When we got up in the morning we had breakfast and then had to wait for the campers staying on our next site to vacate so we could carry the tent over without taking everything down. It was only about a hundred feet from where we stayed last night. Once settled, we got our stuff together and headed out for a short day hike on The Grotto trail. It stays low and travels along the river.
We decided to not go up to the Emerald Pools because the trail was so crowded. Instead we just took to the loop trail under the small waterfall that led back to the lodge stop. It was also crowded. It's a popular hike and it's not difficult.
We took the opportunity to get into the cold water and cool off while we didn't have anything else to do. It felt nice to sit with my feet in the water even though the sun was still blazing.
We came back to the site and headed out into town for lunch. The Flying Monkey looked like a good place so we went in. I got a veggie sandwich that took forever to come out but was very good. They had waffle fries also with "Utah dipping sauce," which is really just mayo and ketchup.
After grabbing groceries and ice next door at the market, we stopped at an apricot tree across the street where the owner has a sign that invites people to come pick fruit. Joanna picked up a handful of them and brought them back to the car. They were small but tasty.
We stopped by the Best Western to borrow the WiFi and find info on our upcoming hikes when we stumbled upon the gate code for the swimming pool and decided to take advantage of that knowledge. Swimming felt great, even though the people were a little odd around the pool. And their kids were even worse. I almost drowned one of them for being so annoying.
The time had come for the hike we were waiting for! We took the shuttle to Angel's Landing trailhead and started up. This was the trail we traversed in the beginning. That's a good amount of elevation gain in a short time.
The trail got a little more level for a short time and slowly wrapped its way around the tall cliffs then soon began to climb steeply once again. We got to this section, known as Walters Wiggles, where the trail just zigzags about twenty times on a very steep grade. It was quite tiring. A little squirrel followed us up the whole way, mocking us.
Soon after we arrived at the base of the Angel's Landing climb, with this lovely sign warning us that we could easily fall to our deaths. It wasn't what I had expected so I just figured the narrow part that several people had told us about was farther along the trail.
We got right to it, climbing up the steep sides of the rock. There was a chain that stretched along the path for assistance which I vowed to not touch on the way up. It acted more as a guide of where the trail actually was since it often got lost.
The climb was fun but very strenuous. It seemed to never end. I kept enjoying it, however my legs didn't feel the same way. So I just put one foot in front of the other and kept climbing. Up stair sections, around big boulders and between small cracks.
Once we reached the top there was a long flat area with a single tree on it which led to the edge of Angel's Landing and granted us this view. We sat down on the warm rocks and took it in for a while before pulling out the cameras. I had a much-needed snack and big drink of water as I lay in a very comfortable spot, thinking I could probably fall asleep there if I wanted.
We each took plenty of photos while we waited for the sun to go down. We met a fellow adventurer who had spent the night up there the night before, up with a couple of others today telling his story. It was nice to talk to them for a while as we waited.
Once the sky got to this point, we realized the stars were not going to come out soon enough for us to be able to shoot them and still make it back down for the last shuttle back down the canyon. We begrudgingly took our leave of Angel's Landing and headed down.
Remember all those somewhat treacherous climbs we did on the way up? Well now we had to do them in the dark. Luckily the most difficult ones were first, so we still had the slightest bit of light for much of them. However down climbing questionable rock at dusk is not ideal. I slipped a few times where I could not discern the rock I was trying to step on. Needless to say I had no problem using the chains this time. Once we got back to the main trail, we were relieved and pulled out our flashlights to illuminate the way.
It was a long walk back down the trail. Quite nice and peaceful with no people on it. We got to the bottom and waited a while for a shuttle that took us back to camp and a well-deserved dinner. We went into town and got burritos and chips with delicious salsas to bring back to camp. That hike warranted more than PB&J.
When we got up in the morning we had breakfast and then had to wait for the campers staying on our next site to vacate so we could carry the tent over without taking everything down. It was only about a hundred feet from where we stayed last night. Once settled, we got our stuff together and headed out for a short day hike on The Grotto trail. It stays low and travels along the river.
We decided to not go up to the Emerald Pools because the trail was so crowded. Instead we just took to the loop trail under the small waterfall that led back to the lodge stop. It was also crowded. It's a popular hike and it's not difficult.
We took the opportunity to get into the cold water and cool off while we didn't have anything else to do. It felt nice to sit with my feet in the water even though the sun was still blazing.
We came back to the site and headed out into town for lunch. The Flying Monkey looked like a good place so we went in. I got a veggie sandwich that took forever to come out but was very good. They had waffle fries also with "Utah dipping sauce," which is really just mayo and ketchup.
After grabbing groceries and ice next door at the market, we stopped at an apricot tree across the street where the owner has a sign that invites people to come pick fruit. Joanna picked up a handful of them and brought them back to the car. They were small but tasty.
We stopped by the Best Western to borrow the WiFi and find info on our upcoming hikes when we stumbled upon the gate code for the swimming pool and decided to take advantage of that knowledge. Swimming felt great, even though the people were a little odd around the pool. And their kids were even worse. I almost drowned one of them for being so annoying.
The time had come for the hike we were waiting for! We took the shuttle to Angel's Landing trailhead and started up. This was the trail we traversed in the beginning. That's a good amount of elevation gain in a short time.
The trail got a little more level for a short time and slowly wrapped its way around the tall cliffs then soon began to climb steeply once again. We got to this section, known as Walters Wiggles, where the trail just zigzags about twenty times on a very steep grade. It was quite tiring. A little squirrel followed us up the whole way, mocking us.
Soon after we arrived at the base of the Angel's Landing climb, with this lovely sign warning us that we could easily fall to our deaths. It wasn't what I had expected so I just figured the narrow part that several people had told us about was farther along the trail.
We got right to it, climbing up the steep sides of the rock. There was a chain that stretched along the path for assistance which I vowed to not touch on the way up. It acted more as a guide of where the trail actually was since it often got lost.
The climb was fun but very strenuous. It seemed to never end. I kept enjoying it, however my legs didn't feel the same way. So I just put one foot in front of the other and kept climbing. Up stair sections, around big boulders and between small cracks.
Once we reached the top there was a long flat area with a single tree on it which led to the edge of Angel's Landing and granted us this view. We sat down on the warm rocks and took it in for a while before pulling out the cameras. I had a much-needed snack and big drink of water as I lay in a very comfortable spot, thinking I could probably fall asleep there if I wanted.
We each took plenty of photos while we waited for the sun to go down. We met a fellow adventurer who had spent the night up there the night before, up with a couple of others today telling his story. It was nice to talk to them for a while as we waited.
Once the sky got to this point, we realized the stars were not going to come out soon enough for us to be able to shoot them and still make it back down for the last shuttle back down the canyon. We begrudgingly took our leave of Angel's Landing and headed down.
Remember all those somewhat treacherous climbs we did on the way up? Well now we had to do them in the dark. Luckily the most difficult ones were first, so we still had the slightest bit of light for much of them. However down climbing questionable rock at dusk is not ideal. I slipped a few times where I could not discern the rock I was trying to step on. Needless to say I had no problem using the chains this time. Once we got back to the main trail, we were relieved and pulled out our flashlights to illuminate the way.
It was a long walk back down the trail. Quite nice and peaceful with no people on it. We got to the bottom and waited a while for a shuttle that took us back to camp and a well-deserved dinner. We went into town and got burritos and chips with delicious salsas to bring back to camp. That hike warranted more than PB&J.
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