Daily Didactic
Today started slow and lazy in South Campground. We rose latish and decided to drive the mile into Springdale to find some breakfast. We lucked upon a great little cafe and a tasty meal. A group of older Harley riders (not a rare breed around here) looked out the window and expressed amazement that someone could drive the bus from Alaska. "What if you needed to get it worked on?" We smiled.

We made it back to camp around noon, packed a day pack, and headed to the Visitor Center to figure out the day's hike. We were still interested in Angel's Landing, but a little wary of the "last half mile" of chains on cliffs. Fortunately for us it had gotten to be a little late in the day for a couple of pale Alaskans to spend four hours in direct sunlight. This forced us to look for a shorter hike and we settled on the Hidden Canyon Trail. This hike was only about four miles round trip if we added some slot canyon exploration at the end, and was marked "strenuous". We boarded the shuttle, got off at the Weeping Wall stop and began the series of switchbacks to the fork in the trail that leads to the "hidden canyon". From the fork we climbed some great old Civilian Conservation Corps steps to a part of the trail that was just a two or three foot ledge wrapping around a high curved cliff face. When the trail sloped toward the cliff you were on your own, when it sloped away you got a chain bolted to the cliff to hold on to. It was exhilarating. Where the cliff wall ended the slot canyon began, and we hiked another chunk of a mile up it before turning around and reversing the trail back to the parking lot.

From the parking lot we took a quick trail up to the Weeping Wall hanging gardens. The vegetation growing out of the wall was interesting, but the water falling down off of them was great. After this quick distraction, we jumped the shuttle back to the Zion Human History Museum, poked around briefly and then walked back to the campground. We convinced ourselves that we had earned a dinner in town and headed back to Springdale for some pasta. Finally, we wrapped up the evening taking advantage of an unexpected opportunity. Star Trek the movie, digital, on an Imax screen. National Parks, we love them.

The bus, happy in the simplicity of South Campground		Brian trying to understand his hiking options
Shuttle road shot		Shuttle interior shot
There is something we missed here or it was a pretty long two mile trail		This helps
Brian, poised		Pretty flowers
The trail to the Hidden Canyon cutoff		Good old fashioned CCC steps
Apparently, this is what they mean by drop-offs		Occasionally they gave us a chain to grasp on to
Looking back at the trail up		Maintained, unmaintained, it really didn't change that much
Theresa scrambling		More fun Zion rock
A free standing, if not monumental, arch		When you've got sandstone, your signage options increase
Butterfly		Theresa testing the chains
Looking across at the West Rim, with the Organ in the foreground		Pretty lizard
Weeping Wall hanging gardens		That water falling was cold and refreshing
The East Temple, behind the Museum

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