 |
| Angel's Landing and the Great White Throne |
 |
| The Virgin River |
 |
| Slot canyon, later I'd see someone trying to make his way through |
 |
| A nice little forested area. Would not last. |
 |
| Lots of pretty flowers along the way |
 |
| More of the slot |
 |
| A nice break from the sun |
 |
| Some more flowers. I love how they grow in middle of nowhere. |
 |
| Plenty of these guys around |
 |
| I want to put this in a pot and bring it home |
 |
| Some nice slabs of yellow |
 |
| The walk continues up! |
 |
| The wonderful Zion Valley |
 |
| High above the never ending swithbacks |
 |
| The summit of Observation Point |
 |
| Zion! |
 |
| Cable Mountain |
 |
| Looking down upon Angel's Landing |
 |
| Cacti in bloom |
 |
| Big Horn |
 |
| Checking things out below |
 |
| He's keeping a watchful eye on me |
 |
| He's still waiting for me to get lost |
 |
| Another look at the switchbacks |
While ascending Observation Point, I overheard a guy saying
to his friend, “you’ve got to figure, between yesterday and today, we’ve done
the two greatest hikes ever.” I liken
trying to establish the “greatest hike ever” with trying to establish what’s your
favorite song or what are the most beautiful women. Is it “Let It Loose” by the Stones or “Jammin
Me” by Tom Petty or “Behind Blue Eyes” by the Who or “I am the Resurrection” by
the Stone Roses or “Safety Dance” by Men Without Hats? Are Scandinavian women more beautiful than Southeast
Asian? Or are Columbians or Indians more
beautiful? You see? It’s difficult to sort these things out. Having
said all that, the guy I overheard did not make an overstatement. Today’s hike to Observation Point would be a
classic.
Off to a later than expected start, the heat would catch up
to me later on. The 4 miles to
Observation Point were almost exclusively in one direction: up (although there
were countless switchbacks). With the
11am start, I could feel the sun bearing down on me almost immediately. Not much shade to be had until there was a
small tunnel of trees to walk through.
It was a welcome sight.
Soon I came across a little slot canyon that the trail
walked around. This would be the last
real break from the sun. After that, I
thanked every little tree I found that provided the slightest bit of
shade. The climbing continued. I then reached an area of yellow rocks. So unbelievably beautiful. This area did not last long. Geology is not one of my strengths, but I
would like to have a better understanding of these kind of things.
The route continued up until at last views into the Zion
Valley opened up. “You don’t get views
like this in New York, Do you?” No we do
not. But I did make my case to Jason,
whom I met at Observation Point, that we instead have the Gunks, Catskills and
Adirondacks. All these places can rival
anything I’ve seen so far.
Observation Point provided a bird’s eye view of the Zion
Valley. Nearby Cable Mountain is in
view. Amazingly, the early settlers
built a cable that ran from its summit to the valley to transport timber. I found it hard to believe there was enough
timber to be found up there. From this
vantage point you look down to Angel’s Landing.
From here, Angel’s Landing does not look like much. But you can make out the narrow ridge leading
to its summit. That will be tomorrow’s
adventure. I also assume it to be the “other
greatest hike” the guy mentioned.
The walk down was much easier and provided an absolute
highlight. I noticed an English woman
stopped on the trail, looking through her camera and pointing it up. She told me, “there’s a Big Horn Sheep up
there!” At first I barely noticed it. Then the Big Horn climbed up on to a rock out
cropping to check us out. What a sight! A Big Horn in its classic pose: perched up
high, looking out for predators. I stood
in awe for quite some time. The Big Horn
is right at the top of my list for animals I’d like to see in the wild. And there he is! As I continued my descent, I thought, “yes, I
figure today, this is easily one of the best hikes that I’ve ever been on.”
