to the parking lot slightly later than I wanted so I ran up half the trail. I didn’t realize the Twisted Donut Arch is actually referenced on the Alltrails Delicate Arch hike (linked from day 1) so I had a little bit of a challenge finding it. Yet basically as you get towards the top of the trail there are manmade stairs carved into the sandstone path which you can’t miss. Just past this you keep your gaze up to your right on the massive rock wall, and “boom” a hole appears. You can boulder your way up pretty easily. We were lucky enough to have this spot to ourselves for half an hour or more. I sipped my coffee and ate my breakfast sandwich and enjoyed a private VIP sunrise experience with my mom in the middle of a National park otherwise swarming with visitors. The moment was priceless.

We eventually left and headed back to the visitor center to pick up our permits for the Fiery Furnace. Prior to the hike, we had to attend a short ranger presentation that included a video and verbal test administered to the 4 of us in the room. The permits are sold either as self-guided tours or ranger led. The best part about the Fiery Furnace is that they only allow 56 guest into this section of the park each day. They take the “leave no trace” and preservation of this section very seriously, yet if you are able to make it into this section you will appreciate this dedication. I can not express enough DOWNLOAD THE MAP for this hike prior to leaving your hotel. The ranger said she didn’t think it would work but the Alltrails downloaded map did not disappoint. This is another time we would have still been wandering in the furnace if we didn’t have the map. Follow the side trails (dashed black lines in the app) for the Walk Through Arch, Skull Arch and Surprise Arch. They are all phenomenal. Don’t be discouraged if you have trouble finding Surprise Arch. It is named appropriately as you think you are lost and walk in circles till you finally follow this narrow slot canyon and “bada bing, bada boom there she blows”… The Alltrails hike says about 1.7 miles total but with all the walking in circles and side trails it was at least 2.5 miles.

The next hike we did before leaving the park was at about 12:30pm in the heat of the day. While my mom and I both agree we can’t decide on a favorite hike or favorite day of the trip we both agree this next trek by far was our least favorite. For starters we thought the total walk would be about .3 miles but in reality the .3 miles was just the length to the Sand Dune Arch. We ended up walking about 2.8 miles total which included Broken Arch and Tapestry Arch. The arches were beautiful but we had already seen countless arches and worst of all most of the trek was through loose sand. When we got back to the car I dumped out my shoes and I kid you not sandcastles appeared.

After this we went to get dinner at Antica Forma again then looked in some of the shops downtown. We decided to spend a little more time in air conditioning to recover. We found ourselves back at the Moab Brewery. After this rather than being normal people and calling it a night we looked at each other and knew what we had to do. We made a quick pit stop at the Colorado Riverway Bridge. This is a great jump off point for many additional activities including a bike trail that goes all the way to Canyonlands National Park. After this quick break we set out on our final mission for Moab, the 1.8 mile out and back Park Avenue Trail. This is near the entrance to the park so easy to access. It is best viewed prior to sunset. The sun reflecting off the rock formations creates the most hypnotizing orange, rust, and red hues.

I had already decided I wanted to be on the road by 4am the next day so we were off to bed after this…

NEXT STOPS: CAPITOL REEF AND BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARKS

DAY 4: CAPITOL REEF AND AN UNEXPECTED WATERFALL IN BRYCE (7.8 miles)

We were in the car by 4am and made it to the head of the Hickman Bridge Trail (1.7 miles) about 6:20am. The parking lot was completely dark with only one other car. The sun rose as walked and occasionally jogged up the trail to the natural bridge. There is a loop at the end of the trail. It suggest you go counter-clockwise but something told me clockwise was the way to go. If you are hiking at sunrise follow my gut. The trail continues through the natural bridge but when you go clockwise you come up to the view looking through the bridge at the sun rising from behind the mountains. The Hickman Bridge was much larger than I had expected and truly a beautiful site to sit down and stare through for some time.

