An Unexpected Adventure

I was a little apprehensive that my visit to canyon country might not live up to the expectations I'd created in my head over the years from all the pictures, magazine articles and television documentaries I'd seen. So, I was more than pleasantly surprised to find that Zion National Park not only lived up to those expectations, but exceeded them.

The drive into the park alone was impressive with towering cliffs on each side as you drive down the valley between. Climbing aboard the convenient, frequent and clean-powered shuttle bus I was pleased to find that these shuttles allowed the rest of the park to remain vehicle free which lent to it's astonishing beauty.

Unsure of both my own fitness level and the difficulty of the surrounding trails (more so the former), I set out on an easy-to-moderate trail leading me around the mountain foothills to the Emerald Pools. Though the Middle Emerald Pools were supposedly only about 150ft above the trail entrance, my wheezing and panting made it feel more like 15,000ft. Yet, I pressed on and soon found myself wandering through a series of connected trails that eventually led me to the base of a sheer cliff.

Curious, I decided to wander up the steepening trail 'just a little further' to see what was at the end of the next portion of the trail. This potentially fatal logic continued (wheezing & panting all the while) at the end of each portion of the trail until, 45 minutes later, I found myself at the top of the sheer cliff via a series of seriously steep switchbacks. To my mental delight and physical dismay, I found that I had only just begun whatever trail I was on as it continued through a canyon stretching back between the mountains. Feeling oddly inspired, I continued to follow it back until I reached a point where it proceeded up the cliff wall through another series of steep, short switchbacks called "Walter's Wiggles". After 20 minutes, but successfully atop the 100ft incline, I decided they should be named "Walter's Giggles" because I'm pretty sure Walter was laughing at me with every winded step.

At the top, the cliff widened into a plateau and I was able to take my first glance at the trail I'd climbed as well as the surroundings. The words "remarkable" and "amazing" come quickly to mind to describe the scenery around and below me. Sheer red-rock walls capped by white limestone (I think) with streams of water streaking down the rock face as rain water finally sees the light of day again after millions of years filtering through the rock. All well worth the price of admission.

But, ahead of me lay the final portion of the trail: a 500ft incline along the spine of a rock wall that was no more than 3ft wide along the majority of it, leading to a skinny plateau at the top of the rock face. Emboldened by having unexpectedly made it this far, I decided to complete my unplanned adventure. While my size 14s barely hung on the skinny trail, I climbed boulders and jagged rock faces, often using the dubiously placed chains scattered along this portion of the trail to help steady you in the narrowest and steepest spots.

Three hours after I'd started, I summited Angel's Landing where I was rewarded with stunning 360-degree views of Zion National Park. Words would not do justice to describe the sights on display from my new vantage point. But, it was easy to see what brings people here and why it was deemed land worth protecting as a national park. Whatever pains and aches I'd endure tomorrow would be well worth it for the endorphin overload I was experiencing from atop Angel's Landing.