Angel's Landing hike, Zion National Park

Angel’s Landing
Zion National Park
September 5, 2004

I left Las Vegas around 4:30 AM. I had read that the park gets very busy after 10 AM and I wanted to get there and be done with the hike by Noon
at the latest. No problems at all on the drive up to southern Utah. Arrived at the gates to the park at 7:35 AM, parked at the Visitor Center and was
in the shuttle at 7:40 AM and at the trail head by 8 AM. The shuttle is a very convenient and mandatory method of travel through the park. Get off at
The Grotto stop and walk across the footbridge to the trail head. You can see a picture of the trail head sign in the photo gallery. Follow this link
for a map of the park, Zion map.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day. I did not see a cloud in the sky all day. The temperature was a little cool when I started the hike, around 48
degrees, so I wore my jacket to start off. This however came off after about 500 feet of vertical gain.

The trail to Scout’s Lookout about ½ mile below Angel’s Landing is pretty much a paved trail. I think it is paved for two reasons. First of all, a lot of
it is very steep so if it wasn’t paved then it would to have some steps build in to it. Also the traffic on it is very heavy. I only passed two groups of
hikers on the way up but passed at least 50 hikers on the way down. That would be pretty tough on a dirt only trail.

The entire hike to Angel’s Landing is around five miles round trip with about 1,500 feet of vertical gain. The first mile and a half is very steep and
then it levels off through a narrow canyon. There are many great photo opportunities both on the hike up and then through the canyon. In the
canyon there is a stream bed that was dry when I went through it but I could see trees that had been washed down the canyon at least 30 feet up on
the canyon wall which gives you an idea of some of the flash floods that the canyon has experienced.

After the fairly level trip through the canyon you come to Walter’s Wiggles. Use this link to the photo on this site,
Walter's Wiggles. These switchbacks were cut out of solid rock and are probably the toughest physical part of hike. The reward at the top is that
you are now at Scout’s Lookout.

If you do not make it any further than this you are still rewarded with world class views with a rather impressive sheer drop. There are also two
toilets here in case you feel the need. During my hike up and back I would guess 90% of the hikers on this trail stop here and 10% brave the
heights to the top of Angel’s Landing.

It is only ½ mile to Angel’s Landing from this point with some moderately demanding, non-technical rock climbing. The real test is the width of the
fin as you climb and the 1,500 feet drops on both sides. Many areas of the trail from this point have metal stakes with chains attached to assist
you but you really have to conquer your fear to use these. Check out the warning sign at this point in the trail, Angel's Landing warning.

I have climbed along some exposures in my time including Toroweap Outlook at the Grand Canyon, Toroweap Outlook, but I have to admit that this
had my heart pounding the most, especially on the trip up. At one section in particular, it is only a few feet wide but that section is only about ten
feet long.

So you work your way along the rocks following the periodic chain assistance and then do some climbing up the rocks. I passed a couple groups
of hikers who decided to go no further but I pressed on and finally made the top one hour after I started at the trail head.

As you can gather from my pictures the scenery on this hike is just plain awesome. You can see amazing vistas no matter which direction you
look. Outfitted with my new Konica 5 mp camera I took what I believe are my best pictures ever. My favorite is this one of Zion Canyon Zion valley .

When I arrived at the top there were not any other hikers there however shortly two groups of two arrived. Both of them were from California and
were also first timers. As a tip, my cell phone did work from the top as long as I faced south. When I faced north it didn’t work, go figure. I know
there is a controversy about such use of technology in the wilderness but it certainly is nice to share these accomplishments with your family and
friends. After about 20 minutes at the top along with my new friends and some very aggressive chipmunks I headed back down.

Perhaps not surprisingly I had no fear at all on the way down. I guess once you make it through the first time alive you have a pretty good idea you
will make it the second time. I took most of my pictures on the way down and as I mentioned earlier passed a lot of people including many from
other countries. I made it back to the trail head and the shuttle stop in 2 hours and 10 minutes including 20 minutes at the top. As you may gather
from my other hike reports I tend to push it both ways.

The hike up to Scout’s Lookout can be accomplished by anyone of even moderate physical conditioning if they just take the time to do it. You
need to be in better than average conditioning to continue the extra half mile to Angel’s Landing. However, more importantly, if you start the trip to
the top and you find yourself absolutely terrified, stop. There are two many cool things in this world to see to risk a terrible accident.

And my final advice, if you want a good t-shirt stop at the Zion Lodge and look in the gift shop there. Don’t’ wait until you get to the Visitor’s
Center. The gift shop at the Visitor’s Center is run by a very commendable organization, the Zion Canyon Field Institute. The gift shop at the
Visitor’s Center is predominantly a bookstore with only one t-shirt and sweatshirt style and what’s a vacation trip without a cool t-shirt!