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We’ve been to Zion NP several times over the years, but it’s been awhile since our last visit. When my family decided to rent a house in Hurricane for our reunion, it was with the intent of visiting Zion NP and other area sights. Some of my siblings were able to get in a lot more hiking than we did (the benefits of having kiddos who are older than ours), but we still got some good hikes in.
Years ago I hiked Angel’s Landing with my sister, but Jeremy and Sunshine had never had the opportunity. I didn’t think they’d have the opportunity this trip either, but my parents said they’d watch the boys while the three of us went with some of my siblings, in-laws, nieces and nephews.
We didn’t get quite as early a start as we’d hoped, but trying to get 15 people out the door at the same time is challenging. We all carried water, snacks, and lunch, and some had trekking poles as well. We encountered crowds at the visitor center and on the shuttle, but they thinned out as we hiked.
I’d forgotten just how steep the hike to Angel’s Landing is.
Since we were heading up in the morning, the Refridgerator was cool and breezy, a nice interval between the initial steep trail under full sun and the switchbacks of Walter’s Wiggles. We weren’t so lucky on the way back down, when the sun had shifted and was beating down on us almost the entire way down.
Sunshine wasn’t super enthused about doing this hike: she’d gotten sunburned playing in the pool the day before and wasn’t feeling 100%. She wore lightweight long sleeves and long pants to protect her skin, but they also made her feel hotter than if she’d been wearing shorts and short sleeves.
Despite this, she persevered and climbed all the way to the top.
She wasn’t a fan of the upper portion of the trail, where hanging onto the chains is a good idea, but honestly, I’m not really a fan of it either.
The upper portion of the trail was crowded with impatient people who didn’t want to take turns passing, so some of the chain areas were a bit hectic. In addition, parts of the upper trail were closed while the rangers did scans of certain sections for the virtual tour that’s now available online. They’d stop people from going up or down for 15-20 minutes, then allow us to go again. We had to sit and wait on our way down, and the rangers amused us with stories of critters they’d encountered while on the job.
Sunshine didn’t enjoy all of the hike, and this is definitely the most difficult hike she’s done to date, but I think she’ll look back on it with a sense of accomplishment.
We decided that whoever made this climb the first time, without chains to help them, was crazy. Building Walter’s Wiggles would also have been a daunting task, though making the hike without either would have been much more difficult. As it is, the hike is not an easy hike, nor is it one for the faint of heart. It’s steep in places, you have to scramble over rocks in places, and you might be hanging onto a chain while crossing a narrow ridge in other places. Definitely not a hike for a three-and-a-half-year-old and an almost two-year-old.
In a few more years when the boys are older, we’ll do this hike again so we can share this view with them:
Have you hiked Angel’s Landing?
