Tuesday, September 3rd 2013

I woke up that morning and peeked my head out of my tent.  Having arrived after nightfall the previous day, I was in for a treat when I saw the landscape that surrounded me.  Magnificent was an understatement.

The walls stretched upwards, looking down on us with a smile.  After breakfast we made our way to the visitor’s center, got some trail maps and planned our day.  We then jumped on a shuttle and headed to our trailhead.

We took the East Rim Trail towards Observation Point.  At the bottom the canyon walls towered over us, leaving us wondering where the trail even began.

Above, you can see a vehicle driving away, for perspective.

As we made our way upwards, the views became increasingly beautiful.

Finally, we made our way to Echo Canyon, a narrow canyon that sweeps along the trail, with bright red and purple colored layers of sandstone. 

Me and Valeria took a break, while Marcos took his trekking poles and kept on going.  While we ate our lunch, the earth around us began to move.  Lizards.

The surrounding scenery was so breathtaking it was overwhelming.  I was content to just sit there and look.  We explored Echo Canyon a bit more, getting a bit further into the crevasse.

Before we knew it, the time was running away from us.  We walked out and headed to another trail.

There we ran into some wildlife and much less of a challenge for hiking.

After glancing around a bit, it was time to head out.  We got in the car and took a long drive to our next destination… Las Vegas Nevada.  But our time in Zion was not in vain.  It left quite an impression on me, and I look forward to the day that I’ll be back again, ready to explore new and unseen territory…