1999-09-08
Zion NP

Zion is the strangest park I have seen so far. While it is an impressive mountain area, it does not have any of the 'single feature attractions' the other parks have. Grand Canyon has the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde has the Cliff Dwellings, Monument Valley has its buttes, Arches has the arches and Brice has its hoodoos. Zion on the other hand has a rather narrow gorge, some petrified forest, a hoodoo, an arch and neat dark red painted roads but no single great something ... So for the first time instead of driving round the park and stopping at every turnout, we did some hiking ... Angles Landing: 4h, strenuous and people with a fear of heights are discouraged to-do it ... I was amazed indeed, for one the path up that rock was fully covered with concrete slabs and the last bit was carved into stone with chain railings for added hiking comfort ... The final part of the hike up to Angles Landing was a bit scary indeed so the chain rails were quite handy. The reward on top was a marvelous view ... and it did take us only 3 hours instead of 4.

If you ever get to Zion make sure you do this walk. Bring enough water and some courage (for the vertical drop-offs which lurch right next to some parts of the final ascent. But don't be too scared, as far as I know no one died on Angles Landing yet. They all die in the valley down below ...


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