Double Whammy!

Cedar City, UT - Zion National Park (59 miles, 1 hr 7mins)

Zion National Park - Grand Canyon NP (244 miles, 4hrs 47mins) 

Happy July 4th!

Today we were going to celebrate Independence Day in style by completing a National Park Double Whammy, bagging both Zion National Park and Grand Canyon in a single day!  

Double Whammy Part 1: Cedar City to Zion NP

Our route was going to take us first from the Super 8 in Cedar City to Zion NP and then we'd go from there to Grand Canyon.  I'd been up fairly late the night before taking advantage of the laundry facilities at the Super 8 (ironically, given yesterday's blog about weeping footwear, I suffered a Color Run Incident where one of my white shirts (an old dopey Polo Ralph Lauren one) managed to pick up a distinctly blue tinge - sigh) so it was a bit rough when the alarm went off at 5.30am.   But, all in a good cause, so we packed up our stuff and headed downstairs to see what delights awaited us this time for the "Complimentary Breakfast".  (OK - a quick aside here - why do they all insist on calling it "free" or "complimentary"?   The cost of the crappy cereal and white bread bagels is surely included in the room rate, right?).   There was coffee and the usual cereal but *shock horror* this time there was actually something mildly healthy available - Raisin Bran, yogurt and fresh fruit!  So, duly nourished, we set out on the road by 7am for the relatively short drive to Zion NP.

I'd been to Zion a few years before (I took a week off after leaving Pfizer, just before starting at Sudler, and spent it at the Red Mountain Spa in Utah - while there, I took a day trip to Zion) but Lori had never been and was very excited about it.  I remember it being very impressive and with the same feeling of grandeur that i'd subsequently experienced in Yosemite, so I was curious how I would find it, going back 4 years later.

We'd only have the morning in Zion before heading out to Grand Canyon, so i'd picked a short hike i remembered from my last trip which had great views and didn't take too long called Canyon Overlook Hike.  You could also get to it without having to decamp from your car to the Park's Shuttle bus (mandatory during the summer to get to the main areas of the Park), so that was uber-convenient - provided we got there early enough to bag a spot in the fairly small car park just opposite the trailhead.  To get there, you also had to drive through the Zion - Mount Carmel tunnel - a mile-long tunnel that was, at the time of its completion in 1930, the longest tunnel of its type in the United States.  It is quite narrow, by modern standards, such that if you are driving a vehicle that is wider that 7ft 10 inches (larger RV's, for example), you'll not be able to navigate the curves in the tunnel without going over the central line.  In these case, you need to get a special escort to take you through separately (which will cost you an extra $15 for the privilege!).   Its also VERY dark!  For some reason, there are no lights at all inside the tunnel  - it makes a big difference, even with your car's headlights on!  There's also this rather charming sound effect as you drive through - the rhythm of your car's tyres on the tarmac sounds like horse's hooves trotting!  Very weird!!  

http://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/the-zion-mount-carmel-tunnel.htm

Anyway, we got through the tunnel without incident and - because we were there nice and early - bagged ourselves a parking spot at the car park just past the tunnel!  We chatted to the friendly Tunnel Ranger for a couple of minutes and picked up some very useful intel about avoiding Page on the drive to Grand Canyon (there was a road closure that would add at least a couple of hours to our journey).  It always helps to talk to the locals!  With that, we donned our Independence Day necklaces and deely-boppers (well, what else would you wear hiking on July 4th?!) and headed out for our short hike.

The vista from the Canyon Overlook trail

I wonder how many Americans I managed to confuse in the space of a few hours as we hiked up the trail?  Most people, upon seeing us wearing our patriotic headgear, smiled and wished us a Happy 4th - I guess most probably weren't expecting to be answered in a British accent!!   But it was a lot of fun and certainly added to our festive mood that day!  The cheerful mood took a slight dent momentarily when Lori tripped getting down off a rock after a photo op and did a controlled splat onto her knees and wrists.  It was a collective holding of breath for a couple of seconds until she said "I'm OK, I'm OK" (I helpfully added at that point "well, I didn't hear anything snap"), so other than a scuffed knee and a sore wrist to add to her burgeoning collection of bumps and scrapes, all was well.

The view from the top

We continued to the top of the trail (passing a guy on crutches along the way - now that is crazy) and were justly rewarded with the spectacular view that I'd remembered from all those years ago.  The pictures really don't do it justice - its the sheer scale and immensity of what you are looking at that is so impressive.  The road that we'd just driven up looked absolutely tiny with cars the size of ants, twisting and turning their way up the switchback curves.  There were a few other people already at the top (to be expected, given it was a holiday weekend) but - despite the gaggle of the crowd - it still felt very serene and chilled out to sit up high, and gaze out over the canyon.   It was a reflective moment for me, remembering the last time I'd been in that very same spot, just over 4 yrs ago and thinking about everything that had happened to me since, both personally and professionally.

Stars and Stripes deely-boppers?  Why, of course - de rigeur
for hiking on July 4th

 After about 20mins or so, we'd both Zen'ned out, so it was time to head back down to the car and to explore some of the main highlights of the park.  We drove back down through the tunnel and to the Visitor Center where we swapped our car for the Park's shuttle bus service.  As we didn't have enough time to do a full hike, instead we would get a smorgasbord sampling of some of the most famous scenic viewpoints, including the infamous Angel's Landing.

".......OM......"

Angel's Landing is one of the most strenuous and demanding hikes in the whole NP, both physically and psychologically.  Like Half Dome in Yosemite, the final part of the hike is completed with the assist of ropes and/or chains with a vertical drop-off of hundreds of feet, just inches from the edge of the  narrow trail.  Also like Half Dome, it has a number of fatalities associated with it (5 documented where there was no "suspicious activity" associated with it) and I had absolutely no desire whatsoever to try it out.  Even though the views are absolutely spectacular, with 360 degree views of Zion Canyon, me, my dyspraxia and a healthy fear of premature, avoidable death meant that i was perfectly 100% happy to observe from a distance.  Having a look online later at the top part of the trail merely confirmed to me what a good move that was - its utterly terrifying!  On the shuttle bus driving through the park, the recorded voiceover announcement stressed that its not suitable for children, is very strenuous and is not suitable for those with a fear of heights.  Again, all good reasons to sit this one out!   The pictures below show Angel's Landing from the nice, safe ground - as well as a couple I found online to show you what I (wisely) missed. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_Landing

View of Angels Landing from the nice and safe, ground
 level shuttle bus 

Picture of the top part of the Angels Landing trail.
 Bonkers.

I get the heebie-jeebies just looking at this picture.  This illustrates
the sheer drop-off from the trail, straight down to splattage on the canyon floor

More impressive pointy rockfaces during the Scenic Highway drive 

Courtyard of the Patriarchs.  

The full loop of the scenic drive through Zion via the shuttle bus took about 90mins so, with a brief stop to get some lunch and sit outside to relax and eat, we were done by 1pm and ready to head out to the next part of our adventure!  It was a shame we weren't able to stay longer in Zion and do a couple more hikes, but it was a great introduction to a stunning park and one that would certainly bear repeated visits.  But, no time to be sad - time to fire up the Mean Black Mutha Machine and hit the highway!  Grand Canyon, here we come!!

We'll be back.