Willis Creek

We had a great family hiking day planned out in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Our goal was to hike in Willis Creek which I heard was the best hiking trail for kids in the monument. Unfortunately, when we awoke Conrad was sick. This concerned his mother, so the two of them decided to stay back while Zyla and I went off for our hike. I took Zyla hiking alone once before when she was a bit younger and the results were okay. She was not as interactive then, so I was hoping this time at nearly 3 she would be a bit more fun.

She had to wait a while to get the hiking in. We had to drive east of Zion National Park, north from Mt. Carmel, to the Glendale Bench Road. Then it was another hour of driving on dirt roads. The first 45 minutes were on good dirt roads, the last 15 minutes was on some rough dirt roads. Zyla and her dad handled it well and eventually we were at the trailhead. I was a bit nervous that Zyla was not going to enjoy the hiking and would be distracted with all the little things along the way. This was the case at the trailhead. Every rock and stick was something to play with. I loaded up the backpack with things for the day, but my goal was to see how much I could get her to walk. The first part of the trail was right near the canyon above it.
This was a lot of hand holding and saying, okay, keep moving Zyla. Then we hit the water. I thought that this could be trouble because what is the point of going to the next stream crossing as there is one right here. Also, what if she didn't like getting wet? Well, my fears were absolved very quickly as Zyla figured this one out quickly. I have never seen that little girl move so swiftly. It was down hill, downstream, nothing but water walking for the next bit. And it gave her dad so much joy to see her really enjoying it.
To top it all off, the canyon was rather amazing with some gorgeous narrows and some more open hotter sections. It was rather busy in the canyon. When any of the older folks passed, they would say something about how she is missing the point and should be walking next to the water. I said, no way, she's got it figured out. Walking in the water is number one the least impactful way to walk and number two, the most fun. This was the first time that I really saw Zyla just purely enjoy hiking. I was having a great time, too.

We stopped for lunch and two of us ate lunch together. It felt really good inside to be able to share the day with my daughter. We continued downstream to where there was an arch. Then the creek hit a junction and opened up a bit. This was where we decided to turn around. I told Zyla, that whenever she wanted, she just needed to tell me and I would carry her in the backpack. She went a little ways upstream, but then decided that she had enough. She had hiked over two miles, which at two years old is pretty good.
The rest of the way I carried her back in the backpack where we were able to have some conversation. We made it back to the car after a very enjoyable hike. Then it was another two hour drive back home. We took the other way through Cannonville and this was just as long but a lot less bumpy. What a great day, so enjoyable with my wonderful daughter.