Hiked Angel's Landing At Zion National Park
“I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can't see from the center.”
--Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Today, J and I went to Zion National Park. I had never been there. Actually, I had never even been to Utah before. We woke up super early and drove up Interstate 15 for a few hours to get there. Once we got to Zion, we took the tram to the Grotto station, which is where the Grotto Trailhead is and the beginning of the West Rim Trail.
The beginning was by far the most physically strenuous part of the hike. It has a series of steep switchbacks that seem never-ending. Fortunately, the scenery around us wasn’t too bad at all.
The higher we went up, the better the view got. The pictures were a good excuse to rest because my calves were burning!
After getting past the switchbacks about a mile into the hike, we went through the shady, breezy section called Refrigerator Canyon.
The next section of the hike is a series of 21 steep switchbacks called Walter’s Wiggles, named after the first superintendent of Zion National Park who helped engineer them.
Walter’s Wiggles leads up to Scout’s Lookout, where we got a spectacular view of the canyon.
This is also where Angel’s Landing Trail begins.
There were two warning signs here that explained that it’s dangerous.
The rocks here are so beautiful, and this trail is just incredible.
Many sections of the trail have chains that we could grab onto, which was nice because there were definitely parts where it was basically straight down drops on both sides.
It’s a little tricky navigating around people coming down, but it was manageable. It took a little while, but we made it to the top, where we were rewarded with amazing views of Zion Canyon in both directions.
I enjoyed the view very much.
This was an amazing hike. It was not easy, but I really loved it. It has different elements to it that make it a great hike. There are the physically tough switchbacks, the cool, shady canyon, the thrilling steep cliffs, and of course the reward of the epically awesome view to make it a truly wonderful experience.
While I couldn’t recommend this hike to everyone, if you’re in good shape, sure-footed, and are not scared of heights, this is a ton of fun and very beautiful. I would very much like to come back to Zion for a longer period of time. We didn’t get to hike the Narrows due to flooding, but I took the time to relax and enjoy the gorgeous rocks around me.
For me, this was an unforgettable experience, and it was the perfect way to spend our last full day in the Southwest. What a beautiful country we live in!
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