Zion….God’s country

Angel's Landing

We managed to get a campsite in Zion which is not an easy thing to accomplish, but rain helped us.  The park is extremely popular and has 3 million visitors a year.  Our campsite is shadowed by Watchman Peak.  We hit a little bit of rain sporadically, which is better then the 4 inches of snow that fell in the Grand Canyon after we left and closed the roads.  The river in Zion is twice as high as normal for this time of year.  Took a few hikes in between the rain drops.  Saturday, was the culmination of anxious anticipation.  We climbed Angels Landing which is a 2.5 mile hike up 1,500 feet.  Let me put it this way …. it isn’t a stroll in the mall.  The last portion of the trail entails scrambling up rocks holding onto a chain until you reach the broad crown on the top of the peak.  Stewart made it all the way to the top while Robbie stopped at 1,100 feet before the chains began.  All Stewart kept thinking on the way to the top was how could the park service ever dream this up as a trail for general public consumption.   The view from the top is a 270 degree panorama of the canyon 1,500 feet below.  Everyone had to pass the freak out point where the trail narrowed to 3 feet wide and dropped off 1200 feet on one side and 800 feet on the other side.  It was easy …. You just look at the 800 foot side <grin>.  One person commented that it is less frightening to sky jump from 10,000 feet then to climb Angels Landing and hold onto the chains.   At least it was a bright sunny day with no wind.  

 

Deciding that 1500 feet of height was not enough, we set out on Sunday for a hike to Observation Point. An added treat was a slot canyon that made Watkins Glen look wimpy!! This 4 mile each way hike ended on top of a 2150 foot overlook.  That is the equivalent of climbing to the top of the Empire State Building TWICE!  The scenery on the way up was superlative although Robbie thought she would never make it to the top of the trail. Once there, we were able to look down on Angels Landing and watch the people walking along the crown of the peak . 

If the posted pictures aren’t dramatic enough ….. we have movies too!