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I had THE most amazing day today!!! John and I hiked the Angel's Landing Trail in Zion National Park. Woke up at some ungodly hour of the morning,the wind was having a fit outside and I was seriously contemplating not getting out of sleeping bag at all. Apparently at some point last night the wind was so bad Kate work Sam up in their tent, claiming she was scared that a branch was going to fall on them. Sam, desperate for sleep, reassured her, "Don't worry Kate, they check all the trees for loose branches regularily".
As cold as it was, it was def. worth getting up early this morning.For starters we avoided most of the mad heat, but also the trail was practically deserted. It was a beautiful walk up to the "Walter's Wiggles" *eurgh*, quite tiring at times on some pretty steep switchbacks, but I just go my slow, steady pace. "Look at that Turtle go,Yo'!" The wiggles made it felt like I was getting no where, but the Refridgerator Canyon was stunning, lush plant life and the relaively flat path was a relief. All that was missing was a babbling brook. When we reached the top of the Wiggles, J and I decided, "To hell with it! We'll give Angel's Landing a try..." Yesterday when I saw a photo of the hike, I thought there was NO WAY I would be climbing it, but seeing as we'd made it so far it seemed silly to turn back now. And so, we were off!!!
Well, I can honestly swear, I have never been so terrified in my life-I wouldn't be surprised if I never am again! I genuinely thought I might pee myself with fear at some points, because the cold, harsh truth up there was: you fall, you die. And with no harness, steep edges and a chain to hold onto OCCASIONALLY, it would have been all to easy to fall. We were literally pulling our bodies up the rocks by the chain at some points, like rock climbing, but without the comfort of a harness *ahhhh....harnesses....*I was crying my eyes out bear the beginning, I was so scared, but at the same time, my fear just made me all the more determined to conquer that damn hike. My legs shook whenever I stood still, and though I am sure the scenery would have been amazing, I was just concentrating on placing one foot before the other - trying to ignore the fact that beside me was only a long long fall to the river below. But we did make it, finally, and were rewarded with STUNNING 360 degree views of the park. I had such a sense of accomplishment, though I've got to admit, I didnt feel completely happy until to was actually off the trail. The hike back down was slightly easier, and John and I felt incredibly lucky because we got to see a Californian Condor, just sunbathing on a ledge. The bird is endangered, and magnificant to see was it had stretched its wingspan out to their full length! We did have the crap scared out of us when we were carefully passing this one razorback ledge and suddenly a huge vulture swooped down just a couple of feet above our heads, raining down a nhandful of charred sticks. At the time I was so shocked I didn't even have time to react, but after a bit (i.e. once we were OFF that ledge) we just had to grin out eachother over the surrealness of the entire experience. And I had gotten excited over chipmunks in the Grand Canyon...
After a well needed rest, Me John, Alex, Sam, David and Christina decided to hike some on the Narrows. I say hike, but really it is just wading through knee - thigh deep water, in the Virgin River. Towering mountains of red and orange loomed up on either side of us, and as the crowds thinned when the River walk finished, the powerful yet relaxing roar of the river and the lush greenery peeking through the rock took on an ethereal quality. Overwhelming.
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