We just returned home from an incredible week of hiking out west. It was so refreshing to have a week out of the hectic city and a chance to reconnect with nature. As we’ve said before, one of the hardest things about living in New York City is the lack of green space and fresh air. We’re happy to say that our tanks are now full enough to sustain us until our next trip!

DAY ONE

We flew from New York to Phoenix to start our spring break trip with an overnight stay at Shane’s parent’s place in Scottsdale. We wanted to take advantage of having one day in Scottsdale and our proximity to some really great day hikes to get out and explore. We headed out to Tom’s Thumb which is just a 10 minute drive from the house and a quick three-hour hike with beautiful views of the Scottsdale desert. This was a great warmup hike for the week of hikes we had ahead of us.

DAY TWO

We woke up early on Monday morning, said goodbye to Shane’s parents, and set out on our drive north to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Here we did another short day hike on the South Kaibab trail into the canyon and back out. Once we finished the hike we drove the remaining four hours to our Airbnb in Cane Beds where we met five more friends. The drive from The Grand Canyon to the airbnb was one of the most beautiful road trips that we have ever taken. This part of the country offers stunning views of expansive plains, constantly evolving weather and sandstone mountain ranges piercing through the horizon on every side.

DAY THREE

We woke up on Tuesday morning and headed to Zion National Park to tackle a hike that everyone in our group was really looking forward to, Angels Landing. The hike is nine miles, 1500 feet of elevation change and provides some of the best views in all of Zion National Park. We were warned that this was not a hike for those with a fear of heights…and whoever wrote the trail guide was not lying. Hikers are literally clinging to a chain and scaling a cliff face while 1000-foot drop offs surround them on either side. Tay took one step onto the chain section and threw in the towel. Shane made it to the top with our friends Gagan and Max (see below for shirtless photo of Shane at the top of Angels landing).

Tay checking the yearly death count at Angels Landing while Shane clung to a chain on the side of a mountain for dear life.

Shane was feeling sassy after conquering Angels Landing so naturally he popped his top for a photo.

DAY FOUR
We spent our fourth day exploring snowy Bryce Canyon. Many sections of the park were closed due to the snow, but we were able to hike the perimeter of the canyon and take in all of the stunning views. Bryce Canyon is not actually a canyon at all, rather a collection of giant natural amphitheaters. The canyon is full of structures called hoodoos formed over thousands of years by frost weathering and stream erosion of sedimentary rock. We left Bryce Canyon and drove to another trailhead that our Airbnb host told us about. It was a four-mile hike with 1000 feet of elevation change. At the end of the hike we reached a cave full of ancient petroglyphs.

DAY FIVE

We woke up on our fifth day to rain and cold weather, but we were still determined to get out and do something active. We bundled up, packed the car and headed out to the Water Canyon trailhead just a short 20 minutes from our AirBnb. 1/4 of the way down the road to the trailhead our car got stuck in the mud and this mud was no joke. It was squishy, sloppy, red, ankle-deep, pudding-like mud that sucked our car tires in like quicksand. We all got out of the car and pushed it out of the mud, but there was no way we would be able to drive the rest of road to the trailhead. Half of our group decided to head back to the house to watch March Madness while the other half of the group walked over a mile through the mud to the start of the hike and then another four miles to finish the actual hike. The walk through the mud on the road at the beginning and end of the hike were harder than the hike itself. Shane braved the cold and mud and completed as much of the hike as the weather would allow, but his group was still unable to reach end due to high water levels. Taylor went home with the others to day drink and start this blog post, as well as catch up on photo editing.

DAY SIX

On our last day in Utah we returned to Zion National park to hike Angels Landing for a second time. This time we hiked the West Rim trail and it was absolutely breathtaking! When we got to the park, there was a heavy fog blanketing all of the mountaintops and obstructing the views, so we started by hiking the riverside path that leads to the start of one of the most famous hikes in Zion, The Narrows. Due to recent rain/snowmelt, The Narrows was closed, but we were able to hike to the start of the trail and see one of the most famous views in Zion. After we hiked the riverside path we took the shuttle bus to Angels Landing and walked to the top of the west rim. When we reached the top the clouds lifted and we were left with some of the most breathtaking views we have ever seen. It was the perfect conclusion to an amazing trip.

Notice the tour busses in the lower lefthand section of this photo for a sense of the scale/elevation.

Saturday morning we woke up early and started our drive back to Phoenix. We stopped in Flagstaff at Mother Road Brewing Company for a quick beer and a bite to eat before continuing on to Shane’s parents for one last delicious home-cooked meal before boarding our redeye flight back to New York.

This was truly another trip of a lifetime for us and we are so fortunate to have been able to experience it together and with an amazing group of friends. As we finish up this post back in New York City we can’t help but miss the raw beauty, solitude and simplistic serenity of the American West. We are already looking forward to our upcoming trip back to Arizona in a few weeks!

If you have any questions about our trip, day hikes, itinerary, etc., drop a comment below and we will be sure to answer them for you!

Shane + Taylor

SPRING BREAK 2019