We stayed the night in St. George. The next day we woke bright and early and headed back North to Zions National Park. The drive was pretty quick and we were in the Park by 8am. The park fee was $25 and when we came up to pay we were surprised when the man at the toll booth said it was "free park day". We pulled up to the Visitors Center to park the car and then hopped on the shuttle buses that they run now in the park. Its been forever since I've been to Zions. So long in fact the last time I was here, there were no buses. We rode it about 3 stops up till we reached the Angels Landing Trailhead. This picture is right at the beginning. We didn't have a trail map or anything but assumed that the cliff there on the left in this picture was where we were headed...we were right!
Waiting on the shuttle. This was our first official picture together on our trip! I actually liked the shuttles. When we got to the top of Angel's landing and looked down it was nice no to see the road congested with traffic and noise. They ran about every 5-10 minutes so you never had to wait long at a stop. I imagine at peak season it could be a pain.
I read online that this hike was pretty strenuous with sharp drop offs. I heard there was a chain to follow along the top, so I think I was pretty prepared. There were signs everywhere explaining the danger and the narrator on the bus said not to take children.
There were a few switchback as we started the ascend. The trail was paved and come to find out it was paved the whole way up to scout lookout!
It was a perfect time to go! The dessert was in bloom and its so neat to see all the colorful flowers. With it being so hot...the blossoms don't last very long!
Then we came to 'Walters Wiggles'. Isn't that crazy??? There is 21, steep switchbacks there. This picture I got off google. Its taken from across the canyon. I showed it to Josh once we got home. Neat to see this angle of the trail we were on.
view from above...
...view from below. Almost to Scout's lookout.
Here's a description I found about the hike:
Angels Landing, Zion National Park, UT
Class: 3
Mileage: 5 miles or more (if you continue along the West Rim Trail)
Elevation: 5785'Gain: 1488 feet
They say: Strenuous
We say: Agreed.
What it is: This hike is as gorgeous as it is daunting. The hike up the switchbacks is entertaining and the views are spectacular. The trail is wide up the first section of switchbacks and narrows a bit as it continues towards the 21 sharp switchbacks named "Walter's Wiggles
”. After you ascend the wiggles you come out to Scout Lookout, where you then climb a half-mile along a narrow sandstone isthmus with sheer cliffs on both sides. Chains have been put up for safety, but it doesn’t make the climb any less daunting. With a 1200' drop on one side and 800' on the other, you will know why this is ranked as a class 3 hike.
We only planned on spending one day in Zions so we still had lots to see after our morning hike. We hopped back on the shuttle again and got off at the Weeping Rock trail. This walk was cake compared to the hike we just finished. Maybe 10 minutes up to it, again...very beautiful!
Next we rode the bus all the way to the top of the park. This spot marked the Gate Way to the Narrows. The Narrows is a hike through the river up the slot canyon. It looks pretty intense with parts along the way were you actually need to swim. I think I would be worried about flash floods the whole time. But it is something I really would like to do someday!
The walk up was nice and paved and busy. This park must be nuts in the summertime! At the end there was this crazy rock garden! Something for the kids to do I guess?
It looked a little martian like to me! By the time we got back it was late afternoon. We though about stopping at the Emerald Pools on our way down, but we were pretty tired. We grabbed the car and headed back to St. George. We had Cafe Rio for dinner that night, YUM!
