Zion

 It was the best of times. It was the worst of times...  (Charles Dickens)

We started out OK arriving at 6:45 and getting on the second bus. The first hike on the West Rim Trail was nice and after the turn to Angels Landing had few people. Nice views and comfortable temperatures. What we didn't realize was that the double busses were dumping thousands of people at the trailhead. We got down OK but then started on Emerald Pools trail. This was a disaster from the start but we stayed with it for some unknown reason. Worst hike I have ever done in my life. That is saying a lot. Way too many people on the trail going both ways. You could not walk and it felt like you could not breath. What is left of the pools isn't much. They put up a bunch of chain and everything is stomped to death. We retreated to the overcrowded bus packed with people.

I was ready to throw in the towel but we escaped to the East road and went to Many Pools trail. This was actually great! We saw two people the whole hike and one mountain goat leaping on the rock above us. It was bleating which allowed Holly to spot it. This is a slot canyon area with high cliffs on both sides. There was a tunnel that went under the road that turned into the trail. I think the tunnel was for water when the stream gets more active. This whole area is interesting and you could do other hikes in this area.

A pretty good day even though two hours of it was terrible. The scenic road in Zion is trashed. Way too many people and most of the hikes are either closed or ruined. Lots of other things to do in the area. 

Many Pools trail: