2016  HIKING, CYCLING,

& RV TRAVEL ADVENTURES

Thunder Mountain Trail, Red Canyon, UT

 

   
 
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   HIKING IN ZION NP:  OBSERVATION POINT, p.2

  THURSDAY, APRIL 14

 
 

Continued from the previous page.

ECHO SLOT CANYON:  TUNNELING INTO THE SANDSTONE

One of the reasons I like the Observation Point Trail so much is the way it totally changes character several times on the way up to the Point.

This gorgeous curving slot canyon about 1.5 miles from the trailhead is a good example. The colorful flowing curves in the rocks, the reflections in the water, and the cool, dark shade from the soaring walls of the Echo Canyon slot are quite different from the wide-open sunny spaces in the first mile:

Note how tiny the two hikers in front of me look in the picture above as I was descending through the canyon this afternoon. They are dwarfed by the walls, which extend higher than my camera recorded in that shot. I added the little red dot to identify where the people are.

The next set of 17 photos shows scenes going up through the slot canyon. I took some in the morning when it was overcast and some in the afternoon when the sun was shining:

Narrow "entrance" inbound (above), then a short, more open space on a sandy path (below)
that would be more of a green oasis in the summer when all the leaves are out.

 


Not much water in the slot today, which was good
because I had to step across it a couple times.


Another hiker steps over the water.


How the heck does rock end up like this, with such
a distinct vertical-horizontal demarcation?? It's very cool.


This is a graceful mini-slot in a side wall within the larger slot canyon.

The very high walls close in again and the path stays mostly above the water on wavy slickrock:

 


The hiker in the blue shirt gives some perspective re: size in this and the next picture.

In the morning there were some interesting reflections and optical illusions in the slot canyon that I didn't see coming back down in the afternoon when the sun was shining:

The next two pictures really illustrate what I mean by "optical illusions." I scratch my head every time I look at them, either vertically or horizontally.

Huh?? It looks almost like a mirror image from side to side:

 

There's no camera trickery involved in either of those photos. I wouldn't even know how to do it.

When I enlarge the pictures and look closely, I can see the curving rock above the waterline reflected in the water, as well as the rock that is visible under the water. I think I was just in the right place at the right time to capture these reflections with my normal lens and no filters or tripod (I haven't used either for many years).

The path rises higher above the water and briefly enters the most narrow part of the canyon:

 

It feels like a tunnel in there. The drop into the crevice is about 15 feet.

On the other side it opens up, crosses a little side canyon on a bridge, and switchbacks higher up through Echo Canyon until the next more exposed section begins:

 

 

 

I loved this slot canyon and was glad to be able to experience it again on the return.

The next photos are views of the descent through the slot as you're coming back down the trail from the upper canyon. Again, I took some of the pictures in the morning and some in the afternoon so the sky and lighting vary:

 

 

 

 


That is the trail, right through there. I guess if the water is too high or fast,
you're either stuck upstream or have to turn around from downstream.


This place can make you feel small and insignificant!

 

 

UPPER ECHO CANYON:  LOVE THE ROCK SHAPES & COLORS!

The upper part of Echo Canyon isn't as dramatic as the lower slot canyon but the wide variety of shapes and colors of the rocks, the determined existence of the plant life in this harsh environment, the potential of seeing bighorn sheep, and the expanded views in several directions . . . all make this section intriguing.

Here is a variety of shots looking in both directions, from this morning (overcast) and afternoon (sunny), generally in order going uphill after coming out of the slot canyon:

 

 

 

Above and below:  lots of rock swirls in this section

It was in this general area that the Observation Point Trail headed to the left and the East Rim Trail went right:

It was also in this area on the way back down that I saw the young male bighorn ram I showed earlier.

A small rock rolled down on the trail ahead of me. I looked up, knowing there wasn't a switchback above me. There he was, about 75 feet above me on this slickrock slope:

He ran downhill and farther ahead, stopping several places to look at me and three people who were about 50 feet behind me. I got some good photos of him before he ran off:

 

In most of my pictures he has either a quizzical look or a wary cock to his head:

Cool! I knew that one of the hikers who got started before me saw several bighorn sheep early this morning but I didn't expect to see any of them in the afternoon with more people up there.

That was just one more nice surprise along this trail. 

We're a little more than halfway up the Observation Point Trail now, with lots more interesting rock features, views with different perspectives, and more switchbacks through the upper part of Echo Canyon on the way up to the rim:

 

 

 

 

 

At the last switchback in this section there is an interesting pattern in the rock wall that looks almost like someone carved one or two deer with antlers.

The one in the lower left quadrant is most prominent:

Although the design is subtle it caught my eye on both the ascent and descent because that wall was right in front of me as I made the sharp turn in the switchback.

Soon after this you're high enough on the ascent to Observation Point to be on the "edge of the abyss:"

Is this what frightened the young woman who turned around halfway this morning??

Continued on the next page:  views in the last mile from the cliff side, plateau, and Observation Point

Happy trails,

Sue
"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil, Cody the ultra Lab, and Casey-pup

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© 2016 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil

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