Day 8: Zion National Park: Angel's Landing

W.O.W.

Today has been one of the fullest and most intense days of my road trip, including the trip out West from CT in the fall.

I woke up at 6AM because I was nervous someone would find me sleeping in my car in the parking lot of the library in Springdale, AZ. After pressing snooze a couple times (after checking the parking lot for anyone else of course) I headed to a coffee shop and used the internet there to post the last blog. I didn't want to get into the park before the sun was even up!

When it was light enough to see the canyon walls I headed into the park, stopping at the visitor's center for some advice on hiking trails and the traditional "passport to your national parks" stamp. The ranger on duty recommended a couple of hikes, including the Angel's Landing hike, which a friend had recommended before, and so I decided I would hit that trail midday, despite the description of the hike as "strenuous, long drop-off and narrow trail. not for anyone fearful of heights" (which I am slightly.) Before that hike I headed out to Canyon Overlook trail and hiked the mile out to a lookout to view the sun rise over lover Zion Canyon and Pine Creek Canyon. That hike was nice, but nothing spectacular, and the lighting in the canyon wasn't ideal for pictures.

I headed from there right to the trail head for Angel's Landing, heading off on that 5 mile hike at 10:40. The first quarter of the hike wasn't bad at all, just a graduate climb up the canyon wall of sandy switchback trails. After the first quarter the trail picked up significantly, and the grade of the switchbacks were pretty intense. Nothing I couldn't handle though. After about 5 longer switchbacks at that pace the trail evened out, winding into a canyon finger out of the main Zion Canyon. It was super nice and cool in the shade of this little finger, and the trail was flat for a ways. At the end of that finger, though, the trail got even steeper than before, with 18 switchbacks right in a row, called Walters Wiggles. At the top of this climb was Scout's Lookout, and the view was gorgeous, looking to the north on the Zion Canyon on one side and the main, wider part of the canyon to the south on the other. The drop-off on each side was scarier for me than the walls of the Grand Canyon, and the railings were minimal up here.

Here are some pictures of part of the trail across the ridge.

I decided I might as well continue on to Angel's Landing, another half mile up and across a VERY narrow ridge. It wasn't until I was right smack in the middle of the first narrow section of the ridge that I second guessed my choice in trekking all the way up. But I figured if the views were that good from the lookout, they must be mind-boggling from higher up and further out into the canyon. The trail was INTENSE! I had hiked on a mountain where steps had been carved out of the rock, and where cables were set up on the side for railings in Peru on Wayna Picchu, the mountain above Machu Picchu. This hike made that climb look like a cake walk. I was literally scrambling over rocks, clinging to a chain at times, the rocks at others, fearing for my life. But I decided it would be a bad time to die, so I made it to the top. I really can't describe the trail... Someone would have to hike it to understand how scary it really was.

But luckily, the views were indeed worth the extra .5 mile (which had taken me almost as long as the 2 miles prior, which had climbed around 1000 feet in altitude). It was one of the coolest things that I have done, and I did it all alone! Woohoo!!!

After coming back down from the summit (which only took me about 45 minutes, compared to the 2.5 hours the way up took) I headed out to the end of the Zion Scenic Drive, which stops at the North Fork Virgin River, where a path takes you out along the river for a mile. There is the opportunity to continue down the river once the path ends, but I stepped into the water and literally 30 seconds later my feet were in acute pain because the water was so FRIGID! So instead I just headed back towards my car, and then headed out of the park for the day. Tomorrow I will do one more hike here, and then head to Bryce Canyon National Park.

Today was epic... One of the best days I have ever had in nature. I wish you all could have been there to share it with me. I hiked to the top of the peak in the picture below. It looks small from here, just because of the perspective, but it sure as heck wasn't small!

One thing that I really noticed today was how special hiking is. Of course, most people hike to enjoy nature, and awe-inspiring beauty usually. And what a treat it is to get away from the sounds of civilization and get into mama gaia. Some people hike to challenge and conquer limitations, too - exhaustion, weakness, doubt, etc. But I find a sweet bonus when I hike, in the form of comraderie among hikers. In a society where most of us put our blinders on and focus on our own lives, barely even noticing the people we pass on the street, hiking is such an interesting change of pace. Almost every single person I passed on the trail was friendly and open, asking me how I was doing, how I was enjoying the day, how wonderful I thought the views were from up top. It is such an inspiring experience to be greeted, and encouraged, and befriended for a time, by total strangers. The only thing binding us all is our joy at being in such an amazing place, and yet it feels like we are all a part of a community. A bit romantic, I know, but I had to share that I had experienced that on the trail, because it really gives me hope for humanity.

PEACE AND LOVE