Angel's Landing

My last two days off I headed to Zion National Park with Eric, Heather, and Heather's friend Scott who was visiting from Texas. We left Friday morning and picked up supplies in Kanab, UT, a small hippie-Mormon town between here and Zion.

We spent our first night on some property just outside Zion owned by a very generous couple who works here. We set up our tents and hammock and relaxed from our tedious work-week. The other side of the fence denoting the property line lay Zion, and we tried to explore a little but could not find the non-maintained trail that was rumored to be there. Instead we started a fire and cooked up some Jiffy Pop, pork, corn, and couscous. Car camping allowed us to be luxurious with our meals, and we enjoyed the taste of real food- a nice change from the EDR.

We awoke early Saturday morning and headed into Zion after some tasty breakfast burritos.

Eric and Heather at the camp Friday night.

On the drive into Zion we stopped before driving through the Tunnel to take a quick 1-mile round trip jaunt to see Canyon Overlook. At around 4000 feet in elevation (but varying greatly due to the canyons and rock formations) it continued to grow hot throughout the day and the sun was unforgiving.

By the time we reached the trailhead to Angel's Landing, the temperature had peaked at about 98 degrees F. Although only 2.5 miles out to the overlook at Angel's Landing (5 miles round trip), there is a 1500 foot rise in elevation. We started in the early afternoon, the hottest part of the day and slowly made our way up the steep trail and switchbacks. There were some trees for shade and cool rock walls where we could find some relief from the heat. After a couple of miles, it become so steep and shear that chains were installed to help hikers pull themselves up to the overlook. It was a bit nerve-wracking, being afraid of heights and bad in the unforgiving heat, but the view down to the Virgin River and across the canyon was worth it.

View of Zion from Angel's Landing. 2.5 mi and 1500 feet up.

Although difficult on the knees and ankles, the way down was much easier-the sun was lower in the sky, casting larger shadows to escape to, and gravity was on our side. Once we reached the bottom, we cooled off in the frigid waters of the Virgin River.

After setting up at our site in the campground, we headed out to Springdale, the little hippie-resort town outside the West entrance of Zion, for a well deserved dinner. Mexican food never tasted so good.