Zion Lodge

Becky:
I found a perch on the edge of the cliff and admired the views with the quickly rising sun. I made lots of friends, mostly other who had decided they didn't want to go further, and we waited together for our friends and loved ones to safely return. It was throughly enjoyable and the time melted away even with the increasing temperature. I 'coo-eed' often, but my Australian friends were either too far, or their hands were tightly fastened around a chain and I didn't hear any replies for quite some time.

Nomes:
Becky quickly disappeared from sight behind us as we scrambled away on the chain-assisted climb up to Angel's Landing (AL 😉). There were quite a few people coming down the single file trail and this meant a lot of polite negotiating, assisting hands, trust and patience. Actually a lovely parable for our walk to the Kingdom!

The hike itself was more of a full body climb at times, and our legs were burning by the end, but it was so worth the effort. Cilla and I dubbed ourselves the clowns of the trail, making jokes, poking fun at each other loudly, laughing and chatting with other adventurers. It was a blast. We felt 'in the groove' and our running commentary and banter helped keep our minds off the potentially deadly outcome of a slip. Honestly the scariest parts were watching others climb and scramble!

We eventually came out to 'The Spine' - a rock ledge that has a 2 foot wide flat section to walk across with sloped sides leading to 950+ feet of nothing. There are no chains here, but the scattered trees and bushes on the top make it seem not so scary. A beehive shaped rocky outcrop rose from the end of the spine, so of course we had to climb that to become the highest people at AL.

The view from the landing was breathtaking: the brightly coloured Aztec sandstone cliffs stretched away into the distance. The green, snaking Virgin River was no more than a sparkling ribbon winding through the canyon. California Condors swooped and soared, their 6 foot wingspan embracing the thermals as they cruised around us, probably wondering what a crowd of two-legs were doing in their 'heavenly' territory. We certainly felt a little like angels, looking down on a tiny world, empowered by God's stunning creation. It was majestic to stand there and think of the incredible forces that shaped the earth, how small we are, and yet how God has called us all and wants us in His even more awesome Kingdom! Such a blessing.

We sat for a snack at the edge of the landing (no, Ma, our feet weren't dangling over the edge of the ~1000 foot drop 😊). Cilla's camera lens cap slipped from her fingers at one point and rolled merrily away towards the abyss. We resignedly watched it go, delighted then when it fell into a small crevice. Of course, I scrambled down to retrieve it. We could have stayed up there all day, but our stomachs and knowledge of Becky's waiting eventually turned us towards the relative safety of Scout's Landing.

I think this will go down in my personal history as my favourite hike of all time. I was so glad Cilla did it with me and although big-sister-scared of her getting 'too near' the edge for photos, I was also 'big-sister-proud' of her courage and fortitude (what a great word 😉). I wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much without her. (Cilla: Not going to lie, I definitely surprised myself by getting to angels landing! When Nomes first sent me the link to this hike I had two thoughts : 1) she's crazy and 2) there is NO way I'm doing that! Let's just say, I'm really glad I did. This will also go down in history as my favourite, most intense and most stunning viewed-hike of all time!)

We were overjoyed to hear and respond to Becky's 'cooee' as we neared Scout's Landing where she regaled us with her tales of entertaining everyone who passed. On our way back down Walter's Wiggles and the rest of the foot-numbing, knee-jarring trail, she made it her duty to inform every climber of the distance and time to their next stop, while Cilla encouraged them all.

For the stats lover (i.e.probably just me 😉), we ascended/descended a total of 3000 feet (914 m), and covered 5 miles (8 km), although they all felt vertical. Our step count was a combined 40,500 (prob'ly a few more for Cilla 😜) and we'd spent 6 hours experiencing this jewel in Zion's crown.

We were exhausted, so after lunch and a wander through the visitor centre, we headed back to our RV home to chill and recover. Tomorrow we are back to Zion, Godwilling to explore The Narrows.Read more