Next we drove by the Visitors center but it wasn’t quite open yet so we started on the scenic road. We took a left on Grand Wash Road and decided to hike the Cassidy Arch Trail which we had read about the night before but weren’t sure if we would have enough time to do. We are so glad we did though as it gave another unique landscape to take in and enjoy. At some point you look up and can see the arch far off in the distance to the left of the trail. It’s a mystery as you walk where the trail is going to drop you off. You follow the Cairns to make sure you stay on trail and next thing you know you are on top of the arch looking through it from the backside. The arch is named for the infamous outlaw Butch Cassidy who used the remote landscape to evade the posses after him and the Sundance Kid. If you have the time (I realize not everyone wakes up at 4am to start their drive and day…) make sure to include this hike in your itinerary.

Once we made it to the car we backtracked to the Visitor center to purchase our swag and head on our way. However we had read about the small historic town of Fruita located in the park. There are orchards with apples, peaches. cherries, pears, plums, apricots, and almonds. Fortunately for us the Pear Orchard was open. We harvested several pears which you pay for via a honor system scale and collection box. These delicious fresh pairs fueled us for the rest of the trip.

Next stop an amazing café which you have to stop at for a latte and sandwich in Torrey, Utah The Wild Rabbit Cafe. I had the Rabbit Valley Veggie sandwich and as I often do added grilled chicken cause well “PROTEIN” and I highly recommend you do the same. The owners of the café recommended we take the Scenic Byway 12 route down to Bryce Canyon. We followed their suggestion and the views of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and small towns along the way were so worth it. It is rated one of the top scenic byways in America.

Just after the entrance to Bryce I saw signage and a parking lot for Mossy Cave. I asked my mom to stop as anything with “cave” in it sounded like something we needed to see. We missed the turn and kept going but something told me to look it up on the park website and I happened to have service at the time. It mentioned the trail had become more popular due to social media. So what did I do? I went to Instagram and searched the hashtag #MossyCave and to my glorious excitement there was a waterfall… yes I said a waterfall in the middle of the desert in Bryce Canyon. I sorted by most recent posts and while at certain times the waterfall is a comical dribble the recent photos showed a full blown fire hose of exciting flow. I made my mom turn around and we hiked up the short 1 mile out and back trail. The river was beautiful. We hiked up the designated trail and viewed the waterfall from up above. I knew people were going close to it based on the Instagram posts so we hiked off trail through slippery loose gravel down to the base of the small waterfall. You can actually walk behind it. Also on the way back at times we just hiked through the river bed which honestly would be the easiest way to access it. We did check out the caves before heading back to the car as my mom and I never skimp on mileage but that was much less impressive and quite frankly anti-climactic. So the take away here is: check the recent posts on Instagram once in the area and if the water is flowing make it a point to stop.

Next we checked into the famous Ruby Inn. Once we had our keys we immediately drove to the Bryce Point parking lot. We hiked about 2 miles on the Rim trail to Inspiration Point and back taking in the beautiful views of the Amphitheater portion of the park where we would be descending into the next day.

DAY 5: BRYCE CANYON AMPATHETER, FAIRYLAND AND THE SCENIC SOUTHERN DRIVE (14.6 miles)

Every hotel that we stayed in along the way had free breakfast. Something we learned that is a great tip is most of the hotels had the option to pick up a bagged “to go” meal if you planned to hit the trail or road prior to breakfast. If you want to catch sunrise this is a great option as most every hotel opened breakfast at 6:30am at the earliest. Typically you tell the front desk of your preference the night before or when checking in and that morning they will have the bagged meal waiting for you at the front desk. Think granola bar, fruit, yogurt a drink, etc., so very simple but perfect to throw in your day bag and go.

