This is the beginning of the hike of the day, except today I will bear to the left to Emeral Pools. Angels' Landing is the upper part of the hike that is my goal: Walter's Wiggles; but after today's hike, I may not make it.
across the Virgin River. You remember the Virgin River Canyon, that awesome 23 mile drive through the very north west corner of Arizona?
The uphill side of the trail
That little ribbon is the river, and this is looking south down Zion Canyon, after gaining some altitude.
I'm climbing as the trail goes higher, and the river looks smaller.
That's my destination...where the left cliff and the right cliff come together.
many steps to go before we arrive
That's the river down below.
The target is a the base of that wall of rock, and the challenge lies ahead.
This, my friends, is the trail.
That's it, but many steps yet to go
The pools normally are emerald green with algae, hence the name; but the week of rain prior to my trek turned them muddy. This is a little pool below the main pool. The challenge lies ahead.
What goes up must come down...eventually.
This wasn't a hike; it was a climb.
Warren, you've been saying, "When pigs can fly" for a long time.
Well, this is where they landed, piggy back!
That's a mighty sheer cliff!
Wow, that's straight up!
No mountain too high; no rock too big.
Queen on the mountain!
Whew! Survived that challenge!
Strangers are just friends you have yet to meet. These ladies, one from California and one from Arizona, were already friends and adopted me along the way. They were great hiking companions and looked out for me. We waited on one another at the next challenge or around the next bend in the trail.
I missed the boat at this crossroads. They went to the Middle Pools, and I headed for the Lower Pools, thinking I was too tired to make that extra 0.1 mile. It turned out to be only a few hundred feet! Opportunities missed.
They soon caught up with me.
This was one-way traffic.
Under the waterfall that feeds the Lower Emerald Pool.
My gigabytes were all used up, and I was soon to begin feeling that I also was all used up. I had slipped climbing up a very large step ( a very large step for my long legs is A VERY LARGE STEP!) coming down from the Upper Pool to the crossroads of the trails. My right knee has swollen and refused to go down, even with ice on it every night. Standing for 8 hours in the Gift Shop hasn't helped. I finally gave up and went to the medical clinic in Springdale where the P.A. diagnosed probably torn meniscus. They lent me an ice/compression unit, which has helped, along with being off for my 2 day week-end and not standing for 8 hours. Doesn't look like I'll make it up Walter's Wiggles!
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