Zion National Park - Riverside Walk - June 11, 2010 - Member Trip Report
| Hike Name: | Zion National Park - Riverside Walk |
|---|---|
| Country: | United States |
| State: | Utah |
| Trip Rating: |  |
| Trip Date: | June 11, 2010 |
| Duration: | 1 hour, 30 minutes |
| Trail Conditions: | Excellent |
| Trail Traffic: | Heavy |
| Trip Weather: | Cloudy |
| Trip Winds: | None |
| Trip Precipitation: | None |
| Trip Temperature: | High: 71-80, Low: 71-80 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Trip Report: | I last walked this trail in 1972 on Memorial Day weekend and it was almost empty that day. Oh, how things have changed! It seemed so odd that English seems to be the minority language spoken by the crowds in our national parks lately, and this walk was no different. I think Chinese was the most predominant language I heard on this walk, but it was only one of many. Certainly, the Chinese travel the same way they live -- elbow to elbow. My wife, Debbi, and I got off the crowded shuttle and joined the wave of people starting up the trail. The crowd was so thick, we took the first chance to get off at a river access point, hoping that the cluster of people from our shuttle would move on ahead of us. My photos bely the sometimes overwhelming crowd on this trail, but that is because most people respected the photographers' desire to have a nature shot without lots of people and steered out of their line of sight. Outside of the picture framed, the place was crawling with people. It felt not unlike standing in line at Disneyland, shuffling forward en masse. Even with all of the people, however, there is no denying the magnificence of the towering cliffs and peaks surrounding this canyon. The hanging gardens, although not large, are lovely. At the end of the trail, the Park Service had placed a sign -- bright orange -- warning that the Narrows were closed due to flash flood danger. Of course, there were a number of people wading up the river in spite of the sign -- aren't there always a few? Debbi and I ate our lunch sitting on a rock along the river just shy of the end of the trail and only a few feet away from the trail. The traffic on the trail never ceased -- so strange to try to enjoy this natural beauty in an enormous human traffic jam. Upon our return to the shuttle stop at Temple of Sinawava, we found the place thronging with even more people. From here all the way back to the Visitor Center, although we got off at almost all of the stops to explore some, we never saw a shuttle that wasn't standing room only. |
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