Trip to Zion

Way back in June we went to Zion's National Park for a kid-free trip with our friends. I am not a hiker/outdoors woman so this trip did not appeal to me at all, but I went along to make Ryan happy. (Although with all the complaining I did, I'm sure he wishes I would have stayed home.)

We began our trip on Wednesday night by driving for what seemed like a bazillion hours. The "short-cut" we took, ended up being the longest way possible because we had to turn around and back track due to the road being closed because of too much snow! After driving through all hours of the night we arrived at the house we had rented. We quickly went to bed so we could wake up at the crack of dawn to go hike the Subway (which is like an 8 hour hike)...

Thursday morning we got up, prepared ourselves and equipment, and headed out to hike the Subway. Our initial plan was to hike from the top to the bottom, but because of what a wet year we've had, that trail was closed. After hearing news of the trail closure, it was decided that we would hike from the bottom of the Subway to the slot canyon and back again, which turned out to be (in my opinion) the worst hike ever. Now mind you, I was about 8 weeks pregnant; super sick and tired, so my attitude about this trip is somewhat tainted by pregnancy hormones. Although pregnant or not, I'm not sure how good my attitude would have been since I HATE being hot and dirty more than anything.

We hiked and hiked (and hiked and hiked) through the river, over huge rocks, up the mountain and back down again for what seemed like FOREVER in the scorching heat. (Am I making you all want to go hike the Subway??) I complained A LOT as we were hiking. I'm sure Ryan wanted to leave me on the side of the trail, but he didn't, he just continued to drag me along.

Finally, we made it to the actual "subway" part of the trail, where the canyon narrows and there are little waterfalls and pools of water. This part of the hike was pretty cool and nice because it was shaded and the terrain wasn't so strenuous.

Ryan and me

The guys: Brett, Matt, Ryan, Dunk, Mike, & Mark

The girls: Steph, me, Cristina, Kere, & Kristen

Dunk is super stoked to still be alive after the longest hike ever.

We spent some time playing and swimming around in the canyon. I did manage to have a little fun during this part of the hike, but in the back of my mind all I was thinking about is how I had to hike back out of the blasted canyon in order to take a shower. The last part of the hike was climbing up a very steep hill... At this point I was nearly in tears because I was so tired and sick of hiking. I was so thankful my friend Kere hiked with me because I would not have made it without her! Ryan stayed with us and patiently put up with our complaining. Had he not been there, I'm pretty sure Kere and I would have just sat down and died.

The next day we relaxed at the house for awhile and then Ryan and some of the friends went rappelling. Kere, Steph, Mike and I drove into the park to find some information about another hike.

On Saturday, everybody except Kere, Brett and I, went on another hike. I don't remember where they went, but they said they had fun. Ryan nearly stepped on a rattlesnake who was blocking the trail.

Kere and I chose to drive to St. George for some shopping and cupcakes. Kere's husband, Brett tagged along because his feet were a little sunburned and cut up from hiking the Subway. Kere and I both found a new pair of shoes for dodgeball and enjoyed some delicious cupcakes, which was the highlight of the trip for me.

Overall, not my favorite trip ever, but it's always nice to spend time with friends!