Ahh Utah
This entry was posted on 11/6/2006 11:14 PM and is filed under XCountry.
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This was taken in Mesa Verde on Anna's birthday...
it's a shot of an "ancestral pueblo" ruin called Cliff
Palace. The place is nuts... it was built 800 years ago in a
cave over the edge and about 100 feet down a cliff that had
to be at least 1500 feet high. The people that
lived here were surely among the first mountain climbers and would
climb down over the cliff to get home. Often they were carrying
loads of corn or beans they harvested up on the plains above.
Sounds easy but they didn't have ropes, harnesses and a belayer... and
it snows out here! |
| After Mesa Verde we left Cortez Utah to make our way
toward Zion National Park. We figured we'd go through Page
Arizona and try to hit Lake Powell and maybe get a look at a slot
canyon. This shot was taken just outside of Monument
Valley. There were so many of these monument like things
around. I saw one that I swore was used as the secret hiding
place in Airwolf... anybody remember that show? Poor Anna had to
listen to me hum the stupid theme song for hours. It's lucky for
the rest of you that the picture of that particular one didn't come out
very well. The scale of these monuments was incredible, as you
can see from the road and the truck. |
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On the way to Page Arizona we came across Antelope
Canyon, one of the slot canyons. We both wanted to see it and
were excited that we were able to get a ticket to get to the upper
canyon. They don't let you drive yourself in anymore because
they had a terrible accident in August of 97
where 11 vacationers and their guide were caught in
a flash flood. Only the guide survived... he was found
downstream - almost at the entrance of Lake Powell - naked with his
lungs, eyes, ears, nose and throat full of sand. Jim, Sean and I
know the guide so that was another reason I wanted to see this
joint. I hope to see him again when we get
to California. Anyway, terrible accidents aside, the place
is amazing (and there was no flood danger when we saw it). I
can't do it justice with my crappy camera, but take my word that the
shapes and colors in the canyon are incredible. |
"HYDRO THUNDER! You are IN the lead!!"
You know that game? Ever since I played Hydro Thunder in a
New Jersey arcade with John and KC I've wanted to check out Lake
Powell... the addictive boat racing arcade game was set on Lake
Powell... and you know, it kinda looked the same!
Anyway, after
Antelope Canyon we put together a picnic lunch and took it
to Lake Powell. You had to hike a ways down the rocks to get
to the water, but it was well worth it. I wished I had my
swimsuit because there were so many places to jump off into the
water... pretty high ones too. I definitely would like to come
back here and explore it by boat. Anybody want to race? |
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When we left Lake Powell we figured we'd bust it to
get close to Zion so we wouldn't have to drive in the morning. We
ran into some folks at Antelope Canyon who just bought land in Kanab
and recommended the town as a good place to stop. The place was
great actually, especially since we came across this cool little motel
that was only 30 bucks a night! And to our suprise it was
actually clean. No internet access though 
We took a walk which turned out to be a long walk and found a very hole
in the wallish but authentic mexican joint and got some dinner.
The next morning we walked to a breakfast place and then drove the few
remaining miles to Zion. |
So the other day Anna said to me "Can we do my
favorite hike in Zion? It's called Angel's Landing... please
pleeease pretty pleeeease?? It's absolutely beautiful"
Being
the super fearless thrill seeking tough guy that I am, and
not knowing what exactly Angel's Landing was, I immediately
agreed. HOLY CRAP this was an awesome hike but not for the
faint of heart, or anyone who's afraid of a little cliff
exposure.
It's about 2.5 miles long but will take you about 4
hours to get to the top and then back down. Where's the top, you
might ask?? You hike for a while up this long steep path of
switchback after switchback, and after 2 miles you get to an area with
a sign that shows a picture of a stick figure dude falling off a cliff
to his certain death. |
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The last 1/2 mile is full-on hand-and-feet rock
climbing with 500 vertical feet to the peak. Some nice fellow
decided to put some chains up there for us to hold on to, which
was appreciated because I used them often. I felt more than a
little skittish at first and used such anti-freak-out
tactics as repeating "the wheels on the bus go round and round",
and consciously telling my legs to move... sometimes out loud
even.
This and the photo above is where I THOUGHT the top
was... Wrong!! That was just about 1/3 the way up the last
section. There's another big dip and a crazy knife edge and
another bigger and even hairier climb to the summit - but I
think you can see the steepness pretty well in this
photo.
Once at the top you were rewarded
with a 360 degree view you just can't get anywhere else, the
satisfaction that you didn't die, AND the realization that
you have to climb back down. I didn't feel so tough
anymore but it was well worth it. I think I'll sleep
well tonight. |
