Angels Landing

We are going to devote this blog post to one of the most unique and exhilarating trails that Tara and I have done in our quest to visit every National Park.

Angels Landing in Zion National Park, Utah.

When we first visited Zion in Nov 2015, we were a bit anxious about Angels Landing’s reputation for being such a death-defying hike, so we decided not to hike it. We opted for Narrows and Observation Point instead (which are also outstanding hikes that every one should do). We had a great trip, but for years and years afterwards, I had a nagging thought ... “man...we really should have done Angels Landing.”

So in Nov 2018, in celebration of Tara’s 30th birthday, we returned to Zion with a singular goal in mind: conquer our fears and brave Angels Landing.

We’re so glad we did; it was an adventure, it was thrilling, it was fun! Summiting the precarious perch gave us a real sense of accomplishment and has been one of our greatest experiences in our National Parks.

Angels Landing is not very long (2.4 miles one-way) and has an elevation gain of about 1,500 ft, but what makes the hike so iconic is the last half-mile that leads to the very top. This half-mile is along a narrow, precipitous, exposed ridge of the fin-like mountain formation. And when I say precipitous, I mean precipitous! 😬 We’re talking a sheer 1,000 ft drop...on both sides. So keep your wits about you. 😀 There are some guardrails and chains to help you get to the top (and believe me, you’ll be thankful for them), so you may want to have gloves for that part, but it is not necessary. This chain section is intimidating, but the reward is worth it. You get an unparalleled 360 degree bird’s-eye view of nearly the entire Zion Canyon. It is really quite spectacular.

My advice: START EARLY! Start as early as you can. Think of an early time to start the hike...and then embark an hour earlier. Thanks to instagram and social media, this already popular hike has become even more popular. On summer weekends (particularly holiday weekends) this hike will get very crowded. Look, the chain section is not TOO bad, but the less people there are on it while you’re scrambling up and down...the better.

We left on the first shuttle bus leaving the Visitor’s Center for the day. Take the bus to the Grotto Stop (it will be the 6th stop), and cross the bridge over the Virgin River, your are now at the trailhead for Angels Landing. The trail starts out pleasant and innocuous enough. After a half-mile or so, you begin to switchback up the canyon walls. You get a nice preview of the view that awaits you.

After the first set of switchbacks, you reach Refrigerator Canyon. Here, you get a little break from the climb and cool off from the sun. It’s practically always in shadow, so it’s quite brisk in this section.

Then you will start a vigorous climb out of Refrigerator Canyon on a series of very compact switchbacks known as Walter’s Wiggles. Built by the CCC in the 1930s, these switchbacks are very impressive and memorable. Your legs will burn and you’ll be huffing and puffing...and after 21 short, steep switchbacks...you’ll get to the top. Look down for a rather dizzying view. I hear if you continue on the West Rim Trail (instead of Angels Landing), you’ll get some incredible views of the Wiggles.

top of Walter’s Wiggles looking down. 

At this point in making this blog post, I’m starting to realize we didn’t take a whole lot of pictures. 😀 I think that we were so focused and anxious about the hike, we didn’t stop to take pictures. The camera took a backseat to making sure we we’re putting one foot in front of the other.

At the top of Walter’s Wiggles, you reach Scout’s Lookout. This provides a pretty good view of the Canyon and if you want to continue on to the West Rim Trail, head to the left, if you want to go up Angels Landing, head to the right. If you chicken out, head back down. 😀 But seriously, if you really start to get anxious about the heights and the chains section, Scout’s Lookout is the perfect place to rest for lunch and return to the canyon floor. 

Ok, now the chains section begins. This is the infamous and death-defying part of this trail. Is it that bad? ... I will say this ... I was very anxious about doing the hike ... and it’s not as bad as it looks. It really isn’t. It will require good concentration and the will to power through. But you can do it! I hauled my big 300+ lbs. butt up to the top ... you can too. 😀 I will say that looking at the ridge from Scout’s Lookout is very intimidating (as we started on the chains section, a group of teenagers decided to turn around at the end of the first guardrail, and head back down). It’s no big deal if you can’t bring yourself to do it, but don’t let your first view of the exposed ridge close-up scare you. It really isn’t as bad as it looks.

Again, it helps tremendously if there are less people on the trail with you. Go at your own pace and don’t feel pressured to hurry. Proper trail etiquette is that hikers heading uphill have right-of-way. If you don’t feel safe letting go of the chain when people pass...don’t let go. Get to a safe spot where you are ok to let go of the chain and let other people pass if necessary. Because of our early start (and going in early November which is a relatively quiet time in Zion), we really didn’t interact with too many other hikers on the chains section (going up and coming down).

Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, and use the chains to make your way up. There is ONE spot (called the “Step of Faith”) that will really test your fear of heights, but again, it’s not as bad as it looks. Just stay calm and press on. You can do it!

I got to go up all that?!

Looking back towards Scout’s Lookout

You’ve made it! Enjoy the views and your lunch at the top. It’s an incredibly spectacular and impressive view. Congratulate yourself, you have accomplished one of the most iconic and spine-tingling hikes in the NPS! You might think that heading back down would be very precarious...but I was surprised that it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. It was certainly a lot less strenuous to head downhill. Just hold on to the chains, and yield to hikers heading uphill.

Ok...so what do I think about the hike overall? Honestly, one of the best and most fun hikes I have ever done in my life. I would recommend everyone try to do this hike at least once in your life, but at the same time I realize that it is not for everyone. If you’re a little out of shape, exercise and prepare for it for a few months before heading down to Zion. Now, if you are truly scared of heights...I would urge you to try, but turn around at Scout’s Lookout if you have to. This is NOT a hike for small children, probably no younger than 8 or so. If there is bad weather or if trail conditions are slick or slippery (from rain or snow, etc.) DO NOT ATTEMPT! And finally, focus on the trail! This hike requires your concentration. No picture or selfie is worth it. People have died from falling on this trail. According to the park website, there have been 9 deaths on the trail (with 3 of them since 2017). Be prepared, be courteous, be safe, be smart. You will have a blast, it is truly an amazing hike. We loved it!

My best advice: Start early, start early, and start early! 😄

And at the end of the day, relax in your hotel’s hot tub and watch the dazzling sunset play out on the rocks and mountains of Zion Canyon, and then treat yourself to some decadent gateau (chocolate cake) at the Switchback Grille in Springdale. You’ve earned it!

Tara’s Take:  I first heard about Angels Landing when I was a kid. My older brothers and my dad went to Zion on a Scout trip. I remember hearing stories about their trek up Angels Landing: the steep trail, sheer drop offs, and only a chain to cling to. It sounded extreme and terrifying. Angels Landing was just too intimidating. I have an incredible fear of heights. It takes everything I have to jump off of a high dive. I have serious anxiety on chair lifts. There was no way I would ever do this hike. To add to my hesitation, in 2009, while in college, an acquaintance’s mother slipped and fell to her death from the narrow trail. It was final, I would never hike Angels Landing. 

Fast forward to 2015. Paul and I had visited numerous parks, and had done some amazing hikes. As we did research for our travels, Angels Landing kept coming up as one of the best hikes the NPS has to offer. We visited Zion and had a wonderful time, but our visit to Zion felt incomplete without doing such an iconic hike. Over the next few years the desire to climb Angels Landing slowly began to build. In 2018, we had time to go on a short trip for my 30th birthday. What better way to celebrate turning 30 than to conquer some fears? We set out to climb Angels Landing. 

The hike was very strenuous, scary, and the most rewarding experience I have ever had. First, Zion Canyon is one of the most beautiful places in this world. The views are stunning! Every step of the hike is beautiful. It is also broken into nice sections. After the first set of switch backs, you can rest and take in the cool Refrigerator Canyon. Next are more switchbacks including the infamous Walter’s Wiggles. Scout Lookout is a great place to rest and gear up for the chains section. Pack everything away. You’ll want your hands free. The chains were freezing and the sandstone can tear up your knuckles, so I was glad I packed gloves with rubber grips. This hike was as much a mental challenge as it was a physical one. “Don’t look down. Stop and take in the views. I said not to look down! Focus on your next foot and hand placements. Take it one step at a time.” This monologue ran repeating through my head. The top was amazing...and windy. After taking in the views we headed back down. I found the way down to be more difficult. I don’t know if it was because of more people on the trail by that time, my bad knees, the fact that my adrenaline was gone, or I was just wiped out. After Walter’s Wiggles, my legs wobbled the rest of the way down. 

I would say conquering my fears and doing something I never thought I could do was a great way to celebrate my 30th birthday. Would I do this hike again? Yes! Should you do this hike? Yes! 

My advice: Start EARLY! Having more people on the trail definitely would have made it more challenging. Wear gloves with good grips. Stay focused. Be safe!

BONUS: we did a few other things at Zion on our trip. We hiked the short, pleasant trails of Weeping Rock (Weeping Rock Shuttle Bus Stop, stop #7) and the River Walk (the last stop for the shuttle bus). At the end of the River Walk trail is the trailhead for the Narrows. Another spectacular hike in the park, we did it on our first trip to Zion in 2015, but not this time around.

