Look Up

by Mitchell Tester, College Student

“breathe in nature”

I decided to take a break once more from space this month and talk about another thing that is really important to me: the outdoors. I love nature.

To get in touch with nature, I like to visit national parks. I frequently visit Catoctin National Park right here in Thurmont, as I am sure many of you do. We have so much beauty right in our backyards. Still, there’s so much beauty in nature out there that is just waiting to be seen and experienced. I have been to a couple of national parks, such as the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado. It’s a Saharan-like desert surrounded by mountains. It’s a very cool place that I recommend you visit if you are in Colorado.

One park that sticks out from the rest for me, though, is Zion National Park. So, for this month, I would like to talk about my favorite place that I have ever visited.

What really highlights the beauty of the United States is the national parks. The United States is home to over 400 of them, with 63 having the official title of “National Park.” National parks are areas of protected and preserved land and wildlife, open to anyone and everyone. They allow people to get a glimpse of what nature was before we humans changed and molded it—in the process, sometimes losing the peacefulness and tranquility that the outdoors brings. What national parks do is bring some of that peace back. 

One very popular destination for national park goers is Zion National Park, located in the state of Utah. Zion is home to serious biodiversity, with activities and sights that would strike awe in anyone bearing witness to them. Zion National Park is an amazing experience, only truly understood by seeing it in person.

Zion National Park resides in southwestern Utah, outside of Springdale, in the Zion Canyon. A 15-mile-long canyon that is nearly 3,000 feet deep in some places. It is a 232-square-mile park. It sits roughly 152 miles outside of population-dense Las Vegas, Arizona, making it a popular destination for many. 

There are many things to do at Zion, including hiking, guided horseback riding, river trips, backpacking, biking, bird watching (home to 291 species of birds), climbing, camping, and canyoneering. The easiest hike is the Riverside Walk hike, which leads to another popular hike, called “The Narrows.” The Riverside Walk is wheelchair accessible for the first half-mile, so it is open to everyone and can be done at any time during the year unless stated otherwise. The Riverside Walk is a relatively flat trail at the northern end of the park. The trail follows the beautiful “Virgin River,” where, along the path, high staggering cliffs narrow in around you. There are many portions, less taken, where you can literally walk along the river, which is incredibly peaceful.

The most popular hike is Angels Landing, an overlook that was dubbed Angels Landing by a Methodist minister, named Frederick Vining Fisher, who allegedly said that “only an angel could land there,” when referring to the overlook spot. It is a strenuous two- to four-hour hike, that is 5.4 miles round trip, with some of the most spectacular views. This is such a strenuous, dangerous trail that it requires a permit to be able to hike it due to how narrow some of the portions are.

The next most popular activity in Zion National Park is a hike dubbed “The Narrows,” where you sometimes hike in waist-high water through a gorge, with walls thousands of feet tall and sometimes only 30 feet wide. Similar to Angels Landing, The Narrows has its own share of dangerous aspects to it. The most dangerous is its susceptibility to flash floods because much of the area is bare rock that does not absorb water. It takes mere minutes to seconds for the flooding to occur, and at times, sadly enough, it is too late for some hikers. The Narrows is a 16-mile hike, which means that it is common for people to break this hike between two days and backpack it. More commonly, though, people do a day hike, which takes around three to five hours and is roughly nine miles there and back.

I can’t forget to mention that “looking up” while at Zion National Park, well, let’s just say it’s awe-inspiring. Stargazing is an amazing way to connect with nature and the universe. As the sun sets, the jagged cliffs surrounding the park will silhouette below the night sky, encompassing the observer. Zion National Park is an International Dark Sky park, meaning that it protects the night sky by not degrading it with artificial light. In return, the night sky at Zion is incredibly dark. Even on a full Moon, you can see thousands of stars. The night sky gets so dark, in fact, that you can see the Milky Way.

Zion is very special and unique,  not only a place but an experience, an amusement park for those who want to get in touch with nature and experience the true outdoors. From Kolob to Angels Landing, from the Narrows to the Scenic Drive, Zion is a place everyone should want to visit and experience at least once in their lifetime.

It’s my goal over my lifetime to visit all the national parks. Being out in nature has always made me feel better. Breathing in the fresh air, breathing out the stress and anxiety. And visiting a national park, where you can witness nature in its purest, majestic form, only strengthens my connection to nature and fills me with an appreciation for our planet’s beauty. That’s where peace and tranquility lie.

So, look up, look down, look all around you, and breathe in nature.