I woke up well before sunrise in my tent in Page, AZ. Since I was up so early, I thought I’d give it a shot to get some Milky Way photos prior to making the 2-hour drive to Zion National Park. I returned to the Horseshoe Bend area, and just set up quickly in front of some bushes. Since dawn was soon upon me, the sky ended up having a beautiful blue tone to it. It was a decent shot, but unfortunately I didn’t take the time to get the foreground bushes in complete focus. Oh well.
After just a few shots, the sky was getting too bright, so it was time to head on up to Zion! This entire drive is beautiful, and I made a few stops along the way to take pictures on the side of the road. I arrived at Zion a little after 8am, and got my bag together in preparation to make the Angels Landing hike!
During the warmer months (I was there in April), public vehicles are not allowed to drive through the canyon, so you must park at the Visitors Center and ride the shuttle. They come by often, so there’s not a lot of waiting around. I got on the shuttle and was on my way.
It was actually a pretty chilly morning, but as I started my hike, I quickly began shedding layers. Even with the fairly gradual slope at the beginning, I had a big bag with my camera, a couple lenses, tripod, water bottles, and some snacks on my back, so it wasn’t long until I was in a t-shirt and shorts.
The hike is pretty strenuous, especially when you reach Walter’s Wiggles, a series of 20 switchbacks with a steep incline. When you get to the last 1/2 mile or so, it goes from a hike, to basically a climb. There are several ledges in this section that do not have a ton of room, and are situated on the edge of a 1,200 ft drop to the canyon floor below! In fact, six people have fallen to their deaths on this hike since 2004, according to the sign at the base of the trail. There are chains bolted to the rock in these locations for hikers to hold onto, just in case. Don’t let this scare you away from this hike, however, as there is still plenty of room to get by without being too close to the edge. You should not be completing this hike in running shoes, though. Get some real hiking shoes/boots. You’ll be thankful for the extra traction. On the way back down, the girl in front of me was slipping and sliding all over the place, while I never had an issue.
Anyway, the climbing part isn’t that strenuous, because you’ll be taking frequent breaks to wait on others to come down, or on others in front you to get up. Once you reach the top, you’re treated to the most incredible viewpoint ever!
I spent a great deal of time just sitting at the top of Angels Landing, taking in the view. I was grateful in that moment, just to be there. Life doesn’t always give you what you want. I always wanted to be married with kids by age 34. However, if that were the case, I probably wouldn’t have been there, in that moment. So there are advantages to any situation. I still hope to have a wife and kids someday, but in the meantime, I’ll continue to cherish the opportunity to go on adventures like this!
Going down was much easier than coming up! That’s an understatement! Once I got back down to the valley, I looked back up at where I had been. I had to take a picture of that! It was crazy to see just how far I had climbed!
At that point, I was starving, so it was time for my first real meal of the day! In hindsight, I should have stopped for a big breakfast prior to that hike, but it’s whatever! I went into Springdale, and with the help of Yelp, found a place called Whiptail Grill. I chowed down on some chips & salsa and carne asada tacos, and washed that down with a Corona! It was perfect! I can highly recommend this place, and in fact I plan on going back when I’m in Zion again next week!
After getting my campsite set up, organizing my car a bit, and taking a shower, it was just about time for sunset. While on the shuttle bus, the driver mentioned that the Watchman at sunset, photographed from one of the bridges, was a popular spot for photographers. Alright, I’m game.
There I got to talking with a nice photographer from California. We shared some of our favorite images with each other. He had an amazing photo from a lake out in California! It was fun chatting while I let my camera snap away on interval shooting.
I wasn’t done yet. After sunset I went up to the Canyon Overlook, as I knew the moon would be out, and thought it may light up the canyon. Yes, it was a little eerie hiking out there in the dark! I hadn’t actually been there yet, so I was completing that short 0.5 mile hike for the first time! I was also the only one up there, which I found a little hard to believe! Why were all the other photographers going to bed? They were missing some great shots!
Nope, I STILL wasn’t done! I stopped on the side of the road (the one you see there where the light trails are) and continued to shoot in the dark. After a few minutes, a truck pulled up and the guy asked if I was getting any good shots. I told him I was getting some great shots! He asked if I’d mind if he tried, too. Of course not! Well he only had an iPhone, so he wasn’t able to do what I could with my Nikon, but nonetheless, here was another cool person I chatted with. His name was Cody, he was originally from North Carolina. He had spent the winter working at a ski resort near Salt Lake City, I believe he said. He had just arrived at the park, and didn’t even have any reservations! He did have a camper that he had built on the back of his truck, so he really just needed a place to park, but still. I love that, though. I love that sense of adventure, and spontaneity! We talked for quite some time, and he even tried to convince me to go on a night hike with him. I passed in lieu of sleep, and then he said something that has stuck with me, “you won’t be telling your grand kids stories about sleeping.” Touche, Cody.
I still went back to get a little bit of sleep, but it wasn’t long before I was up again.
I knew that the moon would set well before sunrise, making the Milky Way visible. Once again, I was up before any signs of daylight, packed up my campsite, and went out to shoot some more!
I went to the parking lot of the museum to get a shot of the Milky Way above the Watchman. Unfortunately, there were a few thin clouds in the sky, but I just kept shooting and shooting hoping they would clear enough for a good shot. It was cool, and WINDY that morning! Once again, pretty eerie being out there by myself. I had a headlamp around my head, and my flashlight in my pocket. I kept my head on a swivel, looking around for other vehicles, or anything else out of the ordinary. Then I heard a rustle in the bushes. I quickly turned my headlamp on and looked that way, but didn’t see anything. There are mountain lions in this park, you know. So then I got my flashlight out of my pocket and shined it in the direction of the noise. Ah, there was something heading this way! I couldn’t tell what it was at first, then it got closer and became clearer. A raccoon! They can be mean, and have rabies! The hairs were standing up on my neck, and I was preparing to do my best Pat McAfee impression and unleash the boomstick on this dude! Luckily, he thought better of it, and turned around and ran the other way. Whew!
So yeah, here was the shot I got out of all that!
After that I got in my car to warm up and avoid anymore wildlife run-ins while waiting for the sun to come up. Another popular shot here is first light hitting the Patriarch’s, which were right behind me, so no need to go anywhere!
This time there were a couple other photographers out, completely unaware of the Milky Way shot they had just missed!
The sun was blocked by many clouds that morning, and there was just a narrow window of opportunity with at least some visible light on top of the cliffs, but nonetheless, I made it work out okay!
After that I went back to the Canyon Overlook for a daytime shot.
Then I traveled back through the eastern part of the park, which is also beautiful, on my way out to Monument Valley!
Zion just might be my favorite place I’ve ever been! I know this is a place I can come back to and spend a week, and never run out of trails to hike, or pictures to take. If you’ve never been, I would definitely recommend putting it on your list! I’ll be back next week to hike the Narrows, and probably Observation Point!
hunt.style 