Mountain Girl Tackles the Desert

Zion National Park

I woke up this morning to a quiet dawn in the Watchman Campground of Zion National Park. There was a lingering breeze in the air and I was one of the first people awake in the nearly full campground so I walked around, snapped some photos, and soaked in the beauty of the landscape that was so incomparably different from where I woke up yesterday. The drive from Bozeman took me about 12 hours plus another hour of pit stops and much needed stretch breaks for my aching legs. I honestly could not believe that I had made the entire journey in just one day but the weather in Bozeman had been so unpleasant that I had been very eager to hit that warm desert climate. The first three hours of driving were overburdened with snow, snow and more snow that drastically limited visibility and forced me to drive 40-50 mph on Interstate 15. As soon as I popped out into Idaho the roads became clear and I entered the vast valleys paralleling the Teton and Wind River Ranges of Wyoming from Idaho Falls to Pocatello and down into north central Utah. 

Patches of sun and old-school radio playlists made frequent appearances which helped push me through the 150-mile sprawl of greater Salt Lake City but as I re-entered the vast mountain and valley region of central Utah, I lost any semblance of radio and was bombarded with patches of rain and sleet that masked the sun. It was not until I started coming off the Colorado Plateau near Cedar City that I finally escaped the winter system tearing across the entire northern Rockies. With dark clouds behind me, I was welcomed by a blindingly bright late afternoon sun casting an enchanting glow over all of Cedar City, illuminating a backdrop of red-rock laced Ponderosa forests and mesa tops. I tore off of Interstate 15 for the first time since Dillon, MT, some 600 miles north, and headed south on highway 17 through the green valleys of Toquerville and past the fancy homes of LaVerkin to the junction with Highway 9 towards Zion.  I arrived at the Watchman Campground around 8 p.m. with just enough time to grab a nice run around the Visitor complex and take in some of the worlds largest petrified sand dunes before the moon started to rise out of the western sky. The park was alive with color and the smell of spring was blowing through the breeze which was a welcomed change from the dry, brown park I visited back in February. Cottonwood & Aspen trees, lush electric-green grasses and a gushing Virgin River all welcomed me underneath the massive Watchman as I headed back to the campsite to set up my tent where I did a little journaling and some stretching before the last of the sun finally fell silent to the crescent moon and a night sky full of radiating stars.

The Watchman

 

 

Angels Landing Trail

 I was glad that my body was used to waking up so early because I could see a rain system moving towards us from the west and after talking with a Park volunteer I knew that rain was a certainty in the forecast today. I dug around my car and located my trusty rain pants & rain jacket, some smart layers, fruit, granola bars, some pita chips, my camera, a headlamp and tossed everything in my backpack before heading over to the Visitor Center to catch the shuttle to Angels Landing. I had been dreaming about hiking up Angels Landing for the past week and was determined to continue through with the hike despite the weather. I consulted the rangers first just to make sure everything was safe, which is was, they just advised me to proceed with caution as always and warned that it might be cold. But even with the threat of rain the temperature  felt great after coming from Montana and I was one of the few people walking around without a parka.  The trail head for Angels Landing starts at "The Grotto" shuttle stop where you can also access the trails to the Emerald Pools or walk the path along the picturesque Virgin River. I crossed a bridge spanning the river and veered right to take the path to Angels Landing. The trail meanders along the banks passing by ancient cottonwoods, alive and green, then begins to curve and starts to hug the canyon wall before beginning a long series of switchbacks cut into the rock.  The trail is a mixed bag of red pavement, red cement, red rock, red dirt, mud and sand and began to shimmer as more and more rain started to fall. I was surprised how dry I was staying but also at how many parties of hikers I passed going up the hill, never stopping except to take momentary glances at the scenery around me, mostly looking at the gound below me where I was captivated by the variety of spring wildflowers blooming along the path including Globemallow and my favorite: Indian Paintbrush. I rounded the last corner that faces out to Zion Canyon and turned into the "Cooler" canyon that leads you around that base of Angels Landing to Walters Wiggles. This is one of my favorite parts of the Angels Landing trail, though under-rated by most, because I love the contrast of being exposed on the initial switchbacks then being cradled by the rock through the narrow canyon winding along the base of beautiful red-rock just waiting to be climbed. After about a half mile or so the trail starts to curve back up until you reach the famous Walters Wiggles, a series of small switchbacks of stone that take you to the base of the Angels Landing climb. Once at the overlook, many people were continuing up the spine to the top, but given the current weather conditions I decided instead to hike another mile or so along the West Rim Trail that connects with Angels Landing and takes you, eventually, all the way the the northern section of the park at Kolob Canyons. Heading up the West Rim Trail took me away from the surprising amount of traffic on the main section of trail and initially provided me with a buffer from the wind. As I climbed higher along the rim the rain turned to thick white flakes of snow. I stopped to stare at a most intriguing Indian Paintbrush that was miraculously growing out of the side of a wall of red rock and as my eyes began to focus in the heavy snow I could see that there wasn't just one paintbrush, but several dozen popping out of the rock over the next twenty feet or so. Their bright salmon colored tips stood out bright against the red rock and both gleamed in the white snow- this was a special moment. 

It was along this trail that I found a perfectly sized cavate with enough room for me to sprawl out in and take a nice break. I shed my outer layers and hung them off of natural hooks in the rock in hopes that they could dry out a little then dug out my long johns from inside my nice, dry backpack and put them on so I was toasty and warm. I munched on an apple and some pita chips, downed a ton of water, snapped a few pics, then stared out into the tranquil world in front of me watching the fluffy snowflakes drop against a sea of red and green. I was very happy to be in this special place, and even more excited about working here this season. The work will be very tough but the fact that my office is this unique and diverse landscape with endless opportunities for exploration really added to the excitement of the day. I ran the entire trail back down to the shuttle passing all the same parties as before. My new Oboz Trail Runners did a fantastic job on the wet rock and I must note that I did not slip even once! The shuttles were more busy now and I noted that the time was noon- wow, was that all? I felt like I had just come back to reality from a snow-globe dreamworld, but instead of being sad that I was leaving this place, I was just excited for all that is to come this summer!

~Mary Lane Poe~
Saint George, Utah 4.15.13

***Click on any of the pictures for a slideshow of them all, for more in-depth detail***