What a fabulous time we had celebrating my 44th birthday by clinging to chains, staring down sheer cliffs and feeling our legs and lungs burn as we conquered Angels Landing together. A couple times a year, JPS sends us on an overnight excursion just to get away and let Adam destress a little. After looking at our calendars this was the only weekend we had available, which was perfect...a de-stress weekend and birthday celebration all wrapped into one.
Friday morning, November 1st, Adam ran to the office to get the guys out and I got the girls off to school and work and then we hit the road, stopping in Hurricane for sandwiches before our big hike.
Pulling into Zions. So pretty. We had decided ahead of time to hike/attempt Angels Landing so we went straight there. We parked, jumped on the shuttle and were off.
Close encounter at the visitor center.
Trail Head
Looking up at our destination.
Narrow walk ways...
Sheer cliffs...
switchbacks...
and amazing views...We were on our way...Ready or not!
The last time either of us did this hike was in high school for one of our prom dates.
Such amazing colors...the pics don't do it justice.
My cute pack mule...I enjoyed this view as much as the others.
The chipmunks were everywhere and not scared of humans at all. They would scamper right up to, peek in your bags and even run across your face...something Adam experienced first hand. Haha!
At Scouts Lookout, just before the bridge to Angels Landing.
We stopped for a snack and to take pictures, when we realized we hadn't made it to the top yet...
We still had to get to the top if THIS. Something, looking up at, seemed impossible.
After deciding, this is what we came up here to do, we grabbed hold of the chains and started our ascend another .5 miles straight up.
With cliffs on each side and just a chain to hold onto, it definitely plays with your head. Being human everyone stumbles, or slips or trips...not while hiking Angels Landing, any of those things will cause a fall to your death....
but in the end, it was SO WORTH IT!!
We came, we saw, we conquered.
The views were just about as amazing as the feeling of accomplishment. We played around top for a while, relaxed, rested, visited, snacked and enjoyed the views.
Heading back down. Down was actually a bit more nerve racking than going up because you were staring down at what was coming the whole time.
After 4 hours, we made it. We felt so exhilarating. We kept looking up at where we'd been and saying, "I can't believe we did that" (side not - Calli was coming up to the same hike with a friend Seth. We kept expecting to see them but never did. As we were sitting down on the tram to go back to the car, I saw Calli and Seth jump off the same tram. They were just getting there, as we were leaving. We jumped back off and talked with them for a minute before the next tram came. They were going to try and get to the top and back down before the last tram left so they didn't have to walk back. Looking at the time we thought there is no way. They would have to do it in 2 hours. Calli had done the hike several times and was very familiar with it, but it was Seth's first time. We were SHOCKED when she texted us and said they were back down AND had made the tram...they sprinted the entire trail. So crazy!!)
We drug our tired, sore bodies to our hotel and checked into our suite. We rested for a bit and then went to Oscars for dinner and to walk around some of the shops.
We went back to our room and crashed.
View off the deck overlooking the river. The next morning we slept in, checked out and went to breakfast. We talked about doing another hike but we were anxious to get home...and didn't think our bodies would have allowed it.
Everyone was home for a few hours together, which is a rare occasion lately, so we celebrated and opened gifts. Always so loved and spoiled. I received an oven dutch oven, electric blanket, new hydroflask and my winter candle. Such, Such, Such a great weekend. One I will look back on often.
