Angel's Landing

One of the other iconic hikes in Zion's is Angel's Landing.  You have to get a permit for this now too.  Unfortunately we didn't get a permit ahead of time and were hoping for a next-day permit.  While hiking in the Subway we didn't have the connection to apply for the lottery.  Jeremy was willing to try one more time though and we secured a permit for the morning we were driving home.  It meant it was going to be a very long day but we wanted to make it happen.  Cambrie couldn't hike with her ankle so upset, so she and Daxton hung out at the bottom waiting for us.  They rode the shuttle to different stops and made their way to the visitor's center.  Kelton and McKenzie decided to brave the last hike of the trip.  

It wasn't nearly as long as the Subway, but it was still a 5.5 mile hike, with a ton of elevation.  To keep everyone distracted we played a lot of variations on an alphabet game.  The kids also made it their mission to save every fuzzy caterpillar on the trail.

After all of the switchbacks we finally made it to what I think is the coolest part, the chain section.  You literally hike along a precipice with cliffs on either side.  The chains are more than just a good idea.  Luckily our kids are pretty competent and we trusted them to do this hike safely.  It wasn't too hot or windy which was nice not being blown off or needing to handle a scorching chain.  

Up at the top McKenzie decided it wasn't as impressive as she had hoped.  Honestly, she hiked the equivalent of a marathon that weekend so I don't blame her for being exhausted.  

Happy and Donut did their best to keep her spirit up. 

Kelton loved the view and didn't complain once, even when our long legs kept pulling us away from him.  

I was so grateful for this weekend.  It was such a perfect few days away with our kids in an amazing location.  I never thought I'd say this, but it made me miss southern Utah and all those red rock opportunities.

The Narrows

All right, the boys have been recovered!  The plan had been to take all of the kids up to the Narrows and just hike as far as their energy would allow.  We knew that the cool water would be refreshing and that it was a pretty stress-free hike for everyone.  With the delay in picking them up we weren't sure we were going to make the last shuttle up (or down) the canyon.  It became rather a rushed affair.  We made the shuttle up (yay!) and I had a chance to really look at the boys.  They were sunburned and very tired.  Maybe they wouldn't be making it very far.  Cambrie also reinjured her ankle in the slot canyon and she really wanted to stay off of it.  Oh well, let's see what we can do.  I wanted one family picture before the weekend was over.  If only we could make it to the river we'd be golden.  What's that?  You mean I didn't read the trail guide correctly and it was a mile and a half walk to just get to the Narrows?!  Rats!  We wandered down to the water's edge where we took a picture with Cambrie before she took a seat and waited for us to come back.  

That mile and a half walk was hard for tired little boy legs.  I just kept hoping at this point that they would enjoy walking in the river. 

We made it!  The water was still nice and cold, but it felt good.  We started exploring up river and generally having a good time.  Daxton named the rocks avocado rocks and bread rocks depending on what color of rock he was stepping on.  Some downstream hikers gave us their hiking poles so the boys had some support as they made their way up. 

We reached a section that looked deeper than the rest.  I honestly didn't know if the boys were even tall enough to touch the bottom but we gave it a shot.  I took the bags and Jeremy took the boys.  There were lots of giggles and smiles at this part.  

A cliffside waterfall.

Kelton found a cliffside hangout spot. 

We only had an hour to explore so we didn't miss the last shuttle.  Earlier that day this river had been absolutely packed with people.  It was a hot day and this was the best place to be.  By the time we got there we enjoyed a nice overcast sky.  Or it would have been a nice overcast sky if we hadn't been soaking wet and cold!  It was probably a good thing we had a time limit because the boys were turning blue.  Jeremy and McKenzie took the easy way down the river and just floated.  That is the way to travel!

We still had to walk the whole way back down cold, wet and tired, but at least we could do it barefoot.  And as a huge bonus, we made that last shuttle (whew!).

Zion National Park

We took it easier-ish the day after the Subway.  After exploring a bit the night before (Lava Point Overlook)...

we finally found a camping spot near Lambs Ear BLM land.  The view was absolutely incredible at sunset.  We were so lucky to camp in such a great spot. 

 

The bugs were fairly minimal and our favorite guest as Billy the Beetle.  Apparently he likes lychee fruit.

We let the girls sleep in before making our way into the main area of the park.  

We were meeting the boys later that afternoon and had some time to kill.  Jeremy and I decided to hike up to Emerald Pools.  The girls were wiped so they waited at the bottom for us.  Jeremy and I sped hike that thing to get up and down as quickly as possible.  The trail to the Lower Pool was closed, I think we bypassed the trail to the Middle Pool, but we found the Upper Pool.  I don't know if I would call it "Emerald" Pool at this point in the season but it was still pretty cool.  The cliffs were pretty high and there was so much water seeping through the rocks to form these.  

What a happy little cactus field!

We made our way out of the park and started driving to meet Bruce and Leesa who had the boys with them at Lake Powell.  One of my favorite memories of the park is driving through the Mt. Carmel tunnel.  I just remember being entranced by the windows in the cliff tunnel and the roads that had been paved red.  It was gratifying to me that Jeremy and the kids thought it was as cool as I did.

When we finally got cell service we learned that the Rogers had been delayed and we needed to kill a few hours.  I had heard of a small slot canyon not far from where we were, Red Hollow Slot Canyon, and we decided to go check it out.  It was a short half mile hike in followed by a bit of scrambling.  There was one section we decided to gear up for to make it over.  It was good practice but a lot of work for the end of the canyon.  It wasn't very long but that was okay.  It was nice and cool in there which was a big deal considering it was 107 degrees out in the full sun this weekend!

