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Prologue | Snow Canyon | Grand Canyon | AZ Strip | Bryce | Escalante | Capitol Reef/Goblin | Moab | Home |
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We camped at Zion 4 nights and did two over-the-top hikes (Observation Point and the Narrows) and one easy bike ride up Zion Canyon. This was my third visit to Zion. It's still one of my favorite national parks. The Navajo Sandstone of Zion's canyon walls, as high as 3,000', was deposited 200 million years ago in an inland sand sea similar in size to the Sahara Desert in Africa. As the Colorado Plateau began to rise about 6 million years ago, the Virgin River cut through the sandstone fracture faults, thus creating Zion Canyon. |
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| View of west rim and campground from Watchtower overlook | |
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| View of east rim from Watchtower overlook | |
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| Watchtower at sunset | Crawford Arch high on the east rim is visible from the campground |
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| Navajo Sandstone is the predominant rock in Zion | Checkerboard Mesa near the east entrance |
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| Domestic elk herd in the nearby town of Springdale | |
Zion Canyon Ride Biking Zion Canyon is the best way to see the Canyon. There is an exclusive bike trail along the Virgin River leading from the campground to Canyon Junction where vehicular traffic is limited to shuttle buses within the Canyon proper. |
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| Taking the bike trail from the campground along the Virgin River |
Within the Canyon, traffic is limited to shuttle buses and bikes |
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| Riding up the Canyon, Angels Landing (left) comes into view | A white-knuckle hike leads you to the top of Angels Landing, standing 1200' above the canyon floor |
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| Canyon narrows near the end | The Great White Throne |
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| Taking a break at Zion Lodge | The shuttle system is great. They make frequent stops and come about every 5 minutes. |
| Observation Point Hike | |
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| The hike to Observation Point (in yellow) is an 8-mile RT; 2,600' climb to the top of the east rim. Virtually all up and all down. | All the hiking trails are well developed with the lower sections paved |
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| All switchbacks up toward the east rim | |
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| After about a mile, dramatic views of the canyon. Note shuttle buses on the road. | |
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| About half-way up, the trail enters Echo Canyon with striking cross-bedding sandstone layers | |
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| Dramatic forms and colors in Echo Canyon | Trail chisled into cliff face |
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| Walls tower several hundred feet in Echo Canyon | Trail follows creekbed within the canyon |
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| Awesome is an understatement | Echo Canyon is mesmerizing |
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| After leaving Echo Canyon, the trail switchbacks up toward the top of east rim for a couple miles | |
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| From Observation Point, elevation 6508', you look down on Angels Landing. A couple weeks earlier, a hiker fell to his death off Angels Landing. Not the first time. |
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| Trail taking you to the top of east rim. Nice drop-off on left. | View looking across the canyon to west rim |
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| Our Zion campground . . . | . . . next to the Virgin River |
| › next (Zion, page 2 of 2 -- Narrows Hike) |
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