After a day exploring the Narrows, my friend Braden and I camped outside of Zion National Park along a creek. We woke up at dawn the next morning to get a fairly early start hiking Angels Landing, a rock formation in the middle of the canyon that offers spectacular 360-degree views of the rest of the park.
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Morning light in the canyon |
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Getting started: Angels Landing looms in the distance |
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Virgin River winding through Zion Canyon at sunrise |
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Virgin River |
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Cactus in bloom |
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Zion Canyon |
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Sandstone cliffs along the trail |
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Looking back down Refrigerator Canyon |
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Traffic Jam: we didn't get started as early as we had hoped! |
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The trail gets pretty steep, so there is a chain built into the rock. |
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Getting close to the top |
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Looking down on the Virgin River |
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Virgin River from above |
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Braden navigating one of the final pitches (bottom left) |
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Lunch with all the other hikers at the top |
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Panoramic view from the top |
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Working our way down |
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Back to the canyon floor |
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We cooled off on the Virgin River before finishing our trek |