My first trip into Utah: Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks

After posting about Zion and not saying much about Angel’s Landing I feel compelled to talk about my experience with the hike last year and the rest of my trip which included a stop in Flagstaff, Page, and Bryce Canyon National Park. I hadn’t even heard of Angel’s Landing before last summer and had been planning on hiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim during fall break last year. However, similar to the way our Sequoia/Kings Canyon hike came about, our permit was denied due to the popularity of the hike and we were left looking for a different adventure. I had first heard of Angel’s Landing a few months before while talking to someone I met on a weekend camping trip at the south rim of the Grand Canyon. He had said that the hike was the most intense hike he had ever done due to the steep drop-offs and that at some points you had to hang onto chains so that you wouldn’t fall off the edge. This guy was a firefighter and he was telling me that he was uncomfortable on a hike. I wondered why the hell anyone would want to subject themselves to something like that.

I went home and did a search for Angel’s Landing and quickly figured out why. The view was so incredibly beautiful. I had never been to Zion or even into the state of Utah but all of the sudden I wanted to go. I watched countless youtube videos of people’s go-pro footage of the hike. My palms sweated and I gripped the edge of my seat as I watched but I HAD TO DO IT. Fast forward 3 months later and we were all set to head up into Utah. The disappointment of having our Grand Canyon permit denied was barely on our minds with the excitement of such a great alternative. After my dad and our family friend arrived in Phoenix we made our way up to Flagstaff for the first stop on our journey: Lockett Meadow.

Lockett Meadow sits in the Inner Basin of the Kachina Peaks near Flagstaff. While much of the Coconino National Forest is Ponderosa Pine, the Inner Basin is special because it is completely covered in a grove of Quaking Aspen. This was mid October and the golden fall colors were in full force. We only spent an hour or so in Lockett Meadow but we got some amazing pictures and enjoyed a picnic surrounded by some of the best fall colors I’ve ever seen.

Quaking Aspen in Lockett Meadow

A view of Kachina Peaks from Lockett Meadow

From Lockett Meadow we continued on to Bryce Canyon. We arrived in the park in the evening and were able to find a campsite at North Campground pretty easily, which is good because the campground is completely first come first served. After a brief view of the hoodoos in the twilight we had an amazing jambalaya dinner and headed to bed. Bryce Canyon is an amazing place because of its incredible geology. The canyon, which isn’t really a canyon in the true sense of the word, is filled with hoodoos, spires of rock formed by erosion. The hoodoos tower throughout the landscape, with reds, oranges, and whites creating an eye catching contrast to the blue sky and green coniferous trees. As the rim of the canyon is situated between 8,000 and 9,000 ft. it is significantly colder than Zion and some of the neighboring terrain. Coming from the warmth of the Phoenix valley, we definitely felt the chill overnight.

Sunset at North Campground

We were up at dawn the next morning to catch the sunrise over the hoodoos, one of the best sunrises I've ever seen. As the canyon below us glowed in the morning sunlight I couldn't wait to get out on the trail to explore. We followed the spectacular views with an epic breakfast of pancakes and bacon, complete with a bacon sandwich made with bread fried in bacon grease. We tore down camp and began our day of hiking. 

Sunrise at North Campground

Taking in sunrise

The bacon sandwich

We drove out to Fairyland Point to begin our hike on the Fairyland Loop, an 8.1 mile trail that dips 600 ft. down into the canyon before climbing 950 back up to the rim, weaving through hoodoos along the way. The trail provided a chance to see Sinking Ship, a giant rock that looks exactly like its nomenclature, and Tower Bridge, a famous rock formation. We spent approximately 5 hours exploring on our day hike.

Fairyland Loop Trail

A view of Sinking Ship from Fairyland Loop Trail

Fairyland Loop Trail

Tower Bridge

Fairyland Loop Trail

After completing our dayhike we drove out to Inspiration Point to watch the sun set over the hoodoos as we enjoyed a picnic and some cold beers. From there we made the (hour and a half) drive west to Zion National Park.

Inspiration Point

Due to the popularity of Zion and our late booking of the trip we weren’t able to find a campground in the park for both Saturday and Sunday night. Instead we spent the first night at the Zion Canyon Campground, a private campground run by the Quality Inn. It wasn’t what we were hoping for. The campground consisted of a big parking lot behind the hotel with cars parked right alongside one another and tents pitched on small patch of dirt right behind the cars. We were so crowded next to our neighbors that you could hear when someone farted in a tent a few campsites over. There was also an RV park immediately next to all the tent campers and we spent a good portion of the night laying awake listening to techno music being played by some drunk Germans in a rented RV.  

We woke up very early the next morning and tore down camp, heading from Springdale into Zion and boarding a shuttle bound for the Grotto, where we would begin our hike up Angel’s Landing. The hike up Angel’s Landing is intense. The trail climbs 5.2 miles up 1500 ft. and along the way encounters some of the craziest switchbacks in the NPS system at Walter’s Wiggles, dramatic views of Zion Canyon at Scout Lookout, and narrow paths with enormous drop-offs that make your palms sweaty just looking at photos. 5 people have died on the trail due to “nonsuspicious” falls (In Chicago all falls are “nonsuspicious”), and while the NPS does a great job of keeping the trail safe and providing adequate warning on signage, it’s understandable how someone could fall from the trail on a windy or icy day.

