March 14, 2018 Utah

Day 6: Wednesday March 14, 2018:

Today was one I'll never forget.  We got to the shuttle around 7:30 am (after a very grumpy Ryan struggled to get out of bed).  But we hit the Angel’s Landing trail head a little before 8:00 am and wow.  

It’s the hardest hike I’ve ever been on.  Since it’s Spring Break, I’d say 85-90% of the people on the trail were in college.  Ryan and Grant were two of probably six kids.  And there weren’t many over 40s either. 

While the first 2 miles of the hike were very steep, they weren’t treacherous.  

Non-treacherous part of Angel's Landing hike.

These are the Walter's Wiggles. - the steepest, non-treacherous part right before the treachery.

The last ½ mile was TREACHEROUS.  

The entire hike has a 1,500 ft elevation change and man was it scary.  We dropped our poles and packs at the sign that said “The next 0.5 miles are treacherous and people die every year.”  (It didn't literally say that). 

Once we got through the first section of chains, Grant freaked out and I don’t blame him.  He stayed back and Nick stayed with him which was so kind since he’s done this hike back before we got married.  I went the next ½ mile with Ryan and I was terrified the entire time.  Ryan was cool as a cucumber which blew my mind but I was genuinely terrified.  It’s a straight drop on either side of you and I was so scared that I really didn’t enjoy it.  When we got to the top, we took like three pictures, I started to cry (just from fear) and then the wind picked up pretty severely so I told Ryan we had to get back down ASAP. All I could think of was Krakauer's book "Into Thin Air" I gave her a big hug then down we went. 

Us at the top.

Getting down was as hard as getting up and it was mentally more challenging because people were coming up so you had to basically bear hug strangers in order to share the chain.  There was an amazing camaraderie that developed with the people immediately around us but holy crap, it was so flippin’ scary.   

We finally got back to where we left the boys and as soon as we did (within three minutes), it started raining.  As we were descending the Walter's Wiggles it began hailing for like 15 seconds, then it stopped and just kept raining.   Ryan had said before we started the hike that she was hoping she'd have a spiritual experience at the summit - that she wanted to hear Morgan Freeman's voice speak to her (she's decided that God sounds like Morgan Freeman).  At first I felt bad that my fear may have ruined her spiritual experience but then I thought, "Well I had a spiritual experience because I heard Morgan Freeman tell me to get our asses off that summit before the hail started."  :-)

I was SO grateful that it didn’t rain while Ryan and I were at the top. When we finally got the bottom (about 5 miles round trip) we went to the “fast food” restaurant in the lodge and got cheeseburgers and French fries.  Ryan was very Zen about the whole thing and Grant was regretful.  I honestly don’t know if he made the right decision to stop or not but I felt really badly for Nick.  And my gut tells me that Grant made the right decision.  I have NEVER taken a hike that’s anything like Angel’s Landing was.

After lunch we went back to our cabin and changed into dry clothes so that we could go on the Emerald Pools trails.  But as soon as we got on the trail head (which is directly across the street from the lodge) it began raining again so we only made it to the lower pool then turned around and took the shuttle to the main visitor center to look around for a bit.  But man, I almost fainted (WAY dehydrated).  We'd dropped our packs with a half mile to go and so we had no water whatsoever.  So we went back to the room and have been chilling out here ever since. 

Nick and I both took cat naps and Grant played on his Nintendo Switch while Ryan downloaded pictures and videos to her computer.  
Then Grant and I played Skip Bo.  Grant and Nick threw the ball for a while then we went back to the Lodge Gift Shop and got some swag.  We also picked up a few salads and came back to the room and ate some more Jet Boil meals.  Now we’re just hanging out and the kids are playing 1-2 Switch and it’s hilarious.  

While it’s only 8pm, I think I’ll be going to bed soon.  Man I’m tired.  My calves and shins are hurting, my knees are hurting…you name it and it pretty much hurts.

And we all pretty much have gas because the coffee is weak and the fruits and vegetables are few and far between.

Tomorrow we’re going to Bryce and it’s supposed to SNOW!  Could this trip get any more adventurous!!!!

Who’d go back to Zion NP?

Grant: Going back and doing Angel’s Landing in two years…Big yes, huge yes.

Ryan: Yes
Nick: Oh, yes.
Barb: Definitely (Grant’s been calling me Blarb the whole trip so he wanted me to write that in here somewhere.  But Ryan came up with the nickname and has been calling me that for a year or so now.) I want to hike Angel’s Landing again, want to hike to the Upper Emerald Pool and want to spend an entire day hiking The Narrows.