I saved a trip to the Kolob Canyons section of Zion for the Memorial Day weekend. Kolob Canyons is twenty miles northwest of the main park and much less visited, so we hoped to avoid the holiday crowds.

The most popular hike in Kolob is alongside Taylor Creek. At five miles in round-trip length and 450' of elevation gain, this hike is classed as "moderate"; I expected it to be well within my abilities. What I failed to anticipate about this hike was the multiple stream crossings -- many, many, MANY stream crossings -- which require climbing up and down creek banks. Believe me, it adds up. And the rock-hopping; did I mention the rock-hopping? Anyway, what I thought would be an easy day of walking turned out to be nearly as strenuous as Angel's Landing, in its own way.

The reward at the end of the hike was a huge, gorgeous double alcove, almost like a cavern.

While having lunch near the alcove, we met some hikers coming back from upstream. They told us that just a bit further on, there was an amazing waterfall tumbling down in a corkscrew slot. "It's like a big walk-in shower," one of them told me.

So although we were tired, we decided to go for it, and it was worth the trip. According to Mike, I really needed the shower. Ha ha.

The extra hiking was justified for the sights, but costly on the old legs. Mike found me a crutch - er, walking stick to help me make that last couple of miles back.

He knew it was that, or carry me.

Apropos of nothing, here's my favorite highway sign from this trip.