Dunn / Averill Family Adventure 2013: Zion Canyon

Rebecca..

Zion Canyon is a national park in the south of Utah. At 3600 feet (1097 metres) above sea level and is inhabited by chipmunks, mule deer, foxes and very rarely mountain lions. We hiked along the stripy red, white and orange cliff faces. The paths were steep and occasionally very narrow with a steep drop off on one side and one false step would mean certain death. On the way we saw chipmunks and some lizards basking in the sun as well. We edged closer and closer to the ‘what we thought was the top’ point. We arrived at the view point, realising that there was an opportunity to venture into a canyon that wasn’t that far away. My family and I decided to go for it. We were happily wandering along the track when we realised that there a narrow and dangerous part of the track going along the cliff face and that we needed chains to be able to walk up there safely. It was very scary. We were 240 metres high from the ground that we started on. I could see all the other tracks clambering up the cliffs. All I could think was “don’t look down, don’t look down, don’t look down” When we finally got to a reasonably safe part of the track, I raced on ahead to see what was in store for us. I found out that it was the end of the trail that was maintained which meant scrambling was involved. Scrambling over rocks that were either steep, slippery or sometimes a mixture of both! After around about 15 minutes we had made to the end of the trail that we were allowed to go on. So, as you do, we started heading back to the bottom of the hill. When we finally got down to the bottom of the cliff we caught a shuttle bus back to the RV we relaxed for the rest of the day coming back at 4pm.