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Wednesday, March 19
courtesy George
Springdale, UT
From the golf course, it was time for a bit of food shopping and then a drive to Zion National Park, only a short 45 minute drive away. Zion is but one of the many fantastic National Parks in Southern Utah. Sitting at the western edge of the Colorado Plateau, Zion is a world of multi-thousand-foot-high clean sandstone walls and domes. Fantastically carved trails wind their way, at times seemingly impossibly, to spectacular viewpoints.

This was to be our first night of camping.... I chose something familiar to me, which was the Zion south campground. In fact, I once again ended up choosing a particular site I have now stayed in 3 different times! I almost feel like it is my home away from home! The Watchman campground is situated right in the middle of lower Zion Canyon, amidst cottonwood trees, with soaring red and white cliffs everywhere. An inspiring place.
courtesy George
Andrew at Campground
First time campin' in 40 years.
Towers of Zion
Now, you must realize, George and Dad had both not camped for many many decades, and so some time needed to be spent bringing them into the modern age regarding camping gear: synthetic dome tents, foam pads, thermarests, and mummy bags. In deference to my dad, I gave him the luxurious accommodations - a big blow-up air mattress (supplied by Markus, thanks!) in his own personal single-wall 4 season tent. I didn't want to shock him to much with this return-to-roughing-it stuff.
After camp was set up, we still had a bit of light left. Although it was perhaps a bit late, I figured we had time introduce Dad to a short hike - I thought perhaps the Emerald pools trail: Fairly short, with views of both Zion Canyon and of a neat stream/pool/overhanging-waterfall.
courtesy George
Lower Emerald Pool trail
Dad was equipped with hiking shoes and two hiking poles, but nothing else. I carried everything of his and George's. I wanted to make things as easy for him as I could. The trail started right off with a short but steep section - a good little test, really. I could tell that Dad was a bit surprised by how hard that was - we went slow and there were a lot of stops, and a lot of suprised cheek puffing at every break.
George, Dad, and Zion Canyon
But soon we were over that initial stretch, and trail wound its way along the top of the lower cliffs of Zion Canyon, and Dad and George marveled at the magnificence of this place, and of the interesting, alien vegetation, replete with cacti and yucca and desert conifers.

Dad commented on how high up in the Canyon we were, which I countered with a demonstration of how little elevation we had ascended compared to the height of the entire canyon. An important lesson in figuring out scale in places like this. Newcomers very often underestimate distances. It is in a place like this that you humby discover how small your body is in relation to our planet! Especially when you consider that the massive canyon surrounding you is but an infinitesimal scratch on the surface of the earth.
Sandstone and Air
Soon we were at the middle emerald pool, and we could see a moderate amount of water cascading over a broad overhanging ledge to the lower pool. George demonstrated his bravery by posing standing on a ledge of standstone jutting out over nothing (see picture). Up above I could see the fairy-like filaments of water of the falls that dropped from the high country down into the upper pool. I thought that seeing a 1000-foot tracery of water might be a nice sight up close, so even though it was starting to get close to darkness I suggested we push on to the upper pool, which was about another 1/2 mile up a rough, rocky trail.
Trail to upper pool
Well, the going was slower than I had thought. Dad was finding it pretty challenging, and being unsure about his knee made him very cautious. By the time we got to the upper pool it was pretty much dusk, and though it was very beautiful we did not spend much time up there.

Below is a bit of audio about how Dad feels after his first real bit of hiking:

Desert Waterfall
We were all a bit concerned about Dad navigating a rough path in the dark, so we headed down immediately. Fortunately I had brought along my headlamp, which I gave to Dad, and slowly we descended. It was a bit nervewracking.... it simply wouldn't do to have Dad incapacitated with a twisted ankle or knee on his very first hike. So... slowly, with lots of guidance from George and myself, and we made it back to the paved, even path, passing underneath the lower falls by starlight. From there, it was smooth sailing back to the car.

I think my Dad was surprised and a bit sobered by this "intro" hike. Still, he came, he saw, he conquered. We returned to the campground and went into town for a quick bite at a restaurant. Utah being the conservative place that it is, most restaurants were either closed or closing down even though it was only 8pm.... the best we could manage were cold sandwiches. My dad, tired though he was, could not resist telling the staff about his first adventure, to the point where George and I thought that perhaps we should discreetly pull him away....
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(last message posted on Thu. Aug. 09, 15:17 EDT 2012 by George)
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