Quote:
Originally Posted by wheregirl
Thanks.
The Mt Charleston outside Vegas has tall trees with shades? Trees with shades in Zion Park?
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Yes to both.
But both are in the desert (high desert - so there is lots of vegetation even in the valleys), so the shady trees are more on the mountains.
I hiked in Zion, near the lodge, to the emerald pools - the lower, middle, and upper emerald pools - which are on a small mountain (actually, the walls of a canyon, but it's the same effect as climbing a small mountain). As soon as you start to climb the shady trees increase, and it's so shady you really walk in shade most of the way. At the top, there are plenty of trees and shade, but of course there is some exposure to sun up there when you are not right near trees.
The same thing at Mt. Charleston, basically. In both places there are lots of pinon pines and even some deciduous trees.
Mt. Charleston is really incredible because you drive from the valley up the mountain, and as you're driving and increasing in elevation, your surroundings change from sagebrush, cactus, and a few sparse joshua trees to thick forests of pines and other trees.
And in both Zion and Mt. Charleston, because they are in the desert, there are hardly any bugs, especially no mosquitos which prefer humid, damp conditions. I'll try to dig up pictures if I can find any of my own, or I'll link you to some on the web.