Emerald Pools

When my brother in law approached me with the idea to hike to Zion National Park's Emerald Pools the thought of fighting through crowds of tourists immediatly entered my mind. Emerald Pools is one of the "must hikes" in the National Park and as such, one usually finds himself fighting crowds, listening to foreign languages, and in general not experiencing nature as it was meant to be experienced.

Fortunately, we had church at 11:00 AM which in turn caused us to wake up earlier than one should on a Sunday. Departing at around 6:30 and arriving at the trailhead at 7:15, we found ourselves the only ones in the parking lot. Quickly we arrived without any human distractions at the lower pools and waterfalls. Looking at the waterfalls with the fall colors in the background was majestic, but the lower pools was not our end destination, and we quickly moved on.

After hiking for a short time, and stopping to enjoy the changing leaves, we arrived at the middle pools. My brother in law told me of a spot he had found in an earlier trip to the middle pools that was off the main trailhead. We spent a considerable time at these hidden pools. My nephew, who came along with us on this hike, quietly played while I enjoyed the solitude and stunning beauty of leaves floating on the pools.

After spending 20 someodd minutes at the middle pools, we departed and eventually arrived at the upper pools. Only one word describes the scene we found, inspiring! The reflection of the fall colors and red rocks on the upper pool was one of the most sacred moments in recent memory. Only a Supreme Power could have create such an amazing holy place, one as sacred as any church or place of worship.