7. Weeping Rocks and Towering Peaks

 Up early once again but this time our day ahead was less daunting, less gargantuan, but no less epic. We came to realize pretty quickly that everywhere in Zion is beautiful, and picturesque. You really can’t go wrong with any trail you choose. 

On today’s docket: Weeping Rock Trail (sadly currently closed due to massive rock slide) and the Pa’rus Trail. Both of these trails are right up my alley. Weeping Rock is short with a lot of bang for your buck and Pa’rus is pretty flat and long. I’m not afraid of distance, it’s vert I don’t like. Ask Daniel how many times I say vert and how many times he rolls his eyes when I do. The answer is a lot and 100%. It’s safe to say he hates when I say it. “Why can’t you just say altitude like a normal person?”, “But,” I respond, “my trail running friends say vert. It’s the thing you say. Like -lets go get some vert.” His eyes will roll so far back into his head he can see his brain stem. 

Anyway, I don’t like vert. I’ll do it and I won’t even complain. But inside I’m questioning whether I’m dying. I purposely chose the day’s hike based on the fact that these two hikes are listed as easy. If you had asked me that day I’d lie to your face and say, “I’ve allllways wanted to see the Weeping Rock!”, but in reality I picked it because I knew it was easy but also beautiful. Let’s be honest, my butt freaking hurt from Angels Landing. I didn’t want to walk with a permanent limp (or 70’s swagger as I like to think of it) like I belonged in Saturday Night Fever.

Weeping Rock is the shortest trail in the park. Less than 100 feet and you find yourself transported to another universe! Once you get dropped off by the shuttle you make your way through a parking area and cross the Echo Canyon Creek. I definitely noticed that all of the trails in Zion seem pretty crowded but the easier or shorter the trail the more crowded it is. The kind of crowded where you’re shuffling your feet and rubbing shoulders. It’s not ideal, in fact it’s irritating but having said that it’s the price you pay to be in such a beautiful location. It’s unfair to deny people, especially if nature isn’t regularly accessible to them. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to have the place to myself though. For an introvert like me, there’s nothing like having a place to yourself. 

I’ve looked back at pictures to see if my memories add up and while the visuals track, the one thing you really cannot get a true sense of from the photos of Weeping Rock can be summed up in one word: damp. There is water everywhere: puddles, sweaty rocks, drips, trickles, and well- weeping. The trail goes from beautiful red rocks to a lush hanging garden. Water is constantly present from the canyons above, trickling down and giving life to the foliage seemingly suspended from sheer rock. When you make your way to the overhang, water starts to drop on you and you quickly find yourself in damp clothes and a soggy hat. It was a welcome change of environment as it was a hot day but be prepared to squelch in your shoes if you’re not careful where you step. 

The view that you get when you stand under that overhang is something to behold. I’ve been searching for the right words but everything feels so cliche. I suppose there’s a reason for that- as I mentioned in an earlier blog post but words like majestic, expansive, spectacular, surreal, impressive... were made for places like Zion. Standing alert, looking out at the verdant Echo Canyon with its hidden creek, I was blown away by the height of the peaks surrounding us. I wanted to take it all in and commit it to memory. I have to be honest, while I remember quite a bit I’m incredibly thankful that I took so many pictures and videos because over a year later I have sensory overload. A lot has happened since I stood there and it takes more than just sitting quietly with my eyes closed to recall that exact view. The one thing that is forever imprinted though is seeing the magnificent Great White Throne towering to the left. It dominates the landscape and makes you feel insignificant in the ego checking kind of way.  We all need to be reminded that the world does not revolve around us, and a giant mountain will do that for you. That is one view I can close my eyes and conjure up. 

We made a quick detour down to the creek before jumping back on the shuttle. Our next stop was a mystery. We decided to just randomly get off of the shuttle when we saw a stop that look intriguing. We got off at the Canyon Junction stop and took our chances. Our mystery trail turned out to be the Pa’rus Trail. Named after the Paiute word for “bubbling, tumbling” water, it follows the Virgin River, under the gaze of The Watchman, passes by parking headquarters and  the Zion Museum, the South Campground and eventually ending (or starting) at the Visitor Center. I’ve since learned that it’s the crafty way to avoid waiting on the often crowded shuttle system. It’s an incredibly easy trail that is basically flat and wide. We did veer off and took a little path down to the river at one point. We sat on some large rocks for a bit and just took in the sound of the rushing water. It’s a wonderful place to get centered or have a picnic. We stayed there until other people made their way down the path as well and interrupted our reverie. You will always get a reminder that you are not alone while at Zion but it’s worth it for the few moments of peace you get. 

Back at the Visitor Center we followed the beacon to Perks and indulged in our favorite lattes. Sitting here in the “Covid” future it seems so foreign to think of sitting in a small and crowded coffee shop, no masks in sight, sipping on a latte with a backpack that contains no hand sanitizer. I miss how simple the world felt then. I miss standing in that cafe, chatting with the barista, feeling no fear whatsoever. I know we’ll get back there once again. We won’t always be living with threats of lockdowns, or quarantines. Someday your cough will just be allergies and everyone will know it. I didn’t have any of these thoughts then. I couldn’t even contemplate a world like that. I simply went back to our hotel, dove into a communal swimming pool, sat in a restaurant, and rubbed shoulders with strangers in the general store while touching the same fridge magnets that hundreds of others had also fondled. Covid was far off, the only thing in our horizon was Bryce Canyon which we were set to explore the next day.