Zion National Park is a beautiful place but it has a very odd fundamentalist vibe to it. Apparently the area was settled by Mormons about 100 years ago and their influence has caused for biblical names on everything. That make senses, but the park staff seems to have this strange aura that makes it feel like somebody's about to get converted.
Anyways, I took off for an early morning run up Watchman Mountain while Liv slept in. The tail was a bit treacherous clinging to a cliff face, but the view up the valley from the summit was worth it. Returning to the site, I found Liv still asleep so I completely struck camp, then we headed to the Zion Lodge for breakfast. The food was delicious and a well needed divergence from oats and dehydrated milk.
We revisited the Emerald Pool Trail, hiking to the Upper, Middle, and Lower Pools. Upper Emerald Pool was the most spectacular of the three and we joined a group of Germans cooling off in the shade beneath the hanging waterfall. Unfortunately, the Park Service prohibited swimming in the pools about 10 years ago because the water was getting to funky from people nastiness. We hiked out through The Grotto as the temperature rose past the high 90s and we depleted our water supply.
We took a quick dip back in the Virgin River to cool off before driving south to the Grand Canyon. Utah was more of the expected barren heat, but as we drove up into the Kaibab National Forest in Arizona the temperature dropped slightly and trees returned. Most of the forest outside of the North Rim entrance was recovering from a large fire a few years back and the remnants of the burn were startling.
We walked around the Grand Canyon Lodge and took in the views above Bridal Canyon in North Rim, Arizona. Ten miles across the canyon was South Rim where the typical tourist garbage was abundant, but at North Rim it was considerably more relaxed and free of the tacky treats that come with tourism. The rim trail was crowded and we took a sick joy in watching the overweight Americans struggle with the paved trail.
The Park Service campground was booked solid (despite the numerous empty sites), so we drove out of the park to the NFS Fire Roads where dispersed camping allows free camping wherever you can throw a tent. We attempted to find an overlook off of FR-22, but after 90 minutes of nothing, we retreated and found a nice spot on East Rim off FR-611.
The sunset was amazing over the Grand Canyon as lighting struck the surrounding vastness below our site. It was a little distressing camping in near isolation, but Liv cooked an excellent dinner over the fire, which calmed the nerves.
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