| 735 | Angels Landing Map and Adventure Guide |
2012-11-26 |
Zion National Park is located in southwest Utah, east of Saint George. The Park's centerpiece is Zion Canyon. The canyon starts at the Park's southern boundary near Springdale, UT and heads north into the heart of the Park. Soaring sandstone walls flank the canyon. Angels Landing is the large monolith standing in the center of the Canyon near the Grotto Trailhead. 1,000 feet cliffs guard the access to the summit. There are rock climbing routes all around the formation and a scrambling route on it's north ridge. This is the Angels Landing Route.
We visited the Park this summer ('12) and hiked the West Rim Trail to Scouts Lookout and then continued on the narrow, exposed route to Angels Landing. The route was one of the highlights of our summer.
On cloudhiking, we have completed the beautiful map and the adventure guide for Angels Landing.
So, for a few notes ...
From April through October a free bus system operates in the canyon. Personal motor vehicles are not allowed.
The total one way distance is 2.5 miles and 5 miles round trip. We took one hour and fifteen minutes to go each direction. We were not in a hurry, but did not take any breaks.
Our visit was in June. We started the route relatively early (0745) and it was not crowded. As we descended we met hundreds of hikers walking up the trail to Scouts Lookout.
On the map, we used 80 feet contour intervals. We were not able to add all 21 wiggles. The wiggles would have overlapped each other.
The Adventure Guide uses 36 pictures with captions to give a flavor of the route.
For hikers not accustomed to scrambling routes, Angels Landing would be a serious route. Hikers have died on the route.
Read the Climb Notes on the second page (a cloudhiking page) and the Parks - Your Safety Page.
Remember, this is a wilderness. There will be no one to tell you what to do. If the exposure makes you feel uneasy, it would be wise to trust your feeling and turn around. Scouts Lookout is a worthy destination.
Enjoy the Map and Adventure Guide, and please be careful out there!
Happy Angels Landing trails