From the shuttle we began the hike along the Virgin River towards the trailhead. Along the way we spotted a huge tarantula slowly crawling along the sand, which seemed to freak out some of our fellow hikers more than the fact that they were about to do something that could potentially result in a fall to their death. After reaching the trailhead we began a series of paved switchbacks up the west side of Zion Canyon until we reached a narrow slot canyon called Refrigerator Canyon (and it is much cooler in the shade) that took us through the dark passage to Walter’s Wiggles.

Tarantula

Trail to Angel's Landing

Switchbacks up to Refrigerator Canyon

Refrigerator Canyon

Walter’s Wiggles is a series of 21 switchbacks that remind me of Lombard Street in San Francisco on first glance. Named after Walter Ruesch, who was responsible for building the trail to Angel’s Landing, the switchbacks are very tight and climb 250 feet up to Scout Lookout.

Walter's Wiggles

At Scout Lookout we get our first views of Zion Canyon since entering Refrigerator Canyon. It was so amazingly beautiful. We also get our first view of the last half mile of the trail, the section with the steep drop and the chains. For those who aren’t into heights, this is a good spot to turn around, but we would be continuing on. After a few photos from Scout Lookout, we begin our climb up the chains. The trail became more of a scramble than a hike and in steeper sections there were chains to hold on to (which is very difficult when you’re sweating buckets out of your palms). At one point my dad looked back at me and started laughing, my knees were shaking. I did my best not to look down but eventually curiosity and the desire to get some photos got the best of me. I don’t remember much of the hike except being pretty terrified but within 20 minutes or so we were standing at the top of Angel’s Landing.

View from Scout Lookout

Steep climb up the chains

Trail to Angel's Landing

This is where my knees were shaking...

Dad 

Eric attempts to navigate around a tree

The final section of chain to the top

The view from the top is so amazing. The sense of accomplishment (and relief) that you feel standing there is pretty rewarding. I also remember standing on the top as being so special because as I pulled out my phone to take some pictures I received a message from one of my best friends that he had gotten engaged the night before. Between the good news and the excitement of conquering my fear of heights, I was in a really good place. We spent a good half hour at the top, fending off chipmunks who were relentless in the pursuit of our snacks.

View from the top of Angel's Landing, looking south into Zion Canyon

By the time we had savored the view the trail had gotten a lot more crowded, which was pretty terrifying. The unfortunate thing about Angel’s Landing and its popularity is that it draws a lot of people who aren’t experienced and haven’t bothered to learn the rules of sharing a trail. There were no shortage of clowns with their go-pro selfie sticks blasting shitty dubstep music on portable speakers and at one point we had to basically yell at a guy for climbing on top of us as we tried to make our way back. We descended uneventfully back the way we came with a huge sense of relief. We spent the rest of the day doing some more hiking at emerald pools and the watchman trail before one last nice dinner by the campfire. Our family friend is one of the best chefs I know and he made the best meatballs and pasta that I’ve ever had using the Dutch oven and campfire. We packed up our tent the next morning and made our way back towards Phoenix.

Dipped our feet into the Virgin River after the strenuous hike

Monarch Butterfly on some Rabbit Brush

We did have one last stop in Page on the way home, Upper Antelope Canyon. Sitting on private Navajo land near Page, Antelope Canyon is one of the most photographed and famous sites in the southwest. It’s a narrow slot canyon carved through Navajo Sandstone and its flowing walls have attracted photographers from across the world. In December 2014, a photo taken by Peter Lik of a ray of light illuminating dust thrown into the air inside the canyon (dubbed “The Phantom”) was sold for a world record $6.5 million. While my photography skills weren’t nearly on that level, we did get some very nice pictures with the help of our Navajo guides, who are required to take you through the canyon. The canyon is divided into Upper Antelope Canyon, accessible by taking an offroad truck ride a few miles to the mouth of the bottom of the canyon, and Lower Antelope Canyon, which requires visitors to descend a set of ladders from the top. We visited Upper Antelope Canyon, which seems to be the more popular of the two with tourists. After completing our tour we headed back home.

The wash leading into Upper Antelope Canyon

Upper Antelope Canyon

Photographers in Upper Antelope Canyon

Upper Antelope Canyon

Upper Antelope Canyon

We had crammed in a long weekend of 2 National Parks, a National Forest, and a Navajo Tribal Park. Not a bad alternative to our original plan of hiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim, which we’ll be finally doing next month after 2 more attempts to secure a permit. My first trip into Utah was also one of the best outdoor experiences I’ve ever had and it was easy to see why I would be so eager to get back to Zion last week.

The Hikes:

-          Bryce Canyon National Park: Fairyland Loop, 8.1 miles roundtrip, 950 ft. elevation gain

-          Zion National Park: Angel’s Landing, 5.2 miles roundtrip, 1,500 ft. elevation gain

Leave no trace!