2/4/21 zion national park 🌄

wow. i have never felt anything as insane as the feeling that zion gave me. we left the zion canyon area last night, and i physically felt sadness in my heart. it’s one of those places for me that just feels like home. every passing scent or sensation that i felt brought back such vivid memories from the past. super weird but the coolest thing ever. the feeling of the light wind blowing lightly on my skin before i heard it rush through the rabbitbrush next to me made me remember that i am just as part of nature as each plant that is growing and each animal that is living. never have i seen such vivid life in a desert environment!! inside of the deep red canyon walls, deer peacefully snacked and slept as people hiked right next to them. birds of all sorts sang and flew by on every hike. even the little chipmunks, squirrels, and bugs came out the last day that we were there. felt surreal to see such life in the winter. the bluest water (due to a recent cyanobacteria bloom 🦋) from the river that carved out the valley roared through the canyon, creating small beaches and providing life for all sorts of plants. emerald green shrubs accented the huge pine trees that challenged the overarching valley walls. huge prickly pear cacti grew alongside many trails.

okay enough of me nerding out about this place...

we arrived at zion saturday night after a lovely nighttime mountain drive once again. slept on some good old blm land before making our way into the park sunday morning. we first randomly stopped at a small hike that ended up over looking the valley. the first view of the valley and my mind was blown. the colors of this place are insane, and the energy that is present there is indescribable. i instantly felt that i was in the right place. zion has been one of the places that i have been obsessed with since my fascination with hiking and traveling began back when i was 13 or 14. the fact that it was right in front of me was mind blowing. after this first hike, we headed further into the park, where it was super super crowded ( the reason we normally avoid the parks on the weekend ). ended up having to park at the lodge because most parking was full, but we got to hike emerald pools , which was super dope. we traversed up the side of the red canyons while taking in the views of the valley below. once we got further into the trail, we were surrounded by green plants and blue pools of water that drip down the side of the canyon.

after emerald pools, we found an awesome spot for some sunset writing by the river. after the sunset, we headed out to a little campsite, where we made some soup and beans for dinner 🥲

woke up the next morning and ran some killer hills right by our campsite before heading into town for chem class :) wandered around town for a bit and bought some micro spikes for icy hiking before heading into the park to do angels landing !! my dream dream hike for so long. it was beyond insane. tons and tons of switch backs at the beginning, but i was too on top of the world to care. got to the top part, where we walked on the ridge of the mountain (pretty icy up here 🥶) with sharp cliff faces and only a chain to hold on to. the micro spikes definitely helped us here lol. getting to the top was so crazy, the view was insane. literally no words for this hike. and we were super lucky that it wasn’t even crowded due to the off season.

we ended up meeting a dude that invited us to camp with him and his homies that night, so after a day hiking angels landing we chilled by the fire with some new friends that we convinced to hike the narrows with us :) finally set up tents because the weather was warm, which was so so nice. tried a pb&j on a tortilla and cold amy’s soup... new car fav meals.

we all woke up the next morning, rented gear, and headed into the narrows ( a hike that’s basically just walking through a cold river surrounded by huge canyon walls ) super crazy hike through the depths of zion 🪐 ended up getting in so deep that i got water down the bib, but it was refreshing🥰 after this hike, we chilled by the river again. the feeling of peace is so great while sitting in the valley of parks like this. after some chill time, we rollerbladed around the valley a bit and then ended the night with some homework !!! spent the night inside zions campground, always a treat to wake up in the park.

the next morning we went for another hilly run up the watchman trail in zion before chem class and some yoga by the river once again. oh and overnight oats 🌝 after some meditation in the valley, i decided it was much too nice of a day to not do angels landing again before we left the park, so we did it. but this time in a skirt 😎 and there was no ice, so the trip up was super easy !!

we ended up spending four beautiful days in zion and i could not be happier about it. leaving this place was so hard, but i’ll definitely be back so so soon 🍄❤️