National Parks Road Trip 2019

Sep 5, 2019
2 min read

It started with pit stop to Fossil Creek. We departed Phoenix early in the morning and spent the early afternoon hiking down to Fossil Creek with some friends. It was beautiful and full of brisk water and cliff jumps which made it worth the hike down. We headed back up towards the truck and got on our long haul to the Utah boarder for our first night under the stars. We crossed the boarder and made the first right off the highway to Lone Rock Beach. This is where we set up camp for the first night. The ground was super hard so we had to get creative on how we were going to anchor the tent. Ended up having to tie the tent to the wheels of the truck and use the coolers on the other side to hold it. It was a warm night but the stars were bright. The next morning we packed up and began our trip to Zion National Park, but ended up doing a little off-roading at a spot called the Barracks. Its a cool trail I have done before with lots of water crossings. We pulled into Zion around noon, just in time to set up camp and make some lunch. After our food settled we headed to the visitor center to get on the shuttle. We took it to the Temple of Sinawava stop. The rest of the afternoon was spent hiking in the Narrows. This hike is a hike fully done in ankle to waist deep water. After about 2 miles in the sun began to disappear so we turned around and hiked out. Back at camp I started dinner, our favorite camping meal is kielbasa. It's easy to cut up the sausage, peppers, onions and potatoes and let it cook itself in the foil over the camping stove. After dinner and a bottle of wine we were ready for bed. The next morning was an early morning shuttle ride to the trailhead for Angel's Landing. This was my forth time summiting the terrifying hike that you have to hold chains on the side of a 1000' foot cliff. The view from the top is so worth especially when paired with a summit beer. My choice of beer was a local brew called Refuge from AZ Wilderness. After getting back to camp we packed up and headed back into northern Arizona and found a spot right on the edge of the Grand Canyon for the night. This night in particular was the brightest star night with a cool breeze. The following morning we hiked across the rim a bit for some views but the wildfire on the North Rim kept the Grand Canyon somewhat hazy. Lastly we started our journey home with one more pit stop at Horseshoe Bend. It was a short four days but it was just what we needed to beat the Phoenix heat and enjoy some outdoors.