Zion National Park: DAY THREE
Day three was a really interesting day because nothing went the way we expected.
We woke up with our normal routine and drove to the park with the plan to hike a trail called the Narrows. Before getting there, we had to hike the connecting Riverside Walk trail, but we hit a snag when we got to the trail transition.
The snag was the Virgin river cutting the trail in half. We did no't know the Narrows trail was through water. There was no way we were going to be able to follow the trail unless we wanted to risk hypothermia and hate our lives. Some people came prepared wearing full body waiters, but we did not have the equipment unfortunately.
So change of plans!
There was a far away area of Zion we weren't going to be able to explore because The Narrows was going to take up so much time. Kolob Canyon is about 45 minutes away from the area of the park we were in. We jumped in the car and headed out.
We did not really know anything about this hike but the trail was Taylor Creek Trail and it led to the Double Arch Alcove.
The hike was very rural feeling, much less traveled than the others. It crossed over Taylor Creek at least 10 times, but there were tiny rock bridges crossing over it. I'm sure during summer the water is way lower and the creek might not be there at all.
There were also two abandoned cabins which were built in the 1930s. They were fascinating artifacts to check out.
Once we got the the end of the winding hike, we were mind blown. We had no idea what to expect before starting, but the Double Arch Alcove completely blew our minds. I have never seen anything like it.
It was like someone had carved a massive cave out of the side of this bright red rock. It was hard to comprehend how big it was because it was just that huge. You could hear every drop of water falling from its ceiling because of the deep echo. Every sound you made or word you said bounced back to you. It acted like an amphitheater.
We tried to get pictures, but it was really difficult to capture its size in photos. The reason it is called Double Arch Alcove was because the cave entrance made an arch and then there was another arch higher up in the stone – I tried to capture both in this picture.
The hike was five miles and took us three hours. Once we got in our car and left the trailhead, we drove up to the very top of the canyon to Kolob Canyon Outlook. We could see every fingerling canyon, most of them capped in snow. It was gorgeous.
We made the 45 minute drive back and got our normal campsite again! You know the drill, dinner and sunset. This night's sunset was the prettiest which was most fitting seeing as it was our last night there.
We woke up with our normal routine and drove to the park with the plan to hike a trail called the Narrows. Before getting there, we had to hike the connecting Riverside Walk trail, but we hit a snag when we got to the trail transition.
The snag was the Virgin river cutting the trail in half. We did no't know the Narrows trail was through water. There was no way we were going to be able to follow the trail unless we wanted to risk hypothermia and hate our lives. Some people came prepared wearing full body waiters, but we did not have the equipment unfortunately.
So change of plans!
There was a far away area of Zion we weren't going to be able to explore because The Narrows was going to take up so much time. Kolob Canyon is about 45 minutes away from the area of the park we were in. We jumped in the car and headed out.We did not really know anything about this hike but the trail was Taylor Creek Trail and it led to the Double Arch Alcove.
The hike was very rural feeling, much less traveled than the others. It crossed over Taylor Creek at least 10 times, but there were tiny rock bridges crossing over it. I'm sure during summer the water is way lower and the creek might not be there at all.
There were also two abandoned cabins which were built in the 1930s. They were fascinating artifacts to check out.
Once we got the the end of the winding hike, we were mind blown. We had no idea what to expect before starting, but the Double Arch Alcove completely blew our minds. I have never seen anything like it.
It was like someone had carved a massive cave out of the side of this bright red rock. It was hard to comprehend how big it was because it was just that huge. You could hear every drop of water falling from its ceiling because of the deep echo. Every sound you made or word you said bounced back to you. It acted like an amphitheater.
We tried to get pictures, but it was really difficult to capture its size in photos. The reason it is called Double Arch Alcove was because the cave entrance made an arch and then there was another arch higher up in the stone – I tried to capture both in this picture.
The hike was five miles and took us three hours. Once we got in our car and left the trailhead, we drove up to the very top of the canyon to Kolob Canyon Outlook. We could see every fingerling canyon, most of them capped in snow. It was gorgeous.
We made the 45 minute drive back and got our normal campsite again! You know the drill, dinner and sunset. This night's sunset was the prettiest which was most fitting seeing as it was our last night there.
