Zion's Narrows, 1

It wasn't the Tour du Mont Blanc, nor the Milford, nor the Everest trek, but we were pretty pleased with our two day-hikes up the Narrows, aka the Virgin River Canyon, in Zion NP. The Narrows are a really narrow part of the Canyon, the really interesting part of which is 3-4 miles up the creek from the Narrows parking area. Most of the hike, depending on conditions, season, etc., is down in the water, wading in the creek. On our two hikes, the water depth ranged from ankle to mid-thigh, the latter level getting interesting with the heavy current. There was a minimal shore to walk on perhaps a third of the way. Anyway, to do all this, unless you really like wading in 45 degree water (hypothermia is possible below 46 degrees), you rent water boots and waders, all of which really work; plus you get a hiking stick mostly for probing the depths and holding yourself against the current in the deeper water. The first day, we got a late start, were learning the technique--we both fell once, me in the water and Vicki on the shore--and didn't get as far as we wanted; and so resolved to do it again, starting way earlier. The second day we got where we wanted and had a great time. And took lots of pix, a few of which are below and in the next post.

Starting out

Dimrill Dale; I am in awe of those photographers who can
do canyon landscapes; handling the contrast between
brightest light and deep shadow is beyond my skill;
presently

Vicki, just beyond the waterfall, early into the hike; temps in
the canyon got as high as the low 50s

On a bit of shoreline

A rare floor to ceiling shot

Pretty much what it looks like in the early stages

Then things start narrowing...

Thus, me

Vicki at one of the innumerable crossings; note cave

Ever onward

Narrow...

Narrower...

The hike wasn't crowded, but you were never alone for very
long, and making and getting portraits made was never a
challenge

Thus; narrow but not straight

Moi, again

Undercut

The canyon-cutting ever interesting

Really big undercut

To be continued...

Zion National Park

Our final stop and national park in Utah was Zion National Park, another sandstone wonder in the southwest of the state. We'd been to Zion before, briefly, and remember walking the trail up to where The Narrows hike, up the canyon, begins. (Rebecca and Rachel will remember Prime Minister Take-a-Leakie there). Little did I know how much The Narrows impressed Vicki then, but I was to learn  on this visit very shortly. Our first couple days in Zion we did the visitor center and gift shoppe, the museum and film, and a few short hikes, up to the Emerald Pools and back up The Narrows Trail to where the maintained trail ends...

Zion's basically a canyon or two or three above which rise the
remains of the usual sandstone mountains; none of the
mountains are big--few rise more than 1,500 feet above the
canyon floor, I would guess--but they are nonetheless unusually
picturesque, comparable in that regard to the Dolomites or the
Lofotens

Ditto

From the campground; Virgin River in foreground

More canyon, more mountains

More ditto

From the museum courtyard; most of the mountains were named
by Mormon pioneers and thus mostly have names from the Iron
Age Abrahamic religions; alas, I did not bother to learn any of
their names

One of the more interesting and beautiful arches...look down
the left-side ridge to where the angle lessens

Thus; don't see that kind of thing in the Tetons or Alps; or the
Himalayas

Another view, from near the campground

It's the evening alpenglow where things get really spectacular

Not enhanced at all; that's really what you see all over the
canyon; and I have never seen more people with big assault
cameras and tripods, lining up and down the highways and
pull-outs to get these shots; it's obviously a photographer's
wonderland

More peaks; the pinnacles here are mostly sandstone hoodoos

Vicki, about to walk through the water-fall from the Middle
Emerald Pool

Middle Emerald Pool

Sideways panoramic attempt
at capturing the Upper
Emerald Pool to the cliffs
way high above

Extremely ominous foreshadowing: the view up The Narrows
from where the established (paved) trail ends...Ringwaifs: this
was for me the Dimrill Dale...

Lottery Losers At The Wave

So probably the toughest ticket in the Southwest, or possibly the world, is The Wave, one of Nature's more extraordinary desert sandstone displays, the six mile hike to which is controlled and administered by the BLM. Such is its popularity. We had never heard of The Wave before, but, seeing some photographs in various places, we were hooked; totally. Of course, you need a wilderness permit, to be obtained at the BLM offices in Kanab. And what you discover, upon presenting yourself there for application, is that there is a Wave Lottery, conducted daily (including weekends and holidays), at 9AM, via which ten persons per day are permitted to make the journey. Part of our staying in Kanab an extra day or two was to enter the Wave Lottery for a Thursday hike.  

The Wave; off the web

Ditto; just Google/image Wave, Utah and you'll come up with lots more;
it's one of the landscape photographer's ultimate dreams

So we arrived extra early Wednesday morning, Veterans' Day, assuming punctuality
might carry some weight...Fortune favors the early bird...right?

So there were 77 contestants that Wednesday morning; here, the Lottery Goddess
is explaining the process, eligibility, the hike, the risks, etc; she was good...I have
never felt better informed and prepared...seriously

1/77 isn't bad, certainly better than Powerball; and I was feeling unusually optimistic

But it was not to be our day to visit The Wave

Maybe next spring, or fall, I'll post some pix like this of us hiking The Wave...

Kanab, Utah's Little Hollywood

The town of Kanab prides itself on being the epicenter of Utah's once-formidable Western film and TV industry. Beginning with Tom Mix in 1924 and then the big studios a few years later, Kanab saw a parade of some of the greatest stars and film-makers for half a century. Not a small part of all this was the entrepreneurship of the Parry brothers, who promoted the landscape and lore and who provided the lodge that would be production headquarters for countless movies and TV shows. Parry's Lodge is still there, and there is a free Museum of Little Hollywood (and Trading Post), but the main interest to us were the many plaques lining the main drag. For those of our vintage (and with an interest in both western and cinema history), it was a fun stroll, full of memories and a few discoveries.

It all started with this guy, but the big studios
were not far behind

Another of the Immortals

Did you know that the Rat Pack originally was
founded by Bogey and that the name was
bestowed by Lauren Bacall? Extra credit: name
a western in which Bogey played a supporting
character

OK, this would have been a Western in the 18th
century

Just a flesh wound; OK, so where is Cleavon
Little (of Blazing Saddles fame)?

North, east, south, or west, this guy was funny

Just passed away...into a Technicolor Heaven,
hopefully

Never played the bad guy...except in real life

Never played the bad guy...

Also a snake whisperer

Everyman's Everyman

She and Roy and Trigger were going through a
rough patch...

#1 TV Western

#1 movie cowboy; also never played a bad guy...

Outside the Little Hollywood Museum

Among the many sets at the Museum, this from The Outlaw
Josey Wales; made of styrofoam or somesuch, of course

Presumed origin of the Blazing Saddles
character; bonus question: who was the referent
of Mel Brooks' character, Governor William J.
Lepetomane?

Entrance to Parry's Lodge