Incredible View

I set out to hike up Small Tunnel Canyon which is north of the small tunnel. Foolishly, I forgot that I have already been there. After a while, it just kept getting more and more familiar to me until I realized that I had already been there. So I picked a different place to explore after making it to the end of the canyon and being turned around at the same point with the same obstacles magically still there. So I found my way down canyon by a different route that was actually rather neat with narrows and slickrock. My goal was to climb up in between two buttes where there looked to be a nice saddle with an excellent view. It ended up being rather steep and I had to pick my way up through the steps, shelves, and ledges that slickrock offers to break up the rolling round edges. 

It did not take too long to gain the little canyon below the saddle. From there I lost the risk of a somersault sending me into oblivion and was able to just find my way up less steep territory until I gained the saddle. From there, I got a great view into the rest of the east side as the cliff dropped almost straight down from the saddle which I knew from looking at my map. So I had my lunch and began to wander on down. Looking up, I spotted the view that made the whole trip worthwhile. There were the four giants of the southern part of Zion all lined up together. 

In my view, I was able to see the Watchman, Bridge Mountain, the East Temple, and the West Temple. I was awestruck and had to stand there and soak it in for a while. I was able to safely pick my way back down the steep slickrock and find my way back to the truck. The view made the hike count, as I turned an oops into an ahh!