Day 28: Zion NP - Angels Landing - Aimless

July 8, 2013

Day 28: Zion NP - Angels Landing

I thought today would be a good day for a death defying hike. Why not? Today is as good a day as any?

So I got up early, once again, to beat the heat and headed over to the shuttle stop near the campground. The Zion NP shuttles are the bomb! I.e., they are great! They go up and down the length of the park every 10 or so minutes, stopping at the major trail heads and lodge, and it's all free. What it means to me is that I can lock up my bike and have a couple of days off of it. It also keeps most cars off the road, for when I do ride. Not having cars makes life a beautiful thing! :-)

So anyway, I boarded the shuttle and rode it to The Grotto, which is the trail head for the Angels Landing hike.

Angels Landing is considered one of the more strenuous hikes in the park and, if I must be honest, even though my mom is reading, potentially dangerous. (Just remember mom, I am writing this, so everything turned out okay!)

They give warnings all over the park that it is not for children, or people who are afraid of heights, or not in good condition, etc, etc, etc. I'm not generally afraid of heights, but even I "gulped" a few times while I was climbing, and when I got to the top.

The hike starts with long uphill hike, which is a huge effort in itself...

This was the approach from the trail head, and the valley floor.

...and as I got up higher the switchbacks started...

....and this is the last set of switchbacks before the actual Angels Landing portion of the climb.

Then came Angels Landing. Once on the climb, much of the "trail" runs along a series of chains that, if you have any brains at all, you will hang on to at all times, with at least one hand, which I did.

Some of the drop offs were straight down.

Here is a view from closer to the start of the climb. I am using the arrows to point out people already on the climb, to give a sense of scale.

A few places didn't have ropes. This was one section where they were intermittent.

Yes, this is as narrow as it looks. There are drop offs on either side of this "bridge". Many people thought is was the scariest part of the route.

I ain't afraid of heights! I mean, GULP!

Mostly it wasn't crowded, but every now and then there was a bottle neck.

The view from the top. Even though the pictures never do it justice. :-(

To give you a sense of scale, I am pointing to one of the shuttle buses down below on the road. Tiny!

And incidentally, don't let this innocent little face fool you! There was a pack of these little guys up at the top stealing food. Don't leave your backpack on the ground or your trail mix is history. Oh, sure, he's cute and all, but he can't be trusted!

Another climber on his way down (look to the right on orange)...

I found down more difficult than up because of it is harder on the knees and ankles. All I had to hike in were my Keen cycling sandals. They did the job but were not very supportive in this case.

But anyway, it was important to stay focused on the way down too, of course. After all, I didn't want to be fatality number 7. I mean, for one, they would have to have new signs made (see picture 1). And the government doesn't have that kind of money! They can't even afford to put showers in the campgrounds, where are they going to find the money to print up a new sign that says 7 instead of 6?

So, I kept my concentration and made it down in one piece. I can tell you though, I was pooped by the time I made it all the way down to the trail head again, and the shuttle. I was glad I started early!

It was a memorable hike and an awesome day! I spent the rest of it dawdling around, swimming in the river, eating, and that sort of thing. But those are stories for another time...

Tomorrow is another day. I can't decide if I will ride or hike?

Until then...

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