America the Beautiful: Utah’s National Parks

Alright friends… time to get to know the National Parks in Utah. Hubby and I did our rounds in 6 days 5 nights, and you can do it too

Delicate Arch, Arches National Park. We are soooo tiny hah!

Day 1 & 2. ARCHES NATIONAL PARK.

Just like the name suggests, there are a lot of natural arches as well sculptured rock scenery. Scenic spots are everywhere. Arches has doable foot trails and so you do not have to walk that much to get a great view. However, the main attraction and the most photographed arch is the Delicate Arch, Utah’s state symbol. This was the hiking trail that we took.

Prepare yourself for a 1.5 mile upward hike without trees or any shade. The whole trip takes you 3 hours with an elevation gain of 480 feet, not to mention there are slick rocks and exposure to heights (in other words, one trail only has 3 feet of walking area with one ledge on your way to clear death). Delicate Arch stands on a brick of a canyon with the dramatic La Sal Mountains as backdrop. Just take your time getting there, walk slowly and you will be greatly rewarded, not to mention your bragging rights for the entire month.

The Hoodoos, Bryce Canyon National Park

Day 3. BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK.

From Arches National Park, we drove to Bryce Canyon for 4 hours. It was not a very long trip, since scenic points can be seen as you pass Interstate 70.

Bryce Canyon has so much viewpoints, and our favorite was the Bryce Amphitheater. We hiked the Queens Garden/Navajo Loop for 3 hours with a total of 3.1 miles with an elevation gain of 600 feet. You will first go down Queens Loop where you enjoy seeing a lot of those odd-shaped pinnacles called the Hoodoos. Palm trees and some rock formations grab your attention you just want to stay there enjoy the scenery. From there, that’s when the problem starts: you need to hike UPWARDS. So get in the grove and do your 90s step-aerobics moves. Just don’t look down. Never ever look down. I was just so happy I was able to climb back up, and as I reached the top, screamed in front of some Chinese tour group.

The Narrows, Zion National Park

DAY 4 and 5. ZION NATIONAL PARK.

Only about an hour and a half away from Bryce National Park is the ever soaring ZION NATIONAL PARK. The park was astronomically gigantically huge. On the 4th day and some rough hiking, Zion National Park has the most facilities we just watched a movie on our last day. Zion is also about 3 hours away from Las Vegas. So there are a lot more visitors and it took as a while to book the hotel we wanted. We chose one hike: the Narrows Bottom-Up Hike.

The Narrows, with its soaring walls, sandstone grottos, natural springs, and hanging gardens, can make an experience you can never forget.  The kicker? Hiking the Narrows means hiking in the Virgin River. At least 70% of the hike is spent on wading, walking and sometimes swimming in the river.  Thank goodness I didn’t have to swim, since the deepest part of the water was thigh-high. What made it difficult was there was no maintained trails because the route IS the river. So you have to think each step you make. The water was cold at 52 degrees with currents swift at 65 cubic feet per second. Going upwards means extra effort on your thigh, while going back means the current may throw you off balance. The rocks underfoot are so slippery and every single step I am extremely careful given that my camera is not water-proof. I was also on the lookout for flash flooding.

The hike went on for 5 full hours with an elevation change of150 ft. But boy oh boy, the view and the experience was amazing, exhilarating, and fulfilling we didn’t realize it has been that long of a hike. River hiking is in and it is so much fun everyone should try at least once in their lifetime.

DAY 6.

We were CRASHED. Body aches on my thigh, back and shoulders so doses of pain killers were taken. I have to spit out tons of sand as the wind entered my wide-open mouth gasping for breath. I did a body check on the last day and I nearly collapsed at the sight of my darkened face, a humongous acne, two broken toenails, untrimmed eyebrows and discolored hair with two inches of uncolored, damaged roots.

But I am happy. Extremely. I am glad I got to experience the beautiful experience with my husband who is my hiking buddy, cheerleader and my finish line. I just have to share pictures and the whole trip for I am now on a mission to have my friends go back to nature and explore America’s National Parks.