We may have overdone the hiking today! This morning, since it was pretty chilly, we drove the Jeep up about 2000 feet on the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway through the 1.1 mile tunnel. This tunnel is a marvel of engineering since it was built from 1927-1930 by the CCC through sold rock, blasting and digging without todays modern machines. We really wanted to see if we would be able to drive the RV through this tunnel since it is only 13’1” tall and we would have to buy a special permit so that we can drive down the middle of the road. The RV is about 12’6” tall which does not give us a whole lot of wiggle room. John was reassured that we would be able to do this after following a tour bus through the passage way.
At the east end of the tunnel is a 1 mile round trip hike to the Canyon Overlook where we could see the road we just traveled up the Zion Canyon and also the fresh air windows into the tunnel. We also had a great view of the Pine Creek Canyon.
Then this afternoon we decided to hike to the Emerald Pools and along the Kayenta Trail from the Grotto to the Zion Lodge. Unfortunately we missed the turn off for the Kayenta Trail and walked an estimated 1.5 miles up the trail to Angels Landing so had to turn around and go back and start over. So a 2.6 mile hike turned into a 5.6 mile hike with lots of ups and downs. And our legs were complaining and our feet were groaning.
The Emerald Pools (there are three of them) are created by water falling from the tops of the canyon walls and collecting in shallow indentations in the sandstone. There were so many people enjoying this area that it made it really hard to appreciate the beauty and quiet of the area and to get a good picture.
By the time we got back to the RV it was too late to cook so we had dinner in Springdale, bought some wood and groceries before enjoying a nice fire and an early evening.
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