Landings

We had about two weeks between the end of our Grand Canyon hike and our departure to South America. That seemed like lots of time when we looked at the calendar, but once we left the North Rim everything seemed very rushed. The last big "destination" on our US tour was Zion National Park in southern Utah.

We set up camp in nearby Hurricane for a few days and did the short drive to Zion to explore a bit. Unlike Canyonlands and Grand Canyon National Parks where the visitor access and facilities are above the canyons, you visit the bottom of Zion Canyon where the visitor centre, campgrounds and shuttle bus tours are situated. Zion is also much narrower resulting in the Virgin River supporting lush vegetation through much of the canyon.

The first day we explored with the dogs on the Pa'rus trail, a paved 3.5 mile trail that runs along the river. It was great to be able to take the dogs on a National Park trail. We also drove up the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway to get a view looking down into the canyon.

The Pa'rus Trail in Zion National Park.

The next day we boarded the dogs at the nearby Doggy Dude Ranch - Cyd thought it looked more like a sports camp for dogs - and hiked the famous Angels Landing trail. Angels Landing is a relatively short trail, but the steep and spectacular ascent offers hikers wonderful views down into the canyon. There is nothing really special about the hike until you climb "Walter's Wiggles."  Soon after, you reach a little plateau and understand what the hike is really all about.

Looking down Walter's Wiggles,
20 tight, steep switchbacks.

The final ridge to Angels Landing.

It's not nearly as scary as it looks. Maybe we were just used to narrow trails with thousand foot drops after Half Dome, but once we started up the final ridge, it never seemed dangerous. We enjoyed almost 360 degree views as we rested after our 60 minute sprint to the top.

Cyd in her favourite pose.

On the edge of Angels Landing.

The rest of our trip was mostly uneventful. The drive from Zion up to Seattle was about 1800 kms through Utah, Idaho, Eastern Oregon, and Washington. We were focused on preparations for the next part of our trip in South America. Last minute hostel reservations and gear and clothing purchases...winterizing and storing the car and trailer in Victoria...laundry and packing as we struggled selecting from a car and trailer full of gear and clothes to fit into 2 backpacks.

We did manage to enjoy a short, but lovely visit with friends Mike and Sylvie who allowed us to turn their home into a staging area for two days. And an even shorter visit with Rob and Val who were heading out of town soon after we arrived.

We also had the moment that we had been dreading ever since we started planning this whole year off (non-dog lovers can skip this part or feel free to read on and mock us in the comments). We loved spending virtually every minute of every day with Ripley and Gulliver for 6 months. They'd enjoyed some great times outdoors with us, but they'd also been incredibly well behaved for hours in the car and trailer. South America by backpack with two dogs wasn't really an option, so we put them on a plane in Seattle to travel to Anchorage, Alaska for the winter.

We couldn't ask for a better place for them. Peter and Katie were enthusiastic in offering to take care of them. They have experience with Jack Russells, so they knew what they were getting into. They have two other dogs including a JR, a great fenced area, and horses, goats and chickens to amuse Gulliver and Ripley. They're very active and we've already enjoyed photos of them hiking with the dogs in the mountains near Anchorage.

Still, it was very tough saying goodbye for 6 months. But people we meet in South America have been very kind not to laugh as we show off photos of the kids on our phone. And we know the dogs will be very excited when we knock on the door in May - even if they don't know who it is!

Rip and Gully at 11,400' at the top of
Seldon Pass on the John Muir Trail.

Settling in for a long drive.

So very early in the morning on November 2nd we climbed onto the plane in Victoria. Thanks to tickets booked with Aeroplan points, we stopped in San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Panama City before we touched down in Santiago, Chile 36 hours later. South America...so much to see and do and only six months to do it!