10. July 2022
Day 37: Angels Landing
Run
This morning I redid a run from 2018 when I was in Zion the last time. It’s around 12 km and started directly from our Hotel and just follows the road to the National Park entry. There the nice lady that checked my Park pass made a comment about my Prague Marathon Shirt (Sounds nice). Until the entrance it’s already ~3 km, then I followed the Pa’rus Trail for another 3 km and just turned around and run the same way back. Easy :) Brought back some memories and it’s an amazing start into the day.
The day
We then ate some breakfast at the room, did laundry, chilled at the pool, played some of the games we bought in Seattle. Time was running and soon it was already 15:00. Because we got our Angels Landing permit for 11:00 or later, we decided to go “late” and leave around 15:00 from the Hotel.
Angels Landing
First thing was going to the park entrance, for that we took the car. From there it was the shuttle again. No wait time again, the crowds already left the park because it was simply too hot (~40 degrees).
Stop #6 - The Grotto was us, so we left. There was a huge group of teenagers that planned to do the hike as well, so we did just a quick stop at the restrooms and off we went.
Start of the trail
The start of the trail is the West Rim Trail, which only splits later into the Angels Landing trail. For the first 1 km (of total 4 km) it was pretty flat, so we knew that this meant the rest will be even steeper.
Now it goes up
After the sandy start, the trail turned into pavement and was well maintained. Even though it was steep, we made a good pace and quickly gained some elevation.
View back
The view back then showed us the switch backs nicely. But still a lot left to go. There weren’t many people on the trail.
Bridge after the first Climb
After the first climb was done, the trail became flat for a couple hundred meters. This started of with a bridge and was then a trail through a canyon.
Canyon after the first climb
Then the second climb started and it got even steeper and the switchbacks crazier. Here we passed some people that took breaks or had a more human pace then we…
Running up here would be good training… for whatever
After this climb, the trail splits. To the left you can follow the west rim trail all the way to Lava Point, to the right it goes to Angels Landing, our Goal for the day. Starting from this point, you need the permit we won in the lottery. But it wasn’t checked, maybe because it was already getting late, or maybe it’s just sometimes checked. We don’t know.
But from here on the climbing started. Angels Landing isn’t a trail which you can simple walk up. It consists of steep parts which require climbing, secured by chains. There are steep drops on both sides, there is a reason that it’s one of the most dangerous hikes.
First part of the climb, this gives an idea of what to come
This first climbing part was roughly 5 minutes, then a plateau is reached and we could see the final climb.
This narrow path leads to the top
Here we started the next part but I had to accept that it’s not for me (at least not today), my fear of height suddenly was very apparent. Thoughts of pushing through appeared, but I feared to being stuck somewhere… I called it a day and Nicole had to do it on her own.
Up she goes
Even though the path is crazy sometimes, she made it to the top and was rewarded with some amazing views of the Zion Canyon. After I saw the picture I was definitely jealous, but always know your limit!
View of the Zion Canyon
In the meantime I found a nice spot in the shade and enjoyed the views of the surrounding canyon, even without being at the top, the view was breathtaking!
After she was down at the plateau, we quickly made the descent. Thanks to the fact that the trail was paved, it didn’t took us long back to the shuttle stop. After a short wait we sat in the shuttle, back to the parking.
It was now already close to 19:00, but we still decided to go for a quick swim before dinner. For dinner we first had the plan to go to King’s Landing again, but it was closed. So Bit & Spur it was, a really good choice. Number 2 for us, after King’s Landing, before Oscar’s Cafe.
Pasta at Bit & Spur
This concludes our Adventures in Zion, tomorrow the glamorous City of Las Vegas awaits. Something completely different but I’m sure it will be fun as well!
Pictures
