Mukuntuweap
The Southern Paiute call this place Mukuntuweap, meaning straight up land, but you probably know it as Zion Canyon National Park. Alanna and I think of it as the beginning. It was here in the summer of 2015 that we began our month long trek in the wilds of southern Utah. Our start was less than promising. The park was crowded, really overrun with visitors, and the campgrounds were full so we ended up in a dusty RV park in the town of Springdale, but an afternoon jaunt along the Emerald Pools trail in the baking heat won us over. From that trip came the seeds for this one and for that we are grateful.
Alanna, never much of a hiker or camper, was won over by the glowing rocks and the cobalt sky that summer of 2015, so the tone was set in Zion for what would turn out to be a life-altering adventure for us. As that month was winding down, we vowed to have our own vehicle, probably a converted van of some sort by spring break. As you already know, when the idea of leaving San Francisco altogether took hold and we decided to make the trip a year-long one rather than a month, we realized that a converted van would not suffice. Thus, our dear Minnie.
This fall, we returned to Zion on their busiest week of the season. Utah’s schoolchildren were off for the week and the park was swarming with people, though at least we were not all bogged down by excessive heat. The 80s now feel balmy!
In the year plus that has passed since our maiden voyage to ZNP, we have learned a great deal about how to secure camping when you have no reservations. Alanna reads reviews as well as RV websites to get background information and tips. ZNP has one no reservation campground, and we understood that the line to get in forms very early, sometimes by two in the morning. Camped outside of Kanab, we knew we had a decision to make. Get up at before the crack of dawn and drive around the park to enter through Springdale, or, wait for the east entrance tunnel to open to us at 8am. Nervous about the camping situation, we were on the road by 5am. On arriving at 7am, a line of 30 cars was already waiting in the campground lot! And the line just kept growing by the minute! The volunteer campground hosts were kind and patient. Saints, really. Folks slowly trickled out of the campground only to be quickly replaced by those in line. We were happy to get a site and settle in for four days. When you are lucky enough to get a site in campgrounds as crowded as Zion’s, the compulsion is to stay forever.
Towering Navajo sandstone cliffs painted with streaks of desert varnish a thousand feet tall above the Virgin River sparkling green in the sunlight. This is Zion. We absolutely love this park, though the crowds can really challenge us. Zion is truly a hiking park and we loved sitting and watching folks getting off the shuttle busses and trudging back to their campsites at the end of each day. We so appreciate parks where people really get out and hike. This is a place where you just don’t want to stop, though if not careful, the heat and dehydration will end your fun prematurely.
During our four days here, we hiked new trails with brilliant views as well as some familiar ones, but even familiar places in this canyon can never get old. Each morning, intense winds came whipping out of the canyon, tearing the golden leaves from the Fremont cottonwoods causing everyone to hunker down till the sun crested the canyon walls. No one complained, Zion is too beautiful to complain.
After Zion, we stopped at another favorite, Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. This was our last stop last summer and we loved it then, though the 108℉ temperatures severely curtailed our explorations. We were thrilled to be back in less extreme conditions. You simply must visit this place. Words can do no justice. I’ll let you get a sense from Alanna’s photos. Suffice it to say that a one mile hike took us an hour and a half and she took over 500 pictures! Her arms ached afterwards, but she was so happy. I loved watching her work and seeing her joy. I didn’t even mind that she stopped every third step, we had the time and beautiful weather. I love this trek we are on!
