Day 9: Beautiful Zion

Rise and shine!  The girls and I awoke anticipating the huge day that was to come.  Breakfast, shower, and gear--lets go to conquer Angels Landing, a must see and very strenuousness trail up to 7,000 ft. Joining us, as an honorary Milburn silbing was Laurence, a lovely girl we had met the night before in the lounge of campground. She was on a roadtrip of her own and was studying abroad in California as a film student. She was born and raised in Quebec and was also doing Angels Landing and we offered for her to join our clan. 

The four of us packed up the car tightly and headed West into Zion.  While we all had already seen the breathtaking landscape, it was now time to climb one of its magnificent peaks.  Angels Landing had a reputation as one of the most popular but most strenuous climbs in the park.  It reached a height of 1488 feet above the base which was around 6-7,000 feet above sea level.  The girls and I were ready for the adventure.  After a short shuttle ride, we took our first steps on the trail.
What a climb!  The entire path was on an steep incline that zig-zagged its way up the cliffs.  As we stopped for a few moments to look up, we could notice what a awe inspiring few Zion Canyon was.  It looked like a prehistoric landscape where dinosaurs could be seen down below drinking from the Virgin River that cut the two halves of the canyons.  The sunlight just peaked its way through the middle illuminating the rock that stood above the river.  Truthfully, there aren't enough words to describe what we saw and felt, but it was powerful.

Up, up we went for a few miles on an incline that changed from casual to leg burning!  I gradually began to separate myself from the girls because I was wanted to get a little sweat going.  Not to mention my 12-15 pound pack I was carrying with all the food, shoes, and other gear the group had.  I had mostly tunnel vision walking up the rocky slopes that ran along side the cliffs of the canyon.  I passed many people who were struggling to move up the monstrous trails.  Eventually, I arrived at a series of ramps that also zig-zagged up the cliff-there were 21 of them!  I was doing some heavy breathing at the top but at that moment, I saw the most unbelievable sight.  I had reached the first overlook that peered into the canyon with the river beneath it.  Trees coated the rusty cliffs and the sun struck the mountains with powerful beams of light.  I can't really explain the feeling that I had during this time.  I only stood in silence to appreciate what a wonderful world I was looking at.  It was inspiring to be apart of something so big, but so true.

The girls followed behind after 15 minutes as we looked at the actual path of "Angels Landing."  They looked exhausted and needed some more water and food.  I was already rested and ready for the next challenge.  As I approached the rocky cliffs, I could see dozens of people grasping the chains connected to iron poles that bordered the face of the cliffs.  This is what people had to hold onto if they wanted to maximize their safety.  I began climbing the rocks up and up as the people looked at me as the crazy guy who wants to kill himself.  But that's just who I am, I love adventure and thrills.  However, I did use the chains when the slopes became way to treacherous or I didn't want to put anyone else in danger.

It seemed forever and I couldn't reach the top because each time I neared the end of the face of the rock, there was another cliff to climb.  But finally, I reached the top.  It was spectacular, I joined other people at the top of Angels Landing, 5.7 miles of trails completed.  The girls followed behind shortly.  The four of us stood in awe at the valley below us.  That moment was the height of our trip.  It was a resemblance of our trip and our accomplishments as siblings.  This trip was to be a memorable experience and sitting at the top of Angels Landing embodied our adventure with hope for the future.  We can't wait to tell our children, nephews, and nieces about this experience and that moment sitting on top of Angels Landing.

We made it! On top of Angels Landing

The trip down was a little easier on the legs and we were excited to take off our shoes and take a dip in the Virgin River afterwards.  The blinding sun beat down on us as we cooled off in the cool water.  It felt refreshing but didn't replenish the energy lost.  Despite our tired legs, we decided to go for another hike.  We had to take in as much of this place as we could in the short 2 day stay. A shorter and much easier trail to the Emerald Pools which led us up into the canyon where green pools gathered beneath an overhang of rock.  The way up felt a lot easier after Angels Landing but we were all still so exhausted.  When we finally arrived at the top, I began to climb around the pool. There were giant rocks that circled it and immediately drew me in for a good climb.  The girls took some pictures and admired the extraordinary green pool.  But the sun began to fall behind the canyon so we trudged our way down the mountain face.  Our legs started to feel like noodles and our adrenaline was pushing every bit of energy we had left.  Thank GOD!

We arrived at the car begging for a place to sit down.  The ride home was silent.  No exaggeration--silent.  We had been on our feet for 10 hours and 8 of those hours was climbing up and down the canyon.  As soon as we got back to camp, we kicked Lawrence out as kindly as possible and raced up to our camp site.  In 15 minutes we were all ready for bed with daylight still out.  No star gazing that night, we needed our energy for the next day in Bryce Canyon.