Angel's Landing

 

Zion National

Park

 

 

Five Miles Round Trip

 

1433 Feet Elevation Gain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is no doubt in my mind that this climb could strike a bit of fear into at least eighty-five percent of the average populace.  Since I am already afraid of heights to begin with, I can say unabashadly that this hike was pretty freaky.  To the left of my foot there is a 1,500 foot drop off.  I am holding onto that tree because I think that in my weakened condition of being so close to a crumbly ledge that my thumb and forefinger will save me from a plummet if the edge should give.

Angel's Landing is a steep hike from the canyon floor to a jetty of rock that rises up as if it was a landing pod in the middle of the canyon for a vast, slim ship.  We started it early in the morning, around 5:45 AM, before the sun would be frying us off the sand. 

 

 

Tanis took a little morning nap because he was still a bit sleepy.  I didn't really get much sleep with him.

 

 

He was tuckered out from the day before.  The exposure and the heat had made us a little bit more tired than we probably would have been.  The floppy hats helped keep some of the sun off, but it was like trying to stop a semi with gauze.  Just isn't going to work.

 

 

 

 

 

After leaving the canyon floor, you hike up an a steep carving in the side of a cliff.  If you look closely at the picture below, you will see a zig-zagging line up the cliff, moving left to right across the face. 

That is the trail, nothing but switchback after miserable switchback.  The trail is cemented making the miles fast and no slipping down dirt and scree.  After getting up into the canyon between these two sandstone towers, you follow a cool trail between these walls, moving up the tower on the right pictured above.

At the end of that trail are the famous "Walter's Wiggles."  It was the end of the switchbacks, but also the hardest so far.  I got a wierd burst of energy and run up these to the top of Scout's Landing.

Onto Scout's Lookout