The first major “landmark” you come to on this portion of the hike is Queen Victoria herself. Literally the top of the Hoodoo looks just like a famous statue of her located in London. From there you continue down the trail till you come to the Peekaboo Loop. At this point we saw less and less hikers. We decided to go clockwise yet ran into a couple Park volunteers as we exited the loop that said the counter-clockwise route is the easier, more enjoyable way to go. Since we were more secluded on this portion of the hike we came upon a family of deer grazing with several babies. We kept slowly inclining till we came to several switchbacks in a row which led us to a magnificent view of the “Wall of Windows”. You will want to watch your step on this trail as this trail doubles as a horseback riding route and the horses have no regard for where they leave their excrement. As we came to the end of the loop we ventured to the Navajo Trail. As you start up from the bottom you will see the Two Bridges, then the famous switchbacks. I ran up these when I was just 6 years old. I’m so glad I finally made it back. Once you conquer the infamous switchbacks you come to possibly the most famous hoodoo in the park “Thors Hammer”. The top of the trail drops you at Sunset point. From here you hike the rim back to Sunrise point.

ZION NATIONAL PARK

DAY 6: RAINY GOODBYE TO BRYCE CANYON, ON TO ZION NATIONAL PARK AND CONQUERING THE LEGENDARY ANGEL’S LANDING (8+ miles)

At some point in the middle of the night I unlocked my phone to view the time and my mom called out “Jamie, are you awake…”. Next thing you know we are in route to the Fairyland Loop parking area to stargaze. Unfortunately the cloud cover was so dense we couldn’t see anything but we tried and had a good laugh at our failed attempt. We had planned to get “to go” bags from the front desk that morning but since it was raining there was no need to hit an early hike. Thus we headed straight to catch sunrise and figured we would sit down for breakfast in the café after. Yet similar to the night before, while still beautiful, it was very hazy and overcast. As we stood in gratitude and took in our last views of the Ampatheater below, rain sprinkling unforgivingly on our faces, we did learn a neat lesson about the trees hanging just by their roots over rim.

After breakfast and loads of coffee we were on the road again. This time to our final National Park: Zion. While the drive was not as awe-inspiring as Capitol Reef to Bryce there was a diner with a funny sign along the way… Unfortunately it was Wednesday and “Ho-made pies” aren’t available on Wednesdays or Thursdays at the Thunderbird Restaurant in Mt. Carmel Junction, Utah. The only other noteworthy site before hitting the park were some Buffalo corralled on the side of the road.

Finally we made it to the Eastern Park entrance and right away the mundane switched to magnificent. The canyon walls started to protrude increasingly higher from the ground. Our vision was overcome with deep reds and oranges speckled with muted beige and dark green foliage. We passed the famous “Checkerboard Mesa“. Shortly after this cars were stopped so we pulled over to see a herd of desert big horn sheep. Next we went through a series of two tunnels. The first is shorter. You can see the “light at the end of the tunnel” and the end as soon as you enter. The next tunnel is much longer. There are openings cut into the tunnel walls where you see previews of what is to come amidst the pitch black tube only lit by your headlights and passing vehicles. When you exit this tunnel the Canyon walls triple in size and you are truly transported to another dimension. About 1pm we finally made it to the visitor center.

It is important to note in Zion you can not drive your personal vehicle into the scenic drive portion of the park which happens to be where most of the great hiking is. There are some exceptions if you stay at the Zion National Park Lodge but in most cases you will need to park at the visitor center and take the tram. This is exactly what we did. We decided to “get our feet wet” with a quick, easier trail so headed to stop number 5 for the 3 mile Emerald Pools Trail. This takes you to a lower, middle and upper pool. The lower allows you to walk under the lower falls. The middle is more of a stream that you walk through. The steam flows over a steep cliff to create the lower falls and the upper pool has a very tall waterfall who’s stream flows down to create the middle and lower pools.

After we completed the Emerald Pools trail, in typical Jan (my mom) and Jamie fashion we hadn’t had enough and rather than waiting for the following day decided to head straight for the most anticipated hike of the trip: Angel’s Landing. We hiked straight from where we ended the prior trail along the river vs. jumping back on the tram. If you wish to take the tram straight there it is stop number 6 for the Grotto Trail head.

