Friday, July 17, 2009

Weekend Getaways: Emerald Pools Hike (Zion Natioanl Park)

On Saturday, which happened to be Independence Day, we awoke much later than I was expecting. When we went to Joshua Tree in May, the temperature in the tent was unbearable by 7 am, but for some reason, it was still nice and cool by 9. We had to pack up camp and move out of our site by 11, so we had a nice breakfast of bagels, bananas, and watermelon and were on our way.

We moved our car to the Visitors Center and hopped on the bus to Zion Lodge. Today's hike was going to be to the Emerald Pools. There are three pools along this 3-mile hike. I found it to be more strenuous than the previous day's because there was a bit of elevation gain and direct sun exposure.

To get to the trailhead, you have to cross a short footbridge over the river. Boy am I glad that we did The Narrows on Friday because this is what we would have been wading through after the night's downpour. Matt and I wanted to film a commercial for Hershey's chocolate milk!!

On the footbridge leading to the Emerald Pools trailhead

We wound up finishing the hike very quickly but there were still a ton of people on the trail. I was sort of happy to be leaving. It was still a very beautiful hike but it's difficult to really enjoy when there are bottlenecks of children and slow people. The pools were pretty but the waterfalls were just a trickle.

Upper Emerald Pool

At the Upper Pool

After completing the hike, we left the park and got coffee and breakfast from a cafe in town and then headed to this faux town that we had seen on the way in and promised to stop at on the way out.

Tourist trap


Jacklopes!



Then we were off to my next surprise!

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