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Now here comes the moment I realized exactly what this hike was. This is the view from where I was standing the SECOND time I thought I’d just gotten to the top.
And then a couple photos from the much less exciting (but still gorgeous) second half the of the day.
Transcription:
Wednesday, May 25, 2021
ZION NATIONAL PARK
Rumors of Zion’s popularity (crowdedness) reached us well before we reached the park. We even watched an informational video about it (“remember: there are hikes other than Angel’s Landing and the Narrows! you should give them a try!”) We rolled into the park at 7:59, just before the entrance gate opened, and snagged one of the very few remaining parking spots in their vast parking lot. It was easy to see, as we drove the winding park road and went through the infinitely long tunnel carved out of solid rock, why this park is so popular. It is stunningly beautiful.
We knew we were going to do the Angel’s Landing hike, despite cautionary videos advising against, because this might be our one visit, and we wanted to do the iconic thing. I did, however, ask the ranger to point us to an uncrowded hike to try after we got that out of our system. She actually laughed at that, but proposed we could try the Emerald Pools Trail.
So off we went to the trailhead, we and a few dozen others all de-shuttling at the same stop. I am grateful that we knew in advance that it would be crowded. Our expectations were set it the right place. After some of the nearly deserted parks we’ve been visiting, these crowds would have been nasty as a surprise. But I’m also grateful that I had no idea what kind of hike this was, or I might not have felt quite so easy-going about the crowd. All I knew was that it was 5 miles round-trip, leading uphill to an incredible view.
We switchbacked and switchbacked. Lots of people on the trail, yes, but the view easily made up for it. By now, I had seen the warning signs (posted in three places), advising me that
Since 2004, 13 people have died falling from the cliffs on this route.
The “13” had clearly been pasted over the top of another number: So I knew the final portion was tricky. I knew it involved holding onto a chain as a climbing aid. I overheard other hikers making arrangements with their partners to stay behind “while you do the steep part.” I have no real fear of heights (Dustin claims a “healthy respect”), but I was beginning to get intrigued.
We arrived at Scout Lookout after about a billion switchbacks. A not inconsiderable number of people lounged about. Were these the waiters? Ah, yes. There are some people coming down a rather steep slope using a chain. Here we go, then.
There was a line to access the chain, and it wasn’t moving because so many people were coming down. One-way chain. Our line started to move, but just before it was our turn, a shout came from above. “We need to send some people down! It’s too crowded for this many people up here!” I imagined all the people who had just gone up the chain plus that many again already up there, milling around in a space the size of last night’s motel room, but with no walls. I stepped back, holding up the up line once again, and welcomed those people down. They came and came and came. I hopefully upped the size of the imagined landing from a motel room to a basketball court.
Finally, our turn. We scampered up a considerable length of chain with an im pressive dropoff below us to find… another landing, busy if not crowded… and another set of chains.
Okay, here we go again!
The wait wasn’t long this time, but now the trouble with a crowd was becoming more apparent. Things were getting very high and very narrow. It took me three landings and two sets of chains before the penny finally, finally dropped. We weren’t just going to Some Spot with a nice view. We were going all the way to the top. With only two chains behind us, the top looked impossibly high and impossibly tiny. You could see people creeping up and down it like little, crazy ants.
We kept going, never hurrying to hog the chain (unlike certain turds who came up behind us). Always waiting to let people down had the advantage of leaving us always first in the ascending line, which meant we always had lots of space. This was nice, as in some places the ridge was only about 20 feet across, with the drop approaching 1,500 feet on either side.
I didn’t count, but I’d easily believe there were around 100 people at the top. The views are incredible, yes, and I can understand why people would do it for the views, but for me, the experience of competing with all the other people was the real experience. I even found myself feeling comforted, several times on the way up, by the knowledge that only 13 people had died doing this. Surely thousands were trying it just today. Those are good odds!
We ate lunch at the top, taking plenty of time to soak in the views our effort had earned us. I couldn’t believe how many different kinds of people had braved the heights and chains to come to this tiny pinnacle: lots of people in our demographic on down to the college crowd; a few families with older children; and then the real surprise – many Boomers! I guess just because I believe my folks would never try this in a million years, I generalized that expectation to everyone of that age. Wrong! Here’s hoping I’m still choosing to try ridiculous hikes in another 30 years.
Climbing down was another exercise in patience, but overall went faster than going up. We took a quick snack break in the shade at the bottom (hiking early is better for avoiding crowds and direct sunlight) and then headed off to the Emerald Pools. After Angel’s Landing, this hike felt rather ho-hum, but the destination at very High Pool is beautiful, providing the opposite opportunity of Angel’s Landing – the ability to sit at the bottom of of Zion’s high steep rock towers and stare up thousands of feet like the tiniest of bugs.
From there, we rode the shuttle to the end of its route, thinking we’d at least have a look at The Narrows to see what the fuss was about. When we got there, though, the press of people waiting to catch a shuttle back was so huge, we opted to stay in our seats and save that adventure for some imaginary day in the future when it’s less crowded.
And now we eat celebratory tacos from nearby Springdale. Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Thither & Yon 