It’s funny I told my mom I felt like I was in Candy Land as she explained the various sections of the trail and their “nicknames”. You start up the trail with a series of long, very inclined switchbacks. Then you hit “Refrigerator Canyon”. This section’s hanging gardens is the only shady part of the Angels Landing hike. Thus it’s your chance to cool off. By the end of Refrigerator Canyon, you’ve ascended 1,000 feet. Next you hit the famous “Walter’s Wiggles”. This is a set of 21 steep zig-zags which will crush your calves, heart, and dreams but you must keep pushing ahead. You will then make it to “Scout’s Lookout”. The lookout provides an impressive view of the Canyon below. Many choose to end their journey here out of fear of the next section: “The Spine”. The Spine is the last .7 mile portion of the trail which ascends another 500 ft. With this ascension you will reach the actual Angel’s Landing Summit. If you do push on towards the summit (which I highly recommend if you’re able bodied) you will be holding onto chains, protected by infrequent guardrails, traversing some carved steps, doing your best not to slip on sandy portions of the trail or fall 1000 feet or more straight down. To make it more terrifying in many sections you will be hiking along a trail roughly 4 1/2 to 5 feet wide. Yet, for those who do push onward they will experience 360 degrees of one of the most magnificent and rewarding views I’ve ever seen.

I did notice via the @zionnps Instagram, they are debating doing a voucher system for Angel’s landing coming in 2022 as it does get crowded and can be unsafe. There are talks of making this system a lottery. Keep this is mind as you plan your next hiking destination as once/if the voucher system is in place it may be difficult to complete this hike on your visit.

After we made it back to the Lodge we jumped on the tram back to the Visitor center to get our car and call it a night. But first I had to check out the local Brewery and their selection of Juicy IPAs which I had become accustomed to rewarding myself with after a long day of hiking. We fueled up on Beef and Elk Burgers then headed to our hotel for the night. I can not recommend the Majestic View Lodge enough. The rooms were themed, clean, and super cozy and the staff were so kind and accommodating. Also side note: our final night there we realized they had a museum (check out my insta-stories to see what the museum houses). Also fun, not well known fact: the Brewery actually brews beer in their basement.

DAY 7: THE NARROWS CLOSED BUT “PLAYING IT BY EAR” TO HAVE ANOTHER FABULOUS, ADVENTUROUS DAY (11.8 MILES)

The Narrows was closed when we arrived the day prior due to the morning rain and flash flood warnings. We stopped by the Zion Adventure Company outfitters shop that night to rent special water boots, neoprene socks and hiking sticks for the trail only to learn someone went missing and search and rescue had closed the trail at least for the start of the day. Thus we had to get creative with what we would do.

We decided we would start off the day with a hike accessible from the Zion Canyon Visitor Center parking lot. This was the Watchman Trail. It was just 3.1 miles but got us warmed up for a long day of exploring.

From there we talked to the Park Rangers at the visitor center to get some ideas of trails actually open and other hikes to do. The issue was everything else was about 45 minutes to an hour drive out of the park. There is a section of the Park called Kolob Canyons yet not only is the drive is far but each trail is a minimum of 14 miles to get to anything noteworthy. We talked about hiking Red Rock Canyon which is only about 15 miles outside of Las Vegas, yet ultimately thanks to my mom’s experience several years prior in the park she knew of a couple trails no longer advertised by the National Park Service. They are not advertised as the trail heads are technically on private property. The good news is there are driving directions provided in Alltrails. Also we did stop to talk to the front office of the Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort to make sure we were allowed to Park near the trailhead and didn’t need to pay a fee, etc. The woman working the desk was super friendly, gave us a map and no fee was needed. We bought snacks to be courteous and were on our way down the remote dirt roads to the start of the trail.

