I got up around 7:45am, ate breakfast, then helped take down all of the tents. We then drove the 1/2 mile to the visitor center to catch the shuttle up to Angels Landing. We left the Visitor Center around 9:15am and got to "The Grotto" stop, which is where the Angels Landing hike starts.
This picture was taken from the Shuttle Stop at "The Grotto". Angels Landing is the top of the peak.
If you can't tell from the picture above, the 5 mile roundtrip hike has an elevation change of 1,488 feet.
Here is a picture of Walter's Wiggles. It is a series of short switchbacks that help you gain that 1.488 feet pretty quickly.
2 miles into the hike, you come to a point called Scouts Lookout. Here's our group of hikers.
Here's a view looking down from Scouts Lookout down to the valley and canyon road below.
From Scouts Lookout you continue up along a narrow spine of rock for the last half-mile, complete with chains to help you reach the summit.
There are a few points, like the picture below where you start to wonder if you should continue on. We actually climbed up the middle of this narrow spine . As you can see, there were dizzying drop-offs on both sides—nearly a 1,200 foot drop on one side, and over 800 feet down on the other.
I've heard a number of times that the Angels Landing hike is not for anyone with a fear of heights and I would have to agree after having done it, however I had a young scout with me today that was deathly afraid of heights that we were able to coerce into making the whole hike to the summit. It took us longer, however he completed it successfully.
I thought many times today that I would love to bring my family to Zion National Park to experience Angel's Landing, however I think the 5 mile roundtrip hike is a little much for my kids at their current age. 5 or 6 years from now, however, that will be a different story.
