No harnesses, carabiners, screws...oh, and no chains

I recently took a road trip across the US with my sister and we hit several National Parks.  One of my main reasons for starting this blog was to write down impressions of these places before they are lost in my "melting pot" of a memory.

Zion National Park

The favorite stop for both of us was Zion National Park, Utah - an appropriately named place for sure.  The best way I can describe this place is Nature's Grandiosity...meant purely as a compliment.  It it the kind of place with such spectacular panoramic views that you cannot come close to capturing it in a picture (though you can see I tried).  There are diverse trails that can satisfy the gamet of hikers - steep mountain ridges, narrow canyon ways, river beds, short looping "scenic views", and flat strolling paths.

I initially meant to cover some of these great trails and maybe provide information for those planning a trip there, but this is a blog about everything and the first word that came to mind for me was "chains".  Let me elaborate...

Angels Landing

Several years ago I was at Zion in the winter (loved it then too), and attempted a trail called "Angels Landing".  The last portion of the trail required that you hang on to permanently anchored chains while making your way along narrow/non-existent paths with sheer cliffs.  It wasn't a hiking trip and I wasn't prepared so had to turn back before making it to the end.  I vowed to return one day when there was no snow and ice so I could complete the trail - I was not going to be beat by some little park trail open to the general public!

On this last trip I excitedly led my sister up the trail and we made it by the first set of chains to a pre-Angels Landing-landing where I had also made it to in winter.  I think my mistake was looking at the next leg (seen left) - I might have done it had I kept my head down and kept moving forward.  But no - one look and my legs went to jello.  I couldn't do it...but children, seniors, couch-potato-likes and other sandal clad people plowed by and made there way to the end.  Had there not been a clan of us no-gos sitting there head-hung and mouths agape, I might have felt ashamed.  But there it is.  I'm afraid of heights.  I am not alone.

That day, I added one more thing to the list of apparatus that should not be required on any hike I do.  No harnesses, carabiners, screws, ropes, pick-axes, and now no chains.

Happy safe trails,
Charlotte