The trail we decided on was The Cable Mountain Trail. It is a 7.7 mile trail with a different view of the Canyon and historical significance.

The trail was different than other paths taken within the confines of the park. It started out rather flat and through green fields. There were baby horny toads all along the trail. When we finally got to the Cable Mountain Draw Works for which the trail is named we spent time safely looking over the ledge to the canyon floor 2,000 feet down. The structure was originally built in 1901 and used to quickly move lumber from the East Rim to the floor of the Zion Canyon. The cable could lower lumber in two minutes. Without the cable it would take many days of travel by wagon over rough terrain to move the lumber. The draw works burned a couple times from 1911 to the 1920s, the initial time it was struck by lighting. Lumber used for the original Zion Lodge and cabins was lowered by the draw works. Dwindling timber supplies eventually put the East Rim sawmills out of business and the draw works never operated after 1930. The historical structure is still worth the hike to see. Probably the most fascinating reward of the hike is you can look across the Canyon to the West Rim and see Angel’s Landing and the West Rim Trail. You are at a higher elevation so though in the distance you look down on it.

On our way back into the park we decided to take one last hike for the day: The Canyon Overlook Trail. It was a quick 1 mile out and back trail that is highly trafficked. We almost skipped it but I am not sure when I will make it back to Zion so wanted to get as much in as possible. It did not disappoint and the views were worth the exciting but short jaunt.

DAY 8: THE NARROWS, FAREWELL ZION, QUICK BITE IN PARK CITY, FINAL NIGHT IN UTAH

If there is one lesson to hold onto when you visit some of the more popular national parks… Hit the trails EARLY… Especially the two main attractions of Zion: Angel’s Landing and the Narrows. We did not hike the full trail as we had a long drive ahead of us back to Salt Lake City. We did board one of the first Trams from the Zion Canyon Visitor Center around 6:30am. We hiked far enough to where the water was starting to get close to my belly button (I am 5′ 10″ for reference). I have a video from us on our way out of the Narrows around 11:11am and the river went from being somewhat peaceful where you could separate from others on the trail if you picked up or slowed your speed to a Disney World like crowd where space was not an option.

So what is the Narrows. It is the Narrowest part of Zion Canyon. The gorge has walls 1,000 feet high and at times the river is only 20 to 30 feet wide. You are able to hike in the Virgin River and it is up to you how much you wish to allow yourself to be submerged.

People do hike in all kinds of shoes. Yet we saw many people with sprained ankles or turning back early because it was too much for them without the special hiking gear available for rent. If you know me at all you know I am anti-hiking boots. Yet both times I have hiked the Narrows I have rented the waterproof boots, neoprene socks and walking sticks. Just spend the $30. You will have a much more enjoyable and safe time vs. trying to go barefoot, in regular running shoes, etc. Most of the hike you can not see through the water to where you are stepping. There are several bowling ball sized and larger boulders scattered throughout the river. Thus ankle support is highly advised. There are several outfitters to choose from. We used the Zion Adventure Company. Also we were flying out the next day and the last thing I wanted was to be flying cross country with stinky wet running shoes in my suitcase.

After the river we returned our gear and headed on our way to Salt Lake City for the night to catch our early flights home. Yet this was not without a stop in Park City Utah. We only had about an hour to explore. A friend of mine recommended the No Name Saloon and Grill which was quirky and inviting. As you might have guessed I had some chicken wings and my last Juicy IPA of the trip. Though our Park City Adventure was short everyone was so welcoming and I quickly fell in love. I hope to make it back for Snow Boarding season one year.

Off to the hotel we went. The next morning we said our goodbyes and flew home to our respective cities of Boston (me) and Venice, FL (my mom). Ever thankful for a phenomenal trip to reset, spend time in nature, and bond.

UPDATE TO INSTAGRAM

I did not have an instagram dedicated to my hikes when I took this trip. The stories I referenced are saved on my personal page. Here are the links:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3