Take a Hike

Subway. No, not the sandwich, I'm not very fond of Subway sandwiches, seeing as they probably contain food poisoning. When I say Subway, I am referring to that glorious slot canyon in Zions National Park that I want to hike again ever so badly. Where else can you feel the fantastic rush of cooling off by swimming through ice cold water while simultaneously warming up in the high noon sun that's reflecting off the magnificent stone walls surrounding you on all sides? It's one of the most perfect hikes I've ever had the fortune to be able to hike. A beautiful mix of climbing, swimming, descending, playing, and marveling at the beautiful scenery that is the constant companion of this hike. Little natural swimming pools and water slides that adorn the trail provide refreshing breaks along the way, and it's always fun to try to catch some cute little froggies off to the side of the river.  Here's a couple pictures from this amazing experience.

 I love this part. It's like something from a movie.

 Beautiful

 All the natural tunnels are amazing!

 Going down that = party!

 Nature is so cool.

 Dinosaur tracks! This hike has everything!

 Nice cold swimming pools.

 Ruby spotted skimmer. So cool.

I think it should rain like this sometimes.

While we're kind of on the subject of waterfalls, this one was amazing to rappel down. Battle creek falls. Only 40 or 50 feet, but really slippery and cold. Quite the adventure. Much more intense than it looks.

Now, back to the subject of slot canyons. More that I love a ton: 

Ding Dang Dome. Mostly just super fun, jumping over boulders and logs, and then walking along a 2 inch ledge above a 40 foot drop right at the very end. You really get a false sense of security with that one.

Escalante. This one is just fun and easy going the whole way. A bit of a hike in to get to the slot canyon, but really beautiful when you get there. Escalante river is always a great place to relax, unless of course you step on a tiny pebble and it goes in your foot so you have to hike with it in your foot the 14 miles back out of the place. Yeah, that was fun.

Hidden Canyon. This is a great story to tell. Okay, during the Bryce and Zions trip with the Germans, our little group decided to hike hidden canyon in Zions National Park. Well, for some reason we all failed to see the signs indicating that the trip is only around 2 miles, or the big sign that says "TRAIL ENDS HERE!!!" So, naturally, we kept going. We scaled some pretty impressive obstacles, and pushed through some dense foresty areas and climbed and climbed and climbed. Well, we finally made it to the top, which was never intended to be reached. It was a wonderful moment, except that there wasn't really anything special at the top at all, and it kinda looked just like everything else in the canyon, but it was satisfying none the less. Then we started to go back down. At first it was fairly easy, we just followed the same path that we took on the way up. And then we ran into a spot that we had climbed up with relative ease. Unfortunately, it was not possible to climb down the same way we had come up, due to the way gravity works, and nobody could really see the ground over the edge. We were trapped. Whenever you're climbing, always remember that going up is easier than going down unless you intend to rappel or fall. We contemplated a bit, wondering what to do, and then came up with a decision. So, of course I was stupid enough to just go and jump off the edge, and I was lucky enough to not die or break anything. I found a log and put it in place so that the others could get down. It may have been a really stupid idea, but it saved our group from perishing in that dismal little canyon. I also now pay attention to signs. Usually.

Hmm. It's late and I need to sleep now, but I want to talk about one more thing while I'm on this subject. Arches National Park. I love the arches. They are super amazing and they inspire me. There's one really cool arch that hidden down a short little sandy slot canyon, and that one is extremely easy to get to and fun once you get there. But what I really want to talk about is delicate arch. This is the one that everybody  has seen at one time or another because it's so immensely popular, but that is because it really is absolutely amazing. Think about it, a random arch in the middle of nowhere, just happily sitting on top of the world. It's amazing.

 Yes, that's delicate arch reflected in my sun glasses. 

And that's delicate arch. Absolutely gorgeous.

In conclusion, I love hikes. Who wants to go on an awesome hike with me?