Observation Point, Zion. What's to see?

Editor flapping wings in anticipation


Hang-over at Observation Point, Zion.

A contribution by Jeff:

Here we sit, my bride and me, on the top of another mountain. What do you achieve with this mountain climbing nonsense, people ask. Sometimes we ask that of ourselves. We don’t always know the answers but we do remember the famous quote of why people scale mountains: ‘Because they are there’. We too like this answer—it saves us having to think too much about providing our own. Besides, we have a lot to think about instead of dealing with dumb questions—especially those for which we don’t have answers.
Blocking a great view

View from Peak

Before we even attempt to answer a question of this nature, it is best to first state why we are bothering to write this… well, you fill in the blank…we didn’t like the description ‘blog’—it doesn’t sound that appetizing. Today, we have the internet. This magnificent innovation—we remember Al Gore in our daily prayers—allows for the democratization of news. Now we don’t have to rely on the views (yes, we did not say news) from the New York Times and others. We too can make up our own news and post it for the world to read or maybe just a friend or two. We, just like most everyone else, like to have our say. Put another way, we like to be heard. So anyone with half a brain and a basic grasp of language is able to communicate with the outside world. We like that. That’s real democracy. We think we qualify on the half-brain test, too.Back to the mountain. Here we sit and once gain are contemplating the meaning of life. After thirty seconds, my bride leans over and asks if the force is getting through. I reply ‘not yet, we should give it time’. I knew we should have gone to India. Who ever got a spiritual message in Utah she curtly replies. “Whoa’, I say, ‘Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. You know there are powerful forces like the vortexes of Sedona. You remember the effect that had on me when we scaled Cathedral Peak.’ ‘Ha! She smiles. Vortex, my foot. That was an old-fashioned primeval urge. You were taking advantage of the situation. To be continued.....
Slot Canyon on way up

A spectacular place

I must admit, it was a very unsettling feeling driving away from our high-rise apartment for the last time. Homeless and 'on the road' and heading for Utah. When we first told our 3 kids of our plans, we had 3 very different reactions. Gavin said "sounds like fun, but at the end of the day, I cannot imagine not sleeping in my own bed". That counts him out! Natalie got a little teary - her family support and babysitting pulled out from under her. However, she came through in the end with her blessings. Robbie, who is currently traipsing around South Africa, told us that he and his friends think "we are just too cool for words".
And so...here we are, in a hotel in a small town called Hurricane, just South of Zion National Park.

Over the past 2 years we have done a lot of hikes in parts of the country. We had decided to make a point of not visiting the same place twice or doing the same hikes as we have done before. Needless to say, the is our third trip to Zion in under a year, and the second time climbing to Observation Point. Our policy did not work too well it seems. We just could not resist the beauty here.

Today we did the awesome climb to Observation Point (again) - one of the highest points in Zion Canyon and definitely one of the most strenuous hikes. As tough as the going was, every footstep brought us to the most spectacular scenery. For 4 miles straight up, we went through slot canyons, hiked narrow paths cut out of cliff face, and up steep, never-ending switchbacks until the summit - up and up, in a relentless heat. However, the sweat was well worth it.