Another new hike we did this trip was the Zion Canyon Overlook Trail. This isn’t one you can reach on the shuttle bus. Instead, drive up to the East side of the park, as soon as you get through the tunnel, you will find the parking lot for this trailhead. It’s a short, mile hike to a great view of the canyon, particularly at sunset.

Sturdy as a mountain goat...😄

With these spectacular views and iconic hikes like Angels Landing and the Narrows...is it any wonder that Zion is my favorite National Park? Truly the pinnacle of Utah and the NPS. Check the park website for current limitations/restrictions in the park and trails during the pandemic. https://www.nps.gov/zion/index.htm

Observation Point from Angels Landing

Zion Canyon (looking south from Angels Landing)

Minute Man National Historical Park

Visited: June 2017

Nearby city: Boston, MA

“By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,

Here once the embattled farmers stood,

And fired the shot heard round the world.”

-from “The Concord Hymn” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1837

In the latter-half of the 18th century, tensions between the United Kingdom and its American colonies, particularly the Province of Massachusetts Bay, had been building and growing. In the 1760s, a long conflict with France, the Seven Years War (known as the French and Indian War in the colonies), had put the British government deeply in debt. British Parliament passed a series of measures designed to increase tax revenue from the colonies, such as the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts. Parliament felt that since colonists living in America were subjects of the British crown, they should be expected to pay their share to support and maintain the British Empire. Colonists countered that such taxes were unfair, because they did not (and could not) elect any representatives to Parliament. James Otis, a Boston lawyer and politician, succinctly summarized the argument in the phrase “taxation without representation is tyranny.” Over the years, that argument caught on with many living in the colonies, particularly in Boston and the surrounding countryside. Tensions boiled over during the Boston Massacre in 1770 (see the previous post on Boston Historical Park for more info on the massacre: https://paulnationalparks.blogspot.com/2020/07/boston-national-historical-park.html)

This unrest led Samuel Adams, another Boston politician, to organize the Sons of Liberty, a secret group dedicated to opposing British taxation policy, advancing rights of colonists, and ultimately independence from the Crown itself.

In 1773, British Parliament, in an attempt to save the struggling British East India Company from bankruptcy, passed the Tea Act. The Act allowed the Company to have a monopoly on tea sales in all of the colonies. On the night of December 16, 1773, in an act of protest, the Sons of Liberty, some disguised as Mohawk Indians, boarded three British ships laden with the Company’s tea. The colonists then proceeded to dump 342 chests of tea (worth $1.7 million dollars in 2020) into the depths of Boston Harbor.

Parliament’s reaction was swift and severe. The Coercive Acts (dubbed the “Intolerable Acts” by the colonists), completely closed Boston Harbor until the colonists paid for the destruction, almost all local political offices in the colonies would be appointed by Parliament, town meetings were limited to only once a year, it allowed the Royal Governor to order trials of British officers stationed in the colonies to take place back in Britain, and it also allowed the Royal Governor to quarter soldiers in people’s homes. These laws had a severe impact on the economy and stripped the colonies of a certain level of autonomy that they had enjoyed for the past century. Under these laws, the newly appointed Royal Governor, Thomas Gage, quickly dissolved the local colonial assembly. 

For many patriots in the Massachusetts colony, the Intolerable Acts were the last straw. It was time to make the bold move, and declare independence. The open rebellion began when the local assembly simply ignored Gage’s order dissolving it, and continued to meet in the small town of Concord a few miles northwest of Boston. John Hancock served as President of this de facto governing body, now known as the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. In February 1775, the British Parliament declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion. The Provincial Congress called on townsfolk to form militia and to be prepared for hostilities. Members of the local militia came to be known as “Minutemen,” because they were expected to be ready for an attack by the Redcoats at a minute’s notice. These local militias were self-trained soldiers, a ragtag group of farmers, laborers, and artisans. Common everyday folk. 

In April 1775, 700 British Army regulars, under command of Lt. Col. Francis Smith, were preparing to march to Concord with orders to destroy military supplies stored there by the rebel militia. Patriot intelligence was able to discover a few weeks beforehand about the planned march. They were able to move some (but not all) of the supplies to other locations. Upon a signal of a lantern placed in the tower of the Old North Church (one if by land, two if by sea), Paul Revere and other Sons of Liberty would ride out to the militia in Concord, warning everyone along the way that the British Army was approaching. This famous “Midnight Ride” happened on April 18, 1775. 

