Blue's Boots

This was the first time exploring Snow Canyon State Park (one of my favorite places in the United States!) after rain. I went specifically looking for pools after a day of rain – the lifeline for animals and insects in the desert. It was a wandering, meandering type of day, not specifically hiking, but taking time to just notice reflections and angles and tiny footprints in the sand. Mindfulness.

I also stopped at a lookout far above Snow Canyon, looking down onto the incredible canyon with fantastic views of the magical rock formations that make up this beautiful place.

I’ve seen photos of Red Reef Trail several times, and decided to explore. The trailhead starts at the Red Cliffs Campground, and meanders on a well-maintained trail up into a canyon with beautiful cliffs surrounding. A short side trail leads to a large pool.

Continuing on the trail, the canyon narrows and finally ends in a pool with walls on both side. Moki steps are dug into the right side of the wall. Moki (moqui) steps are hand and toe holds carved into sandstone surfaces. I decided that turning around at this gorgeous pool in the canyon was just right for me. Some day I might head up the moki steps… some day.

From the campground there are several other beautiful areas to walk, a short hike to dinosaur prints, and a great place to wander and just be with nature.

I love the Taylor Creek Trail at Kolob Canyons, part of Zion National Park. But today I decided to try something different, and instead hiked the South Fork canyon. Kolob Canyons is the “other” part of Zion National Park, accessed from I-15, not through the main Zion canyon entrance at Springdale, Utah. It’s well worth a drive and a hike, it’s a stunning area.

South Fork canyon is used quite a bit by rock climbers, and I had a good conversation with a few people along the trail who were planning on climbing. I was in a meandering mood, so didn’t go far, but had a lovely day just taking in the scenery. At one point I saw the largest insect I’ve ever seen, and after showing photos to people was told it was a Jerusalem cricket. Crazy!

Emerald Pools is hike I had not been on before at Zion National Park. A day after good rain in December, I decided to finally add it to my list. Looking at the trail map and reading other reviews, I chose to take the shuttle bus one stop above the standard route, and hiked the Kayenta Trail instead to get to Emerald Pools. So glad I did, the Kayenta Trail has some of the best views of Zion Canyon!

Waterfalls were flowing because of rain the day before, and were just beautiful! It was muddy in parts, and the hike up to the Upper Pool has many many uneven rocky steps, but well worth it to get there. I loved being able to walk behind some of the falls!

Third time through the subway, this time from the bottom up (2nd time with this route). It’s a permitted hike, and we were fortunate enough to get a permit last November. Weather was chilly but perfect. This is perhaps one of the top 3 most physically-demanding hikes I’ve ever done. Using a single walking pole made of dowel or wood (not standard hiking poles) is by far the best piece of gear for this hike. Either Five Ten water boots (if you want more support) or mesh trail runners (like we wore) are the best footwear. Waterproof shoes are useless as most of the 9 miles R/T is IN the water itself.

It starts with an easy jaunt through some desert scrub, then a steep, rocky, and long descent into the Left Fork North Creek canyon. This is not for the faint of heart or anyone with vertigo. Many sections require holding on with both hands navigating your way down the trail slowly, slowly.

Once at the canyon floor, North Fork Creek itself is the trail. There are sometimes visible side trials, but much of it is just picking your way through the water and boulders as best as you can. It’s a full body workout that is amazing. My average backpacking speed is about 2 miles an hour with a full pack on. My speed on this hike is 1mph or less because it’s a slow but beautiful navigation through the canyon before reaching The Subway.

The Subway itself is incredible, and worth the effort to get here. It’s impossible to show the scale of it through photos. It was ridiculously slippery and wet, we saw many others slip and fall (without injury). Inside The Subway is surreal, with pools of water that look like hot tubs, and other rock formations that are out of this world. After exploring inside as far as possible without going into the water itself, we stopped and had lunch before slowly heading back down canyon.

In the canyon is a wonderful set of dinosaur prints as an added bonus.

My knees were NOT happy with me at all after this hike. I had trouble walking at all the next day. But that is a problem with my knees, not the hike itself. It is well worth a trip to do this hike if a permit is available for any able-bodied person who craves an amazing adventure.

Candy Cliffs / Yant Flat in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve north of the St. George area in Utah is a gem, a lot like stepping into a landscape designed by Dr. Seuss.

The road to the trailhead is a beautiful dirt road, but to be avoided if it has rained, or if rain is in the forecast. The first section of the hike is a slog through deep sand, but so worth it once you come out to the cliff area. Swirls of colored sandstone in all shapes and sizes invite exploration. Be warned though, the cliffs are very real and would be deadly, so use caution and don’t get too close to the edge!

This is a place to take your time, explore, wander, find a beautiful place to land for a picnic lunch, and pretend like you’re a character in a Dr. Seuss book for a day.

Since we had to go into Zion National Park to pick up our permit for The Subway on the following day, we decided to make a hike out of it as well. We explored a new area we noticed in a guidebook called Many Pools, and it was a gem! From the main Zion Canyon, heading east through the Zion-Mt.Carmel Tunnel is a small parking area on the side of the road that is un-signed. Because this is not inside of the main canyon, there is no shuttle here and anyone can drive it once inside the park boundaries.

From there we spent the day exploring a beautiful side canyon / water drainage where there are dozens of pools that collect rainwater as you travel up the canyon. There is no official trail, just following the pools up the slickrock, and turning around whenever you want to head back to the car. We would definitely go back again!!