Yesterday was a day full of hiking, and this means three trails totaling in roughly 12 miles. Melody and I decided to hike the first route which would connect the bottom half with the top – the emerald pools trails. It was a bit disappointing with the name indicating a more amazing view, but was still worth it at the top emerald pool. This is a picture of us looking up 300 feet at the top of the falls.

With Zion being made through vast eras and mounds of sediment, it shows its age through its layers as trees with their circular root. It is amazing to see how thousands upon thousands of years can create such beauties.

Our next hike was one of the most epic, letting us climb from the canyon floor to the top of one peak. This trail was called Angel’s Landing and was rightfully named.

With many false peaks on our way to the peak, we stopped by to admire the view of the canyon. It was amazing to see us cover these altitudes in such short periods of time.

We also stopped to take this quick snapshot. I was glad to have carried roughly 70 pounds of equipment which included my tripod.

We finally summited Angel’s Landing and I told Melody to pose. She gave me some weak poses until this one. Her fear of heights limited her ability to give it all she got. But I was already proud that she made it to the top with me.

There were tons of different animals that were randomly around. I thought this chipmunk was cute and had to take a picture of it. I remeber a time back in Georgia where this little creature frightened me in my garage, that might be a story for another time.

On the way down I wanted to document some of the trails, trials, and tribulations that were surpassed. Chains were put in place to help aid our travels to the summit. Here is a fellow hiker trying to make it back down safely – it is harder to go down then up.

To be able to reach to top we had to go through Walter’s Wiggles which helped up reach such great altitudes in such little time. It just amazes me how rangers were able to help maintain and create such a clean marked trail.

At the bottom, Melody is relieved that we finally made it.

So we decided after this hike to get a quick bite to eat so we could discover more of what Zion has to offer. There was a riverside hike that seemed intriguing so I suggested to go. It was one of the most unique hikes I have ever been on. We were forced to traverse through the river up the canyon. I just wished we started earlier to get to the narrows or slot canyon. I guess its a good way to encourage us to go back in the future. Well hopefully I will go back and bask in Zion’s beauty once again.