The British Army met armed militia on the early morning of April 19, 1775 in the small village of Lexington (approximately halfway between Boston and Concord). Not so much a battle, it was more of a skirmish. Shots were exchanged and 8 Minutemen were killed. The British suffered only one casualty. Greatly outnumbered, the Minutemen fell back and retreated about five miles to Concord. The British Army reached Concord and was able to destroy the supplies, gun carriages and a cannon stored in a farm owned by a James Barrett. The British surmised that as word had got out of their advance, that more supplies would be found scattered around the countryside. The British army split up to search for more supplies and weaponry to destroy or confiscate.

A group of about 100 British Army regulars reached the Old North Bridge, north of Concord. There they were met by 400 Minutemen, as a dozen local militias had amassed together.

The militia were ordered not to fire until fired upon, but they were ordered to advance. The British guarding the bridge were ordered to retreat across to the other side of the bridge and hold their ground. When the militia had got about 50 yards from the Army, a shot rang out. It’s unclear who exactly fired the first shot, it was likely a warning shot fired by a panicked British soldier. A few more volleys followed, despite their being no order to “fire.” Two Minutemen who were leading the line marching to the bridge, fell and died instantly. At that point, militia commander Major John Buttrick yelled out “Fire, for God’s sake, fellow soldiers, fire!” 

The revolution had begun.

Overwhelmed by the initial onslaught of the Minutemen and realizing they were vastly outnumbered, the British army at the Old North Bridge fell back and began a tactical withdrawal. As the British Army retreated out of Concord, they were constantly harassed by the guerrilla tactics of the Minutemen, firing in seclusion along the roads, in the brush, in the trees, behind the fences and walls, inside barns and homes. Incredibly, the mighty British were being routed. By the time the Redcoats reached Lexington on their retreat, they were reinforced by Brigadier General Hugh Percy with nearly 1,000 men. However, at that point the orders were clear: cut losses and continue the tactical withdrawal to Boston. 

The Army eventually made it back safely to Boston, but with the Minutemen in pursuit the whole way. Outside of town, the militia constructed defenses and began to lay siege (*which the British were able to lift at the Battle of Bunker Hill - see last week’s post for further details*). By the end of the fighting, the Americans had 49 dead and 39 wounded, but the British suffered more with 73 dead and 174 wounded.

The colonists were frankly stunned that they had been able to drive the powerful British Army off the field of battle. And now that open hostilities had occurred between the armed militia and the British regular army, they realized that there would be no turning back and no compromise. For many living in the colonies, independence would be the only resolution to the war. John Adams, who had been somewhat reluctant to support armed revolution, realized that there would be no other way at this point and commented that “the Die was cast, the Rubicon crossed.” Thomas Paine, a passionate advocate for self-rule, upon hearing news of the battle rejoiced that the colonies had “rejected the hardened, sullen-tempered Pharaoh of England forever.” 

Indeed, the battles at Lexington and Concord eventually led the colonies to establish their own independence. A nation bereft of monarchy and founded on the principles of representative democracy, a constitutional republic guaranteeing unalienable rights, freedom, and equality for all mankind, ever striving to become a more perfect Union. The reverberations of this brazen experiment led to similar popular revolutions all over the globe. The little militia on the hills outside of Boston had truly fired the “shot heard round the world.”

Today this hallowed ground is preserved as the Minute Man National Historical Park. The highlight is the field of that first confrontation in Concord at the Old North Bridge. The bridge there today is a replica of the original, which had been torn down and replaced in 1788, built in 1956.

Here you will also find the Minute Man statue, which captures the spirit, tenacity, and resolve of these brave rebels, who put down their plow to take up arms against tyranny and fight for freedom, independence, and liberty. It was sculpted by Daniel Chester French in 1874. The podium of the statue is inscribed with Emerson’s famous stanza from the “Concord Hymn.” It is a beautiful statue and a place that everyone should visit.

Unfortunately, we were short on time and only stopped at this battlefield, which is just one small part of the larger park. The Park also contains a number of other historical sites: The Wayside - the home of Minuteman leader Samuel Whitney and later the home of authors Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Margaret Sidney; Lexington Battle Green, Barrett’s Farm, Hartwell Tavern, the spot where Paul Revere was captured during his “Midnight Ride”, and the five-mile “Battle Road Trail” which connects Lexington with Concord and approximates the route of the British’s withdrawal while skirmishing with the militia. There are also plenty of ranger programs, and we got to see some re-enactors (British and Patriots) 😀 in character at the Old North Bridge.

Tara and I were so thrilled to visit this place of monumental importance to American history, and cannot wait to go back and visit again. For more info: https://www.nps.gov/mima/index.htm