Photo Courtesy of Megan Canfield
This summer I was able to travel with my family to Utah and Arizona and hike a few of the national parks. We spent time at Zion National Park, Bryce National Park, Arches National Park, Escalante, Kodachrome, Red Rock Canyon, and the Grand Canyon—if you couldn’t tell already, my family is the outdoorsy type. We’d been planning this trip for years and had finally collected all the backpacking equipment we would need for being in a desert-like area. But equipment aside, Utah in late June for someone who’s grown up in New England her whole life was hot. Ironically, it ended up being the coolest of the parks we visited. As our first destination, however, acclimating to the 95-degree weather was a challenge. Humid or dry, 95 degrees Fahrenheit is hot to me regardless.
Now while I like to sleep in, given a choice of more sleep or less heat, I choose less sleep. I would recommend that everyone does this when hiking in the desert. Not only are you able to do more hikes, but most of the time, the popular paths are less crowded as well. This was the case with the trail Angel’s Landing.
Angel’s landing was my all-time favorite hike of the trip. It was medium length, around 5.4 miles in total (relatively short compared to our average day). Despite its length, the trail is rated as difficult because of the severe elevation change, 1,500 feet. Besides the elevation change, the trail goes along the mountain ridge. In some parts, it’s only a couple feet wide. Imagine walking on a knife’s edge, with sheer drops on either side of you.
As soon as I watched a video someone posted on YouTube, I wanted to hike the trail. Heights have never bothered me; they honestly excite me. I love the adrenaline and pride that comes after completing something physically difficult. After telling my parents about the trail, they were all for hiking it. It was only when we got to the park that they began to change their minds. My mom had been doing some research during the months leading up to the trip and found out that five people had fallen to their death while hiking the trail. She ended up opting out, also because the heights were too much for her. So, my dad, younger brother, and I set out. We hiked the 21 switchbacks (imagine zigzags going up the side of a mountain). We stopped for a break at the first landing, Scout’s Landing, after a few hours of hiking.
Photo Courtesy of Megan Canfield
Ahead of us was the rest of the trail up towards our final destination, Angels Landing. This was the part where the cliffs became noticeably sheer, and sections of chains along the trail were gone. From there only my brother and I continued. At this point, the adrenaline began to kick in… along with all the warnings people had given me about the trail. The steepness, the strength of the wind, the people coming down on the other side, the deaths. If I’m being honest, a small part of me wanted to turn back. I didn’t know what was going to happen and that scared me. Maybe I wasn’t in good enough shape, maybe I was too tired, maybe I’d lose focus and stumble, maybe I couldn’t do it.
But I had been dreaming about this hike for months. I decided right there that fear of the future wouldn’t decide my decisions for the present. I hiked Angels Landing and it was easy. Doing it none of the fears from earlier ever crossed my mind, and as soon as we finished I wanted to hike it again. The thrill and satisfaction I got from completing something like that is a moment I’ll never forget.
So whether it’s talking to that person you’ve always admired, whether it’s speaking in class, dancing in the middle of the dance floor, or hiking Angels Landing go for it. You can do more than you think, and when you do it’ll feel better than any other feeling.
Photo Courtesy of Megan Canfield