It’s worth a rest here to take in the views and rally strength before the push up to the summit. When you get to this tight bricked section, you’re almost there! (By the way, here’s a cool photo of the wiggles as seen from the sky.)Īt the top of the wiggles you’ll arrive at Scout Lookout, a gorgeous viewpoint where you can see both up and down Zion Canyon. It’s beautiful no matter what! This early fall trip (the last weekend in September) was the first time I’ve seen it fully greened up like this–gorgeous.Īfter you get a ways back into the canyon, you’ll hit another set of leg-melting switchbacks known as Walter’s Wiggles. I’ve hiked up this portion of the trail in late fall, winter, and early fall. This portion of the hike is called Refrigerator Canyon you might notice how much shadier and cooler it is compared to the rest of the trail. This is to help prevent erosion, but it also helps you grip your way up the steep switchbacks.įrom here, you’ll cross a little bridge and you’ll get a brief respite as the trail relaxes to an easier grade. You’ll also notice that most of the trail is paved. You’ll be treated to gorgeous views during the whole climb. Once you get through this, you’ll be through a pretty big chunk of the climbing. You’ll get beautiful views of the majestic shark-fin-looking beast you’re about to summit.Īfter that, you’ll ascend a grueling set of steep switchbacks up the canyon wall. įor the first mile, you’ll start off pretty easy with a gradual grade. I’ve got a bunch of pics and tips to share with you on one of my all-time favorite hikes! What to expect on the trail I had the privilege of being able to go out for this hike again a couple weeks ago when I was in Zion. You’ll cover approximately 5 miles and climb about 1,500 feet from the canyon floor. (Note: regardless of your abilities, the final ascent is always sketchy in icy or rainy conditions.)Īs far as exertion goes, Angel’s Landing is moderate to strenuous, depending on your abilities and what you’re comparing it to. As long as you’re honest about your abilities and exercise reasonable caution, this hike doesn’t have to be so scary. I’ve seen everyone from young children to casual tourists to a 70+ yr old woman make it to the summit. Yes, accidents can always happen, but they’re extremely rare, especially considering the huge number of hikers that traverse this trail every year. Gulp.Ĭontrary to what it might sound like, the trail is reasonably safe. This is definitely true for Angel’s: during the final ascent, there are many places where the trail drops off >1,000 feet (often on both sides!) straight to the canyon floor. In case you don’t know, “exposure” as a hiking term refers to trails surrounded by steep areas with significant drop-offs. In this case, that’s the scrambling and the chains you’ll have to make use of in order to arrive at the summit. If you can get past the fear factor, it’s also one of the most fun! I love hikes that have an unexpected element. View near top of Angels Rest Trail.Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park has a reputation for being one of the most terrifying but also the most popular hikes in the southwest. I never felt lost or unsure of the direction. Oh wait, backpacking season is here! Here is a series of trail marker signs starting from the bottom moving up the trail. It is overkill for this hike, but I carried a bit extra weight to get ready for backpacking season. This is the view from Devils Rest Taking a break at the top of Devils Rest The REI Flash 65 that I bought last year has been doing great. It was so boggy the trail is getting widened by people walking to the sides of the mud bog. The only exception was about 10 feet of mud on the flats at the bottom of the last section of the Devils Rest trail. View from junction of Angels Rest and Devils Rest trials. This was on a Thursday in May, just wait for the summer weekends, parking will be tight. The trail head parking lot was full and there were about 6 cars parked on the side of the road. I left the trail head at about 3:30 and would have stayed up on top of Devil’s Rest longer if I had left earlier in the day. There were only a few flats but none of the trail was what I would call “Steep.” It took me about three and a half hours with about 20 minutes in break time. I think this was about 8 miles round trip but I do not have an exact mileage count. I have been up to Angels rest a number of times but never to Devils Rest. On May 10th I went up to Devils Rest via the Angels Rest trail.
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