I’d be hard pressed to top our hike on Angel’s Landing. We really enjoyed our time in Zion! But the rest of the hikes we took in the Park were shorter and nowhere near as awesome.
In fact, of the big trails in Zion, Angel’s Landing was the only one open while we were there. The others were closed due to rockfall/trail damage, or high water. In fact, this is as close as we got to the Narrows, the trail for which Zion is probably the most famous:
This is the spot where, in summer, you’d cross the Virgin River and pick up the trail on the other side. The water flow has to be below 100 cfs (cubic feet per second) before the Park will open the Narrows. I can’t remember what how fast the water was moving (maybe 300 cfs?) but I do remember it was 40 degrees.
And the water was flowing everywhere at Zion.
Our shuttle driver said she hasn’t see water flowing over these falls (at the start of the Riverwalk Trail) in years.
We also managed to score two nights camping in the Park. The first night was at Watchman Campground, and I snagged a site due to an early departure. The next day I tried again, but Watchman was full up. It was suggested we try the other campground, South Campground – right next door. We didn’t have any problem getting in for one night.
When I asked why Watchman was the more popular campground, a Park Ranger suggested that Watchman was newer, and all the sites were bigger, level, and some even had hookups. We had to use our leveling kit at South Campground, and I guess the sites were smaller, but whatever. I thought both campgrounds were nice. Neither had that stellar view we got from our free site up at Eagle’s Crag, though.
At Zion we also checked out an area called the Weeping Wall. Due to high water flows, the weeping wall also had a sweet waterfall – the waterfall we’d seen from the top of Angel’s Landing.
The hike itself was short but steep and very much worth it.
The “weeping wall” is just in front of (and above) Michael. See, water collects on the tops of these rock formations, and it filters down through the layers of rock and soil. But at a certain point the water runs into an impermeable layer – usually shale – and the water is forced out through cracks where it runs down along the exposed rock face. Moss and other plants grow on weeping walls and even on a hot day weeping walls will feel cooler.
We decided to break the drive home into two days. We both love Taco Negro, but 12 hours is waaaay too long to sit in those seats. It was hard to say goodbye to Zion and southwestern Utah and this area will always have a special place in my heart.
The wind picked up considerably as we headed past Vegas and west towards California. Taco Negro already doesn’t get the best gas mileage, but when you add in a 30+ mph headwind…
We stopped for the night on BLM land, maybe 20 miles or so east of Tehachapi. You probably don’t know this but Tehachapi is most known for its gigantic wind farm. When we arrived, close to sunset, the wind had died down and I remember thinking how lucky we were.
All around us were wildflowers and Joshua trees.
Right as full darkness descended, the wind picked up. Then it picked up some more. Now, both Michael and I carry earplugs when we travel in Taco Negro, because in heavy winds that tent is noisy. Lots of flapping sounds. But the winds of Tehachapi were so strong that even with the earplugs I could barely sleep. The entire truck rocked in these gusts and more than once I found myself wondering if the roof rack was just going to peel off and send us and our tent flying off into the desert.
Obviously that did not happen, and around 3AM the winds did ease up a bit. Enough for me to finally get some sleep, anyway.
In all this trip to Utah was an adventure and we’re both so glad for it. I loved how easily we stepped right back into our lives as overlanding explorers.
I think our next few trips will involve bluegrass festivals, but fear not! Taco Negro will be the baddest rig around. Stay tuned!