Zion National Park

On my first visit to Zion, I spent so much time twisting my head around trying to take in all of its stunning grace an beauty that it didn't occur to me to take many pictures.

Our goal was to hike the Narrows, but we were thwarted by a raging Virgin River, making the hike impossible due to the heavy rain and snowmelt that year.

So we came up with a contingency plan on the fly, which was to hike the backcountry. This was my first and to this day only backpacking trip, and even though it was not without its challenges, I was hooked.

It's been a year now so my details may be fuzzy. From what I remember, we hired a shuttle to take us to the Wildcat Canyon Trailhead. That night we pitched camp and Lava Point, climbed trees, played catch with a nerf football and ate MREs. The view was spectacular.

The next day we hiked the West Rim Trail to our reserved campsite, either 3 or 4, I can't remember now, enjoying more fabulous view on the way. What else can I really say about Zion? It was so tranquil and peaceful, the whole trip was really soothing to the soul.

I don't know if it's typical to campsite 3 or 4, but the wind blew really hard the whole time we were camped there. Thankfully we had a little backpacking tent and rope to tie it to a tree, but we still woke up covered in sand. Ah the perils of camping in the desert.

Our last day we made our way down to Angel's Landing. This was a bit of an adventure, I don't recommend it to anyone who's afraid of heights. I do recommend reaching it from the back side as we did, since the hike up from the bottom is long and steep. Thankfully, we just had to hike down the trail.

Once at the bottom, we were able to pick up the park shuttle and head back to the car. There is so much more to do and see at Zion that I am seeking an opportunity to go back. Next time I will take more pictures.