Five years of PhD education went by so quickly, I wanted to say, but the truth is it was a difficult path to undertake and I am so happy to make to the other end in one piece. My way of partying usually comes in the form of a hike. A big achievement like this deserved more than a hike, so I have found myself in Utah, a vast piece of land with a unique landscape, which I’ve longed to visit since reading the book titled “Desert Solitaire” by Edward Abbey. Although the book is about the memoirs of Edward Abbey at the Moab National Park, which I did not have the chance to visit, as a park ranger, I got curious about Utah in general.
I flew into Las Vegas airport, rented a car, and drove to Bryce Canyon National Park in November. On the way there, it started to snow, and I got so worried that I would not be able to see the canyon. I have to tell you that it was cold, windy and foggy when I first arrived, but I was not ready to give up on Bryce Canyon. The canyon showed me some mercy by opening up later on. When it cleared up, I was speechless at the beauty of the canyon. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do any of the hikes due to icy conditions, but I had a great panoramic view at the vista points up on the top. A great bonus from this visit was that I heard some wolves howling from far away that make me believe in the continuation of wildlife in the canyon area. “I have to come back here,” I repeated many times to myself.
The next stop was Zion National Park, which I spent one and a half days. I learned that couple trails were closed because of weather conditions. In result, I chose a few trails I would not have hiked had it not been for the bad weather conditions. Those trails were less crowded but still as beautiful as the popular ones. Overall, I am very happy how it turned out. My only regret is not being able to hike the Narrows Canyon. It is the narrowest section of Zion Canyon with a river going through it. There are some parts in the canyon that you have to basically swim. With my short height, I may have to swim the most part J I even rented the gear for that hike, but the trail were closed because of bad weather. I am also not sure hiking in almost freezing water in November is the smartest idea, but I had my heart set on that trail. Another trail as exciting as Narrows is of course the Angels Landing trail. The views from start to end of the trail is spectacular. I’d like to emphasize on that, because I see so many people hiking the last bit of the trail, where 9 people died since 2004) without proper equipment, e.g., flip-flops. I checked the conditions of the last section of the trail, and I did not feel safe to do the chained part, and decided not to do it. And that’s okay, my dear friends. Don’t take unnecessary risks because of social pressure. My observation is that most people hike that part just because to say “I did it”, or to take a picture at the end. I have to emphasize again that the journey matters as much as the destination, and the views along the way are amazing anyways. This is enough complaining from me for today J I think I can say that Zion National Park is one of the greatest parks I have ever visited. One more time, “I have to come back here.”
Couple months after visiting the national parks, I was lucky to visit Utah one more time, and that was for skiing at Park City. It did not disappoint. I hope our paths will cross with Utah many more times in the future.
Cheers,
Gokce
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