ANGELS LANDING

So. It went pretty much like this. It is the last day of our Grand Circle tour. We are in the Zion NP. More precisely we are in the Zion NP shuttle bus. It is almost 3PM. 8 hours drive away from LA and the day after both Tina and I we have to go to work. So if we will leave now we will get in LA around 11PM. I am thinking that I realy need to sleep in my bed. And suddenly the shuttle drivers is announcing that "In 2 minutes we will stop at the Angels Landing trailhead. Probably the most strenuous short hike in the park. 4 hours roundtrip. But the view from the summit is gorgeous. Only very fit people who are not afraid of heights should attempt it. The last part of the trail has chains for your security". I see that Tina listens carefully and she thinks something. I am thinking as well ... I just hope Tina won't ask me to do it, I am half dead. And we will have to drive 8 hours. And I know that is pretty hard. Jake, my former roommate did it, and he told me it is tough. She looks at me and, of course, she asks me exactly that. What do you think? Can we do it? Mmmmm ... of course we can do it. And I am thinking ... why did I say that? So I try to find excuses. But I think we are too tired. And if it takes 4 hours, we will down at 7PM. 1 hour to clean our self and get ready for the trip back. Makes 8PM. With 8 hours drive mean that we will get in LA around 4AM. Are you sure? OK if we can do the hike in 3 hours, we can get in LA around 3AM. She looks at me and smiles. So we can do it, right? They say it is wonderful. I can take a short nap, a shower and go directly to the office tomorrow, right? Right! I can't believe, I said that. I think she convinced me. The bus opens the door. We jump down. I have the feeling I am doing something stupid. But again, every day when I step into the office I have the same feeling, so I am used to it. I have also the feeling I am doing something dangerous. But I can live with that feeling, Actually it is almost exciting. Time to check that we have enough energy bars. 3 each. Enough water. 1 liter each. And we attack the trail. The peak is there in front of us. Pretty tall. After 30 seconds we meet this guy coming down. How was it man? Though, but very nice. Any suggestion? You should have at least 1/2 gallon (2 liters) of water for each of you. There is no water on the trail. I think to my 1 liter of water in the backpack. Gulp! I knew I was doing something stupid! Too late to come back, I guess. The first part of the trail is steep but easy. Terrain is not rocky.But still I am sooooooooooooo tired from all the previous days of hiking, driving, energy bars and boiled eggs ... :D And after this comes the difficult part. Almost a climbing ...

Really challenging. Not impossible. But definitely certain points were not recommended for people afraid of the heights ...but again, the guy that we met at the trailhead was right. All the effort is rewarded when you get to the summit. A mix of ego satisfaction because you have done it and enjoyment for the nice view ...The way down, was probably even more challenging. It is not easy to walk down with a chain when you see a cliff of hundreds of meters underneath you. But like anybody else we did it ...... very very happy and really really tired at the end. We took a kind of a shower in the sink of the park restroom, change cloths and drove back to LA. That was an other challenge, but we did it. At the end, we really speed up, and with the time change between Utah and California we got to LA around 1.30AM Los Angeles time. Not bad. I just remember parking the car and waking up the morning after. The perfect end for a real journey. What else? I hope you enjoyed this long replay of our adventures. And I can suggest it, get into a car, and try to do something similar, before it will be too late. Why too late? Because you know ... even if it sounds impossible to me (and to you as well, I guess) ... one day we won't be able to climb anymore, and after few years we won't be able to hike anymore. And one day we will have to leave this wonderful life. So get in that car ... and try your Angels Landing ... :)