Zion NP/ Angels Landing

WOW!

Located in Southwestern Utah, Zion was actually Utah's first National Park, designated as a monument in 1909, and a park in 1919. It has quickly become one of the most popular parks in recent years. It used to be a little hidden gem according to a ranger I talked to when I was here for the first time in 2017, but now it's the 4th most visited NP with 4.5 million visitors in 2019. It beat out Yosemite at #5 and Yellowstone at #6-that's insane.

These towering cliffs are sedimentary rocks-made of bits and pieces of older weathered rocks, sandstone, etc. They are great for hiking, climbing, and looking up in amazement!

Seeing snow & ice was a plus!

And mule deer!

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Our first full day in Zion wore us out! We did about 14 miles, hiked for 8 hours, and completed the infamous Angels Landing.

Angels Landing is a 5.4 mile round trip. The first 2.5 include 2 series of switchbacks- once you hit the second series of 21 switchbacks designed in 1924 called Walter's Wiggles (after the park's first superintendent), you know you're almost to the last .5. The last .5 are where things really start to get interesting. Chains were installed in 2018 to assist hikers with navigating the narrow walk-way.

This is the view of Angels Landing from past the hike continuing on the West Rim Trail. The middle mountain (2nd highest is the peak you climb.)

The hike is split into 5 sections- a lot happens in 2.5 miles up with 1500 feet elevation gain!

Grotto Trailhead- starts at the Grotto bus stop

Refrigerator Canyon-2 miles paved with shady spots

Walter's Wiggles- 21 switchbacks, you know you're almost to Scout's Lookout, where many choose to turnaround after seeing a view of the canyon

The Spine- ascend 500 feet with 800 to 1000 foot drop-offs on both sides

The Landing Strip- You've reached the top and can enjoy the beautiful views of Zion Canyon & Big Bend below

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12/22-

After spending the night at the Watchman Campground with our friends, the mule deer, we woke up at 6am to drive into the park to claim our parking spot. The parking fills really early when the shuttles aren't running(now until Christmas Eve.) We headed to "The Grotto," and secured one of the last 2 spots at 6:30am.

From "The Grotto," you can reach The West Rim trail which takes you to Angels Landing, and 15+ miles into the backcountry, the Kayenta Trail to the emerald pools, and The Grotto Trail to Zion Lodge. This is a big hiking drop-off point for the shuttle drivers when they run.

We started off on the West Rim Trail at 7:45am. As did everybody else. Not too busy but we definitely had our masks on for most of the hike.

After Walter's 21 Wiggles, we were ready to see the views. Just incredible. We started up the last half mile to the top- the huge sandstone monolith looked pretty intimidating being eye-level with it, but the chains really helped and the edges weren't super close to your feet. We thought it was a really exciting and enjoyable hike- definitely not for young kids (although we saw a few stop at Scout's Lookout, or people super afraid of heights, although I don't love heights and I felt pretty good.) It's a dangerous hike, and it's strenuous, I definitely had to pace myself on the switchbacks. There's a good bit of rock scrambles too.

The view from the landing strip was actually the most beautiful view I think I've ever seen. Zion Canyon is already my favorite view, but I've been wanting to see it from higher up in the canyon since 2017. I was seriously blown away. The chipmunks at the top were super cute too.

We decided to venture down the West Rim Trail for another mile-ish to eat lunch before descending down to the canyon again. We found snow & ice over there! That trail takes you past 8 or so backcountry campsites, and 15 miles into the park.

We headed down to do the 2 miles Kayenta Trail that loops you to the Upper, Middle, and Lower emerald pools. I had seen the lower pools but there was more water this time, and I somehow missed the upper and middle pools the last 2 times. We found them today!

Then, we did the Riverside Walk to the Narrows- we didn't get in the water, but wanted to see the start. I was able to hike some of the Narrows a couple years ago and it was one of the most fun and interesting hikes I've done, so I recommend.

I also remembered this walk being like .3 miles, and it was 2 miles round trip- so yay extra mileage!

We may tackle the short Watchman Trail tomorrow before we leave, only if our knees still work! Check out the photography page for more!