Planning Zion: Part 2 Charging Angels Landing...Or Not
Angels Landing is one of the most notorious hikes in the US and it’s gotten the reputation for turning palms into slip’n’slides for good reason.
It’s TERR 👏 I 👏 FYING 👏.
This sucker starts off physically tough and by the end it’s tested your sanity as well.
You’ll notice there’s only one of us in the summit photo. If there’s any hike that’s going to pry my sucker-fish kiss off Ky’s cheek it’s this one. Yes, there are advisories literally everywhere that warn you against embarking on the hike if you’re scared of heights. No, I didn’t listen even though my palms get sweaty when anyone is more than 5 feet off the ground. ***
Instead I popped an anxiety med and decided my life-long fear of heights would suddenly be cured by the time we reached “the chains” (yeah, they’re as scary as they sound). It. Was. Not. But, I can’t say I wasn’t happy I tried. The views all along this hike are amazing and worth at least one panic attack. Not to mention the panoramic view from the peak is world-renowned...not that I’d know.
Let me run you through what you need to know for Zion’s Angels Landing.
Check the map
Once upon a time I went into hiking Half Dome without doing any research (true Jessica style) and was shocked when I ended up on a smooth arch of a surface, with fellow hikers clipping into cables. One bad step and I imagined a very slow, drawn-out sliding off the face off the mountain like a chubby kid on a slide.
I wanted no surprises this time so I checked all the maps and googled summit images. I strongly suggest you know what you’re getting into before you commit. And keep in mind the pictures at the top—even the ridiculously scary ones—don’t do the sheer drop-offs justice. The pics we saw online made the trail look somewhat technical so once again we decided not to bring the nice camera and left it up to our trusty iPhone.
Photo of the top Walter’s Wiggles by Fineas Anton
Get Your Bearings
The hike starts at the Grotto Trail Head and follows the West Rim Trail taking you along the narrow spine of the ridge of the canyon. In total it’s about 5.2 miles and took us about 3 hours.
The entire hike is somewhat strenuous, but nothing unmanageable.
It starts simple with a meandering trail up to some switchbacks. Then you get a short shady break as you level out in Refrigerator Canyon. This leads you to Walter’s Wiggles, a set of 21 tightly threaded switchbacks where the incline starts to drastically steepen. At the top you reach Scout’s Lookout, which has an amazing view for the those that choose to wait back.
Respect Your limits…
…but push yourself a lil. That’s what life’s all about right?
This is probably where I should’ve stayed but, being the competitive asshat that I am, I kept going. As you begin the final stretch of Angels Landing you find a chain-link railing used for support. In the beginning there are some areas of tricky footing where you almost have to boulder a bit. At this point, many people scared of heights are pulled off to the sides having their first meltdown. It’s high up, and if you really ate it you could fall off the mountain, but it’s nothing compared to what’s ahead.
After about the first fourth of the chain links, you get to a section where you have to hug the wall of the canyon to your right and try not to look down at the sheer 1,500 foot drop to your left. THAT was where I stopped. After two steps into this death trap I dipped hard. Luckily, I was prepared for this and brought a book with me. I waited on the other side of this section and it was honestly hard to find a spot to sit off the trail where I didn’t feel like I needed to constantly flex my abs or I’d teeter off my rock and plummet to the ground.
Get the tea from the one that went
Ky kept going and the rest of this is a second-hand account of his trek. For the last 0.5 miles of the hike (1 mile there and back) you’re about 1,500 feet above the canyon floor with a view of the drop off on either side of you.
You traverse the fin of the canyon until you get to a platform rock that’s a great photo op (see adorable picture of Kyle at the top of this article).
When Ky got back to me, I asked him if he genuinely thought I could’ve made it and he said no, but only because he knows I can’t stop. If I stay in motion I can block out the rest, but because there’s a fixed chain hand rail there becomes a line and if one person is tired, scared, or struggling everyone stops. These stops lasted quit a while when someone was panicking and couldn’t let go of the chain to move out of the way...not that there’s a whole lot of room to do this.
He also said the view was worth every bead of sweat that led up to it. Even if you have acrophobia (fear of acrobats) like me, Angels Landing is great a great exercise of the body and mind. Push yourself to see how far you can go, and hey, only 10 people have died, what’s the worst that can happen? ;)