Southwestern Utah Vacation - Day 2: Rain, Snow, and Riverside Walk

Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Zion National Park

There were a number of trails I had in mind to hike while we were at Zion.  Yesterday, we had knocked one off the list (Angels Landing).  I also wanted to do the Riverside Walk, Emerald Pools, Hidden Canyon, Canyon Overlook, and Watchman Trail.  We really only had two full days left in Zion - today and then Friday when we returned from Bryce Canyon.  Was that enough time to fit them all in?

Today the weather was not pleasant.  It was rainy and cool.  I think raw might be the right word.  We thought we would start things off by visiting the Human History Museum in the park, but found when we got there at 9:20 that it didn't open for another 40 minutes.  So we headed back to the Visitor Center to talk with a ranger and see if they had any recommendations for rainy-day trails.

We left the Visitor Center with the idea that we could do the Emerald Pools.  However, the closer we got to the shuttle stop, the heavier the rain seemed to get.  We changed our plans and decided to stay on the shuttle and get off at the last stop, the Temple of Sinawava.  Here we could take the easy mile-long paved trail to the area of the Virgin River where the hike for the Narrows starts.  I think the Narrows would be a great hike because you hike in the river, up through the canyon.  Not something that was really on the agenda for us in April, though.  The water is cold and the current is fairly strong.

The scenery here is stunning as the sheer sandstone cliffs rise a thousand feet above the river that carved them.

Looking up into the narrows.

We were all pretty wet and cold by the time we made it back to the shuttle.  As we headed back down canyon it started to snow!  A group of four that had just finished hiking Emerald Pools got on at one of the stops.  They were soaked and their hands were frozen from holding on to their hiking poles.  They were pumped, though, partly from running to catch the shuttle and partly because just as they got to the waterfall, it had started to snow and made the most amazing scene.  I'm glad we didn't go on that hike, but I love how you can still have a great experience even if the weather isn't what you were hoping.

These people we met on the bus were from the Burlington, Vermont area and we kept bumping into them all week - on other hikes, at Bryce Canyon, and finally at the airport in Las Vegas.  We compared notes on different hikes and laughed at the weather.  One of the women said she recognized us from the hotel restaurant because she remembered the nice family with the big, tall boy who still hugged his dad.

After getting dried off and warmed up a bit at the hotel, we went out for lunch.  I wanted to try out Oscar's, and luckily there was a table available inside.  There were tables outside under heaters, but that would not have done it for me.  The food was good and Bill was able to get the burger he craved.

There were breaks in the clouds in the afternoon, so we thought we'd try again for Emerald Pools.  We got to the Human History Museum and it started to rain.  We poked around in the gift shop and watched the film in the theater, but things weren't looking any better.  We did run into the Vermonters again here.

The weather cut our hiking short, but did give us some nice pictures of snow-dusted peaks.

We gave up and headed back into town.  We hit a few rock shops, went back to the hotel and eventually out to dinner.  This time we ate at Zion Pizza & Noodle Co.  It was good, but the main dining area was essentially outside.  I hadn't realized that when we walked in.  They had the shades pulled down over the "windows", but after a few minutes I realized that there really were no windows.  That explained the gas heaters positioned around the room.  I kept my coat on through dinner, but the food was good.