The Subway

Jeremy has been dreaming of taking the kid to go hike one of his favorite hikes in the world-the Subway down in Zion.  We needed to wait until the kids were old enough to handle the distance.  We also needed to get lucky with the permit system.  Well, the stars aligned and we were able to go down and hike it with the girls.  We had given them a rough idea of what to expect: it's about 10 miles and will take us about 10 hours.  You will get hot.  You will get wet.  We will need to take a lot of water and food.  You will be so tired by the end but you are going to love it.  

The first hurdle we had to jump was simply dropping off a car at the pick-up point.  The girls and I waited for Jeremy to hitchhike back up to the top.  I was afraid he wasn't going to find a ride but he eventually did and we were able to get started. 

Jeremy took me on this hike when we were first married.  I don't remember many of the details, like the first part of the hike being so beautiful!  The trees were gorgeous, the temperature was perfect and I was optimistic that it was going to be a perfect day.

We eventually made it out of the trees and onto some of the open route-finding sections of the hike.  I think the texture on the sandstone is incredible.  I was still giddy with what awaited us the rest of the day.  Walking sideways down the stone was a little tiring on our ankles and I hoped that it wouldn't come back to haunt the girls later.  By now they were beginning to realize that they were going to be tired and the giddy skipping from earlier was wearing down.  

Part of the planning of this hike is making sure you absolutely know the way or at least have a GPS file downloaded to guide you.  Jeremy had no doubt that he knew the way so we didn't have a backup plan.  Unfortunately that backfired.  At one point we couldn't find the trail.  Jeremy had memories of where the trail was supposed to lead and landmarks he was supposed to see.  None of it made sense.  The girls and I sat down to have a snack while he started running through the area looking for the trail.  While we waited we found another family who was equally as lost.  We scouted together for awhile, split up, found each other again and the guys compared notes.  After nearly an hour and a half of hunting Jeremy finally found the trail and we were on our way again.  These rocks!  I just love them!

It was finally time to start dropping down into the canyoneering section.  The first drop is just a scramble and it was nice to change up the force on our bodies.  

We climbed through the canyon appreciating the shadows then came to the water sections.  You never really know what you're going to find when you reach this point because the water level varies so much.  I had accidentally stumbled into a deep puddle so I was already wet when it came time to swim across a section.  The water was cold but not unbearable.  McKenzie followed without any hesitation but Cambrie refused to get in the water.  No, it wasn't clean and clear, but I've definitely seen worse.  She sat on the ledge refusing to make the jump.  After realizing she had no choice she got in with us.  The following wet sections weren't as bad.  Some of them were really fun, and Jeremy and McKenzie swam through some short underwater tunnels.  

Trying to get our bags through the water was funny.  We had our dry bags which were big enough for the girls' packs and they could just push those through the water with them.  Jeremy and I had large packs and our dry bags weren't as water proof.  Trying to hold those over our heads while treading water only worked so well, and at one point I just went completely under trying to keep our stuff dry.  Spoiler alert: our stuff was dry so I didn't need to try so hard.  

We saw a ton of tadpoles in the water.  They were smaller up at the top and grew bigger the farther down we hiked. It was fun looking for that first frog.

The cold water started affecting me and I started shivering.  The sun and warmed stone was definitely my friend.  However the cold water was the best thing for Cambrie.  That sideways hiking up at the top loosened the stability in her ankle and it was giving it grief.  The longer we hiked the worse her ankle got.  She found a stick that ended up spending the whole weekend with us.  

The last cliff drop before the iconic Subway section was big enough that we were very grateful for our ropes and harnesses.  It was a good thing McKenzie had practiced rappelling on shorter sections earlier because this was a bigger drop than she had seen before.

We made it, the Subway!  It is such a cool experience seeing it.  However, I didn't tell the girls that this meant we were only halfway.  They were feeling pretty accomplished and ready to be done.

We are going to have quite the collage of family photos this year!  I love it.

Jeremy and McKenzie thought these pools were perfect little hot tubs.  I think we needed to have one of those back and camp for when we finished the hot and dusty section.

Right past the Subway we walked down the river for the majority of the time.  Some of the rocks made fun little waterslides. 

It's funny looking through my camera reel and realizing that this was the last photo I took of our hike.  This was still up by the hot tubs and water slides.  We found our frog! We ended up finding four by the end of the day.

 From here on out we walked in the river whenever we could.  When it was too precarious we walked on the trail that paralleled it.  It was not an easy trail.  Cambrie yelled that a preschooler could have designed a better trail.  It was up, down, sideways and skewampus.  Her ankle was causing her a lot of pain by now and all of the McKenzie hurt.  We knew we had to hike just long enough to find a way around the bluff to our right.  That bluff was never ending!  After every bend in the river there was more to go.  By the time we found the trail up Cambrie was mad at the world, McKenzie took a wrong turn and got lost, a storm was moving in blowing dust in our faces, and we were just praying to find the car soon.  Jeremy and I on the other hand, while tired, were so grateful that we were able to have that experience with our girls.  It was a long day but it was so much fun.  After they had been fed and rested they both admitted that there were pretty cool sections of the hike.  Were they glad they did it?  Yes.  Would they do it again?  No.  That's okay.  Never say never!