Zion Part 2

This morning I was a bit tired and grumpy.  Didn't particularly want to be sociable with the rest of the group, so I headed out myself when we got into the park.  Took the bus up to The Grotto, and started the hike up to Angel's Landing, so named because someone once said of it that it was so high and inaccessible that only an angel could land there.

The path up to Scout Lookout was steep and unrelenting, but paved all the way.  There were a significant number of people doing the trail, though I'm not sure how many made it to the top!  I was very glad to be doing it at my own pace.

Walter's Wiggles is an incredibly steep set of switchbacks that take you the last part up to the Lookout, and from there... it's single track with a chain to assist you, and way too many people going in both directions along an arete.  As you can see from the photos, it looked pretty dicey, but the only deaths on the trail recently have been from people there in the early morning or evening who probably slipped on ice.  The sandstone was pretty darn grippy, though the people were a little impatient at times!

Distance (roundtrip): 5.4 mi / 8.7 km
Elevation Change: 1,488 ft / 453 m
Description: Long drop-offs. Not for young children or anyone fearful of heights. Last section is a route along a steep, narrow ridge to the summit.

Angel's Landing to the right

Walter's Wiggles

The start of the really steep bit!

Yes, that's a queue of people going along the arete.

Ian from the tour met me up there

This is the path up.  If you look closely you can see people on it.

At the top I saw a bunch of teenagers with large stones in their hands (20cm across).  I'm pretty sure they were throwing them off the top and videoing it.  I asked them in a very loud voice to put the stones back on the ground where they belonged, and then harangued them for being thoughtless idiots. I just don't get how you could put so much effort into getting up there, and then be so stupid as to throw them. Grumpy old man? Maybe I am, but a responsible one too.

I sat at the top and had lunch part 1 whilst fending off inquisitive chipmunks. There was a fine if you fed the wildlife, so I didn't, but it was very tempting!

The trek back down was much slower for the first section - queues of 20 or 30 people trying to make use of the single person tracks with not very large passing places.  I wasn't in a rush though, so just took my time and enjoyed the scenery.

Back at the bottom I took the shuttle bus up to the river walk at the end and saw a heron of some sort.  I didn't venture into The Narrows, where you basically continue up the river once the path runs out as I didn't have appropriate footwear with me.  Pity, it would have been fun to do!

The Narrows

Whilst technically a desert, the canyon always has water seeping through the sandstone making a lush habitat

Rather than taking the bus all the way back, I walked down the road to the Big Bend, and am sooooooo glad I did.  Got a great view of the Temple of Sinawava, which the bus shoots past way to fast to take any good photos

I saw a bunch of Mule Deer, named for their huge ears, and some cacti

Big Bend is right below Angel's Landing, and it was pretty cool seeing the silhouettes of people on the ridge.

The patterns in the sheer rock face were also really interesting.  Like clouds you could see almost anything you want in them if you stare long enough!

And then, the pièce de résistance, just when I got to Big Bend, I saw two large soaring birds messing about at the top of Angel's Landing.  I could tell they were big, because I watched them land on the top and take off again, and by comparative size, they were similar to the human silhouettes up there!  I later grabbed a ranger to help me ID them and she said that they were definitely Californian Condors, and they both had been seen by other people she spoke to today.  They are BIG.  She showed me just how big!

To round off the day, the sun came out briefly to show the lovely warm colours of the mountains there, and then it went away again as we had a dark and wet drive on to Bryce Canyon.