We Are The Here And Now (My trip out west, part 1)

I turned 30 this April and as a gift to myself I bought a plane ticket out west to explore Zion National Park and to do some climbing in Red Rocks, NV. To my surprise over a dozen of my friends came out to party with me. This is a brief summary of what happened during those 7 days out west.


Brian Leatherland flew into Vegas first and met up with Wesley who drove in from SD. Grey, Dan, Beadle, and myself all flew in later that night. Six dudes in a small hotel room..it's fantastic.


That night we hit up the strip and got up the next morning after about 4 hours of sleep.


Zion, located in southern Utah, is about two and half hours from Vegas. It is the mini Grand Canyon that you can actually hike around and not just see from your car or tour bus.


The dudes at Watchman camp site.


Our first hike in the park was to the three Emerald Pools. As we were walking under the first set of falls the wind shifted and I got soaked.


We made it to the upper pool after a quick stop to boulder.


This is our "soccer pose" just incase an impromptu game breaks out.


The moon raising over Watchman Tower and our campsite.


After the hike we went and did some bouldering. There were 5 or 6 really good boulders just outside our campsite. That is Brian working on a highball problem.






Our timing was perfect. Desert flowers in bloom.


The next morning we split up and went in two separate directions. Beadle and I hiked the East Rim Trail while the other dudes hiked the sometimes sketchy Angels Landing. Wesley preparing to battle the angels if needed.


This photo is from the first mile or so into the East Rim hike.


Then it changes to look like this.


At one point the trail lead us to this view of Angels Landing. I wonder how the other group is doing....


This is why Angels Landing is sketchy. They have a system of chains in place so you don't fall off the edge and drop 1200 feet to your death. Fortunately, everyone made it up and down alive.


As soon as we got back to the campsite Kevin Marks rolled up from SD and brought me my B-Day gift; a tofu potato burrito from POKEZ! A cold burrito never tasted so good. Thanks again Kevin.


The next day, while Kevin explored Zion, the rest of us traveled to the northern section of the park and hiked the 14 miles round trip to see Kolob Arch.








That is Kolob Arch in the background, the second largest natural arch in the world.


After our day of exploring we all went out for pizza and brew.


At least Utah has a sense of humor about the whole thing.

Next up, the group heads to Red Rocks, NV and doubles in size.