When entering Utah from the southwest the first National Park encountered is Zion, and that’s where this trip starts. Unfortunately for those of us arriving late at night the campgrounds are not as sparsely populated in May as they were back during the winter and all of the sites in Zion were full, necessitating a drive out past the eastern end of the park to a private campground. This did however make for a grand entrance back into Zion the next morning from the East, via the overlook of Pine Creek Canyon, the mile long tunnel, and the switchbacks down to the canyon floor. A stop at the backcountry office resulted in a walk-in next-day permit for a trip down the narrows (more on that in a bit) and a quick run to town to arrange a trailhead shuttle also yielded information about some choice boondocking spots near a ghost town just outside Zion where the bicycle scene from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was filmed.

Also unlike during the winter Zion Canyon itself is closed to private traffic during the high season, instead requiring travel by foot, bike, or shuttle bus (just the way Ed Abbey wanted it). The threat of an impeding thunderstorm precluded a hike up to Angels Landing so a lower route was taken instead, out to the Emerald Pools. The upper pool forms from a wide seep, an area where water absorbed by porous sandstone layers above is forced out of the canyon wall where it arrives at less porous layers below. Sometimes these seeps are merely damp spots on the rock but in this case there is enough water to form a series of pools with small cascades connecting them over rocky ledges. As is always the case in the desert life follows water and here is no exception, leafy green trees crowd at the waters edge and hanging gardens form where the water breaks out from the rock. Back on the shuttle bus, a short ride up-canyon leads to Weeping Rock, another overhanging seep higher up off the valley floor with a view of the high stone walls that make Zion famous.

Through the center of it all flows the Virgin River. Here in the popular part of the park where the casual tourists visit it is shallow and gentle river flowing through a wide canyon with plenty of land between its banks and the walls to support the park’s roads, lodges, parking lots, shuttle buses, comfort stations, and hiking trails. Higher up at the top of the canyon the river emerges from a deep gorge where it often reaches from one vertical wall to the other: the Zion Narrows, the area we have backcountry permits for. We retired to our remote mesa-top camping spot for the night to pack our gear and get some rest for the day ahead.

Tags: Zion National Park, Colorado Plateau, Hiking, Road Trips