Trail To Heaven

If I had to pick just one, I would have to say that Zion is the most beautiful of all the national parks we visited. Majestic red rock monoliths rise almost completely vertically from the base of a canyon through which a stream flows. When you throw in lush green vegetation in full bloom, the place glows. Zion is also home to what is arguably the most absurd hike in the national park system: Angel's Landing. While there was a lot we wanted to see and do on our trip, Angel's Landing was one of our top highlights.

The first two miles of the hike are nothing special. It is a moderately steep hike with lots of switchbacks, including a 21-switchback section known as Walter's Wiggles after the park superintendent who ingeniously figured out a way to carve them into the mountainside. One section of the trail even took us through a lush, shady grotto that was a welcome respite from the 96° southern Utah heat.

With a half-mile to go, you must make an important choice. You can chicken out, or you can proceed onto the interesting part and traverse the razorback spine of a mountain up to a small plateau. The trail, in places, is as narrow as three feet. On one side of you, there's a sheer thousand-foot drop. On the other side, the drop is twelve hundred feet. Chains are bolted into the mountain to enable you to maintain some semblance of balance. After you go up and over a large hump of rock the really fun part begins, and by fun, I mean near-vertical. Bipeds were never intended to reach the top of Angel's Landing. Oh, and because I always have to make things interesting, I started the hike a mere fourteen hours after I was in the Central Valley Medical Center in Nephi, Utah, being treated for injuries sustained in my caving "incident" at Craters. My left leg was limited to maybe a 50° range of motion. I could walk, albeit slowly and with a heavy limp, particularly when dealing with steep grades. But I had traveled across the country for this very hike and I was willing to do whatever it took to complete it. After all, my other three limbs were in perfect condition.

Angel's Landing is a strenuous physical test, but more so, it is a mental test. You must stare down death (but don't stare down at death, or you will develop a nasty case of vertigo). Summitting requires the utmost in concentration. Every step you take must be carefully considered and you must not release a handhold or a foothold unless you are sure you are otherwise secure. The views around you are incredibly magnificent, but you musn't succumb to the temptation to take a look. Halfway up the final summit, I started saying the Shema to myself, partly to praise G-d for this wonderful masterpiece of nature, partly to ask Him to keep me safe as I made my ascent, and partly just to focus on something beyond the steep drop just inches from my feet. As the saying goes, there's one way up Angel's Landing but there are two ways down.

It was worth it. It was SOOOOOO worth it. (My heart has been pounding the entire time just writing this blog entry two weeks after the fact.)

The bum leg had quite the difficult time with the descent, considering I could put zero pressure on my left knee to counteract the forces of gravity. I made it back down in one piece and then made a beeline for the river for a well-deserved cool down.

Oh, and there are some other really cool formations in Zion, such as the Great White Throne, the Checkerboard Mesa, and the Three Patriarchs.

For my Zion photo album, click here.