I had been planning a trip to Zion for a while. I had wanted to go for a while, but I just couldn’t get the time. I thought it was a lot further away than it was, but I realized it was only six hours from the house, which is pretty close. Believe it or not, I had never been to Zion before, and yet I’d seen these amazing pictures. I really couldn’t wait to see it. I picked out the hardest hike I could find, which is this hike called Angel’s Landing. It’s known as one of the five most dangerous hikes in America, although that’s a little bit overrated. We were really excited.
Bec and I took off on a Saturday morning at o-dark-thirty, and we got to Zion about 1 pm. By 2 pm we were at the trailhead. It’s only a five-mile hike, but it’s up and back, so it’s a tough five-mile hike.
The first couple miles are okay, and then the last half mile is a really steep incline with a lot of exposure. There’s fixed lines so you can hang onto the lines. Apparently, people have died on this trail because they have lost their handhold on the lines.
The scenery is stunning. Huge walls of rock tower over the valley everywhere you go. Once you pass the “danger” sign, the trail gets very steep and eventually follows a sharp right to the summit. If you are afraid of heights, this section of the trail can be a little scary. Bec and I passed a number of folks who were struggling emotionally as they attempted to push forward.
Bec was pretty winded by the time we got to the top, but when we did get to the top, we forgot all our pain because it’s so beautiful.
Coming down was pretty straightforward. In fact, we got down before it got dark, and we decided to just kind of go through the park to the other side. We didn’t plan on staying in a hotel, and we didn’t have a campsite, so we figured we’d just find one while we were out.
After a long drive through the park, we found a privately owned campground about five miles past the main entrance. It was just dirt along the side of the road with a pizza place across the street, but it was good enough.
Bryce Canyon
The next morning, we decided to make the long drive to Bryce Canyon as long as we had come this far – which was about another hour and a half. We only had time to drive through the park and stop along the turnouts to enjoy the views of the canyon. This place is truly breathtaking.
From Bryce, the drive home was over eight hours. By the time we got back late Sunday afternoon, we were pretty shot. For a 24-hour trip, it was pretty amazing. It was definitely worth the drive and I can’t wait to go back to both of those places when we have more time.