Summary

The author recounts the experience of hiking Angel's Landing in Zion National Park, highlighting its challenges and rewards.

Abstract

Angel's Landing is described as a challenging and potentially dangerous hike that offers breathtaking views and a significant sense of accomplishment. The author, along with his brother Ryan, embarked on this 2.5-mile trek from the Grotto trailhead, facing steep inclines and sharp switchbacks. Despite the fear of heights and the knowledge of past fatalities, they persevered through the most treacherous half-mile ascent, relying on chains for safety. The hike's difficulty is underscored by the need for three points of contact and the navigation around other hikers. Upon reaching the peak, the author felt relief and euphoria, describing the views as the best he's ever seen, affirming that the hike's difficulty is matched by its extraordinary beauty and the exhilarating sense of achievement.

Opinions

The author considers Angel's Landing the most challenging and beautiful hike they've done.
Despite the inherent dangers, including the fear of heights and the history of deaths, the author found the hike to be a worthwhile bucket list experience.
The presence of chains along the steepest parts of the hike is deemed critical for safety.
The author was surprised to see young children on the hike, questioning the judgment of parents who allow it.
The "3 points of contact" rule is emphasized as a crucial safety strategy during the ascent and descent.
The author believes the hike's difficulty enhances the value of the experience, with the views from the peak being exceptionally rewarding.
The author endorses the sentiment that the best views come after the hardest hike, suggesting that the effort invested directly correlates with the sense of fulfillment and the beauty of the sights encountered.

Angels Landing: The Hike of a Lifetime

This is a bucket list hike

Author pointing at our destination (All photos supplied by author)

Hiking has always been one of my favorite ways of exploring the great outdoors. I love the physical exercise, the challenge, and the opportunity to see so many different facets of nature.

My favorite hike so far has been Angel’s Landing, which is located in Zion National Park in the state of Utah in the US.

Angel’s Landing was the most challenging and most beautiful hike I’ve done. It’s not for the faint of heart. Quite a few people have died while navigating this hike’s tricky terrain.

I’m going to tell you about this amazing hike and my experiences climbing to the peak.

The Grotto

My brother Ryan and I started the Angel’s Landing hike on a warm afternoon in October of 2021. Armed with water and Gatorade, we began the 2.5 mile trek to the top of Angel’s Landing from the Grotto trailhead, the starting point.

This is a difficult hike. The first 2 miles were steep, but not too bad. There’s one really cool part with a lot of sharp switchbacks, and there’s a lot of good scenery as you make your way to the top.

We made it about 2 miles — to the point where things change drastically. The next phase was the final half-mile ascent, which is the most steep and dangerous part of the hike. Some people stop here and return to their starting point.

Others brave the terrain and continue on.

Transition

When I got to the transition point, my anxious brain was screaming at me, demanding I go back, because of my fear of heights. The adventuresome part of me was fighting to tame my amygdala and the anxiety.

The adventuresome side won, of course, and Ryan and I continued on. The ascent suddenly became very steep and we were surrounded by sheer cliffs. Fortunately, there are chains you can grab to keep yourself stable and safe as you make the ascent.

The biggest danger is you’re oftentimes walking very close to the edge of a cliff. This is why the chains are critical. If someone were to lose their grip on the chains and fall backwards when close to the edge of the cliff, they would fall off the cliff and die.

17 people have died while hiking Angel’s Landing since 1987. This hike is no joke.

This is one of those bucket list items in which you hope you don’t kick the bucket while you do it. The good news is that 300,000 people do the climb each year and survive.

I was following the “3 points of contact” rule, which means I tried to maintain 3 points of contact as much as possible. This was achieved by keeping 2 hands on the chain and at least one foot on the ground or one hand on the chain and 2 feet on the ground while moving up or down the mountain.

Here’s another big challenge. As we were going up, others were coming down, and two people couldn’t grab the same part of the chain simultaneously, so someone had to let go. When that person let go — and many times it was me letting go — the other person would grab the chain and move up or down. The one who let go had to stand or crouch down and wait, which temporarily defeated the “3 points of contact” strategy.

There were a couple hundred people either going up or down while we were there so there were a lot of points where one person had to let go of the chain so someone else could grab it.

The Author, the chain, and the edge of the cliff

I had to adjust to this crazy hike because of my fear of heights.

Another surprising thing was that while my anxiety level was high during most of the final ascent, we saw several kids who were 9 or 10 years old coming back down. I was shocked to see parents would let kids that young do this hike.

The Peak

Ryan and I finally reached the peak. I felt a sudden and strong sense of relief and euphoria. I sat down next to two Indian guys who were eating and practiced my very bad Hindi (national language of India).

The views from the peak were absolutely incredible. These were the best views I’ve ever seen. You can see miles of the multi-colored valley and green shrubbery nestled below the sky.

I stood in awe of this majestic view.

Author’s photo of valley taken from Angel’s Landing peak

When Ryan and I made our ascent, we asked several people, “Was it worth it?” People said things like, “Definitely,” “Hell yeah,” “Yeah, I’m glad I did it,” “You’re gonna love it!” and other exuberant phrases.

All of them were 100% right.

Author’s photo of valley from another angle

The adrenaline rush faded away as Ryan and I made the descent to the beginning of the trail head. It felt good to relax and not have to constantly grab a chain or worry about falling off the edge of a 1,500-foot cliff.

When I look back at the hike, I’m so glad I did it.

Whoever said, “The best view comes after the hardest hike,” was absolutely right.