September 7, 2007

September 7, 2007

We really like Zion National Park. Besides being gorgeous, it is well-run, tourist friendly, and works in-hand with the local town of Springdale, UT. Glacier could learn a few things from Zion.

Yesterday evening we relaxed outside the RV enjoying the view and the pretty wildflower garden around our site. On one side are the poisonous white Moon Flowers that bloom every night and wilt during the day.

On the other side is a hedge of sunflowers. Aimee was watching yellow finches dart around while I was watching a couple hummingbirds. When I looked thru the binoculars one of the hummingbirds turned out to be a monster bug. A ranger I talked to thought it was probably a Hummingbird Moth (aka White-Lined Sphinx Moth. I will have to look that one up on the Internet.

After the “Narrows”, Zion’s next most famous hike is Angel’s Landing. We were told to leave it to last. Angel’s Landing is the 1500-foot summit of a rock monolith sitting all by itself in the valley after the Virgin River cut a path almost all the way around it. It is advertised as a steep strenuous hike that is not recommended for people with a fear of heights. But how bad could a National Park hike really be? Aimee came along to keep me company knowing she may not do the last leg if she didn’t feel comfortable. It took a good hour of uphill hiking to reach the cliff top. The most daunting section was a set of 21 switchbacks, known as Walter's Wiggles. From Scout Lookout the trail follows a narrow ridge out to Angels Landing.

Aimee decides to wait for me to finish the hike. It shouldn’t be that bad. I was told that they have a chain you can hold onto if you don’t have confidence in your balance. Well I can tell you it was an experience. I have been on narrow trails with a long drop-off on one side but this one had a 1500-foot drop on both sides and the path wasn’t even flat. Yes, there was a chain, mostly, but not along the whole half-mile route. And it is hard to hold onto the chain when some other scared soul is trying to hold it going back down. I almost turned around a couple times, especially near the beginning when a fellow hiker told me he knew someone who died doing this hike and I overheard another hiker talk about a man up ahead who is having a bad case of vertigo and is having difficulty coming back down. My heart is pounding; but I am not sure it is fear or exhaustion. I stop to rest and catch my breath. For some strange reason I keep going and make it to the top, mostly by only looking at my feet and crawling up the rocks on all fours. The summit is awesome (and tiny) and there are only a few of us who went the distance. We are rewarded with great views of the valley. After a very short look around, I head back down to retrieve my worried wife. I have been gone an hour. My legs are like rubber. I am either a closet acrophobic or I value my life, you decide.