Hiking Angel's Landing in Zion

During the summers, the traditional media carry many good travel stories. This summer is no different. Earlier this week on the NPR program "Day to Day", I heard a piece about hiking up Angel's Landing in Zion National Park. The climb to the top of Angel's Landing takes you up a narrow trail twisting 1500 feet above the valley floor, and with steep drop-offs it is not a hike for the timid.

The NPR story is a perfect little slice-of-life that they are so good at telling. The audio has a lot of the natural sounds one might hear as they take the trip. Of course, the natural sounds of the park include not only the singing of a bird, but also the low hum of the Zion shuttle bus, the public address system with a ranger's voice, and even the coo of a baby. As the narrator climbs the trail, we listen to other hikers and learn small details about them; one a BYU student, another carries a copy of 'Desert Solitaire', and another quotes 'King Lear' as he hikes. I enjoyed listening to the story. The link below will take you to the NPR page describing the article, it includes some photos of the hike, and at the top of the page you'll find a 'listen' button which will launch your computer's audio player. The story is just under 5 minutes long.

Day to Day on NPR: Hiking Angel's Landing

There are good, wide steps chopped into the sandstone, but in certain places, tripping and letting go of the chain would be like falling off the Empire State building. Far below, the shuttle bus that carried the climbers to the foot of Angel's Landing inches along the river road.