Angel's Landing, Part I

One of the major things I planned for our road trip was to climb Angel's Landing in Zion National Park. I researched it pretty thoroughly online to get a clear sense of what it's all about, and was pretty comfortable with what I learned. Roughly five miles roundtrip with about 1,500 feet of elevation gain didn't sound too bad, especially considering I'd just done 10 miles and 3,000 feet of elevation gain a couple of weeks earlier in Colorado. The two things about the hike that caught my attention were the exposure near the top and the traffic along the route.

I decided to take the latter issue out of the equation by starting the hike as early as possible.  I was in the park in time for the very first shuttle to the trailhead at 6 a.m.  As for the exposure...

... that was something I really couldn't prepare for.  The first 2.2 miles are pretty standard switchbacks and riverside trail.  The final quarter mile is unlike anything I'd ever seen.

From a distance, the route looks pretty perilous.  But there's really only one very short stretch with a steep dropoff on both sides.  Metal poles and chains are regularly placed to aid with dicey sections.  It's about as well maintained as a trail up this sort of terrain can be.

Getting an early start provided the added bonus of a low sun and nice morning light.  I love this backlit tree from near the summit ...

... which also happens to look pretty decent in profile.

The hike summaries I read consistently estimated five hours to complete the trail.  That seemed a little excessive to me.  Still, it did take me a somewhat surprising two hours to reach the summit.  Even at the early hour, there were already about a dozen other people there before me.

Getting back down from a summit always concerns me more than going up.  Falling on the way down tends to hurt a lot more.  Here it could do more than just hurt.

That low sun was still working its magic, providing me a nice opportunity for an interesting shadow shot.

This is the dicey stretch I mentioned earlier -- about four feet wide with steep dropoffs on both sides.  More of a mental challenge than a physical one, really.

With one last look back toward the summit, I continued my descent to the canyon floor.  Fortunately, the great views were far from finished.

Click here for Part II.