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-- Ethan L., Tenderfoot, Jul. 2015Our 2015 summer camp was an 8-day trip to Zion National Park, Lake Powell, and Grand Canyon National Park. On this trip, the troop traveled through California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. We had 5 hikes that totaled 20 miles, including Angels Landing and the Narrows at Zion National Park, Rainbow Bridge at Lake Powell, and Uncle Jim Trail and Bridle Trail at the Grand Canyon National Park. We also stayed on 2 houseboats for 5 days, and did water activities, such as wakeboarding, knee boarding, and tubing.
The Narrows, Zion National Park
The Narrows is a hike completely in water. We walked in the water, which was between two steep walls made of sandstone. Due to the limited time, our troop decided to turn back after about 2.5 miles. The scouts saw a lot of wildlife and took a lot of pictures. It felt refreshing when my feet touched the cool water.
Angels Landing, Zion National Park
Angels Landing is a 5 miles round trip with 1,488 feet in elevation. The trail to reach the top is called the West Rim Trail. The troop stopped at Scout Lookout which was just before the trail. Before stopping at Scout Lookout, we entered Walter’s Wiggles, famous with its 21 steep switchbacks. Almost everybody in our troop hiked up to the top where we enjoyed the great views below. I thought that Angels Landing was much more difficult compared to the other hikes that we did on the trip, but the views at the top were worth the climb.
Houseboating, Lake Powell On the third day of summer camp, we boarded 2 houseboats and left Wahweap Marina. For the next 5 days, we could expect blue clear skies and warm temperatures. In the morning, we would eat breakfast and then do some water sports. While the houseboat was sailing to the next campsite, the scouts worked on merit badges and advancement. When the boat reached the location, the troop would do water activities again. These events included kayaking, tubing, knee boarding, wakeboarding, and swimming. Mr. A brought his new boat and spent almost half the day letting us practice our knee boarding and wakeboarding. The younger scouts did tubing and knee boarding while the older and more senior scouts attempted wakeboarding. I learned how to tube and knee board. On my first try at knee boarding, I got on the board and felt triumphant as I tried not to fall.
Rainbow Bridge, Lake Powell
During our trip on the houseboat, we stopped for a few hours to hike to Rainbow Bridge. Rainbow Bridge is the largest natural bridge in the world. Everyone was in awe of the bridge when we saw it. As soon as we reached the bridge, most of the scouts immediately took out their cameras and started taking pictures. Although the bridge looks like an arch, it is considered a bridge due to the fact that it crosses over water. It was once a sacred land to the Navajo tribe. Paiute Native Americans Nasjah Begay and Jim Mike first led white settlers to Rainbow Bridge in 1909. There is a single dinosaur footprint at the site, which is possibly a Dilophosaurus footprint. I thought that the hike was fairly easy and didn’t have any difficulty hiking on the trail. It also seemed fascinating that the site we visited was a sacred place to Native Americans and had a lot of history to it.
Uncle Jim Trail, Grand Canyon National Park
On our penultimate day of the trip, we hiked 5 miles round trip on Uncle Jim Trail and saw wonderful views of the upper part of North Kaibab Trail. Mr. A pointed out the trail that we took to get to the vista point. As we looked at that trail, it looks like the trip down would be pretty long. But as I hiked with my buddies, I knew that it wouldn’t be that long of a hike.
Bridle Trail, Grand Canyon National Park
The troop hiked on Bridle Trail on the last day of our outing. It was a 2.5 miles round trip and was fairly easy. As I was walking, I tried to imagine the view that I would be seeing at the destination. It was better than I imagined. It looked like a masterpiece by nature. I looked at the amazing view with awe.
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