I really and truly thought my lungs might burst and we’d only hiked a quarter mile. I could see the switchbacks stretching above me, wavering in the desert heat, taunting me. My boyfriend crunched up the path ahead of me like he was born for it. I, on the other hand, was having my doubts.
Zion National Park does not allow personal vehicles to drive within the majority of the park’s boundary, which is excellent for visitors. There are frequent shuttles leading to all the major trailheads. A repeating announcement on the bus advises guests to exercise extreme caution when attempting the Angel’s Landing hike. “The hike is extremely strenuous. Please do not attempt unless you are physically capable of undertaking an extremely strenuous hike.”
I turned to my boyfriend. “Let’s do it.” We were fresh off a grand tour of western national parks (We’d seen waterfalls in Yosemite! Bears in Glacier! Geysers in Yellowstone!) and I was feeling cocky and capable. I expected him to object.
“Yeah,” he said casually, as if we were Eagle Scouts, and not just two inexperience campers who’d been subsisting on only Clif Bars for the duration of their journey.
So with a small water bottle and heavy camera in my backpack and $30 hiking boots on my feet, we disembarked the bus and began the trail. Angel’s Landing began with the series of switchbacks. The incline is steep, and there is no shade from the blazing Utah sun.
I have weak lungs. When I was on my middle school’s track team, I could barely make it through a practice. My mom told me I had stress-induced asthma. I don’t know if that’s a real thing or not, but it makes me feel better about how hard it can be for me to climb even the simplest hill. By a mile into our journey, my lungs were in serious revolt.
“How far… “ I panted and my boyfriend shrugged. I hadn’t read the plaque at the beginning of the trail, I was feeling so confident in my skills. If this is extremely strenuous, I thought. It could be ten miles long! I started to panic. I had never turned back on a trail, not once in our three-week trip. I didn’t want to start now.
About a mile later the switchbacks were over. We began a reasonable ascent past rock walls with slightly more shade. I gulped my water and wiped away the sweat pouring down my face. Tired but happy hikers passed us on their way down. I managed to pass a group of women in flip-flops hiking alongside me. My lungs were inhaling and exhaling properly. I felt pretty good about everything.
When we reached the summit, we saw that the last half-mile was not so strenuous at all. At least, if you’re not afraid of heights.
“Let’s stop,” Brian said, sitting down on a large boulder.
“What? Why?” I asked. “We’ve already done the hard part.”
That’s when I knew I wasn’t afraid of heights. The end of the Angel’s Landing hike extends over a narrow ridge with steep drop offs from a high elevation on both sides. Adventurous hikers have to climb up and over smooth rocks, with just a period chain rope to hold onto as an anchor. I walked to the edge of the canyon and looked down. On the floor below I could see two buses pass each other like ants.
“I’m going.” We sat together, eating the lunch we packed, and then – before I could psych myself out – I started off to finish the trail by myself. As I climbed up and over, feeling stronger and braver with each step, I had to remind myself to slow down. Just because I wasn’t afraid of heights didn’t mean I was immune to falling. I practically clamored over the last few rocks I was so excited to see the view from the top. I grasped onto the chains for added balance, but not for dear life.
I’d like to say the view was the best thing about the hike, but it wasn’t. While remarkable, the real feat, my proudest achievement, was something that couldn’t be measured in a photograph. I beat my lungs. I beat those girls wearing flip-flops who had to turn back before the half-mile journey on the rock outcropping. I beat my tough boyfriend. But really, I beat my past self, the girl who couldn’t finish track practice and always came in last. I did the Angel’s Landing hike, and those memories of accomplishment are forever.
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