Location: Zion National Park, Utah
Duration: 1 day (drive to Zion, hike, drive back)
Gear: none!
Highlights: First hike, astonishing views, overcoming physical and mental obstacles
Lessons learned: pay attention to the area – you might need to acclimate to the elevation and humidity before starting this hike.
Link: https://www.visitutah.com/places-to-go/most-visited-parks/zion/adventure-guide/angels-landing/]

Self-fulfillment.   After years of racing on the corporate hamster wheel, I found it during one trip to Utah.  What was meant to be a quick trip to visit an old friend turned into an unexpected encounter with the life I had never envisioned for myself but knew in my heart I needed.  I have been chasing after it ever since.  I strive to experience the attributes of this first hike on all of my adventures.  Being alone in the vastness of nature reminds me that I am just that – one small person in something so large I cannot comprehend it.  The stresses of work and life seem unimportant when I look through my world through this lens, and I am grateful to have been granted this perspective.

The Adventure

This trip that I took to Zion was a spur of the moment decision.  At this point in my life, my single-tracked mind was focused on work and I really had no zest for nature or leisure.  You see, I had come to celebrate the birthday of my friend’s daughter and spend quality time with the family.  After a few days with them, they recommended I see more of Utah for myself before the conclusion of my trip.  This was probably a polite way of requesting me to get out of their hair for a day, but I’m thankful they suggested it.  My first adventure started the moment they dropped me off at Avis to rent a car.

The Possession

It was a pretty somber drive from Provo.  Four hours in a straight line on a single road, and I was surrounded by nothing but desert.  The rest areas were few and far in between, and the same goes for the cell phone reception.  It was a fun experience for me, though.  It was my first adventure.  I had never done anything as spontaneous as pick a point on a map hundreds of miles away and drive there with a car I didn’t have.  The excitement was unsettling but in a good way.  I was experiencing an emotion which, until that day, was lying dormant deep within my brain.  Once awoken, it overtook every fiber of my body as if it would never get another chance to be so alive.  This possession jumpstarted my adventurous lifestyle.

Entering Zion

Upon entering Zion National Park, the first thing I noticed was the diversity of the crowd.  I heard many different languages and after speaking to several groups, it was apparent that many, if not most, of the people at the park that day, had come from overseas.  This was pretty amazing to me.  I had never even heard of this place before, and I was visiting from another part of the US just on a whim.  I was astonished to see that many people were coming to visit from all over the world.  This made me realize just how popular Zion National Park was.

The scenery was downright beautiful.  I found myself marveling at the openness of the area as well as intricacies of the rock jungle itself.   Where I come from, we don’t have massive red rocks like this:

The grandiose of everything I saw had me likening the experience to what I’d imagine an experience at Jurassic Park might be.  They even had tour buses, just like Jurassic Park!  Well, not exactly like it.  These were bus/trolleys, not Jeeps, but every other part of the experience was identical to Jurassic Park.  Even the dinosaurs.

I took the tour of the park and hopped off at the stop for Angel’s Landing.  This was one of the sites mentioned by my hosts (the other being The Narrows).  Angel’s Landing is a pretty intense trail, and I knew this going in.  The height at the top inspires quite a bit of fear, even for those not squeamish of heights.  At several points on the trail, it is so narrow you don’t even have enough room to place both feet.  The drop on both sides is obviously deadly.

Many people shy away from attempting the full trail due to this fear.  When you get to the trail there’s a big sign that explains all of this in just a few words.  It tells you only to attempt the trail if you are an experienced hiker or if you are physically fit.  Naturally, I took this as a challenge and was able to start the trail with a surge of adrenaline from my own excitement.  Keep in mind, this was the first trail I had ever hiked on.  I had no gear and even no water, and I was in a t-shirt and cargo pants ill-suited for this type of expedition.  I very quickly noticed that my excitement (and possibly arrogance) had gotten the best of me.  Fatigue had begun to set in, and I was not even halfway through the trail.  And I don’t just mean I was tired and sweating, I mean I was fatigued.  My body felt as if I had been hiking for 10 hours straight and required immediate rest and nourishment.  It turns out that what I was experiencing was none other than the effects of some sort of shock: I had not acclimated my body to the elevation or the humidity.

Note on Acclimation

The high altitude meant that there was less oxygen in my lungs for each breath of air I took, and since I was accustomed to sea-level, where the air is oxygen-rich, this meant that my body and muscles were oxygen-starved and would fatigue rapidly.  The humidity was similarly baffling to me because I was dehydrated even before I worked up a sweat.  It made sense after the fact, but before I started the hike the idea of climate and acclimation had not entered my mind.  At first, I thought it was just fatigue from switchbacks.  They were extremely steep:

Not only that, but there were just so many of them.  The climbing was endless:

It was as if I was walking with anchors on my feet.  So here I was, a big arrogant 20-something who was getting passed by giggling children on the same trail.  Somehow, this didn’t bother me.  I was simply dumbfounded that so many people participated in this activity simply for leisure.  It was new and exciting and I could not help but smile between my gasps for air.  As I trudged on, my excitement grew.  I was covering distance.  I was gaining altitude.  I was conquering.

The Rock Scramble

The end of the trail includes a rock scramble that would give non-climbers a run for their money.  In fact, several people have died attempting this portion of the trail.  It is such a safety hazard that there are chains bolted into the rock so that you can hang on for dear life while navigating your feet through whatever real estate there is to step on.

After plenty of struggling, I made it to the rock scramble.  The sign was appropriately intimidating.  While most of the hike was conducted in single-file-line fashion, this part of the hike was much less dense.  Most folks turned back after reading the sign without even attempting the rock scramble.  I read the sign differently.  I read it and smiled.

And it makes sense.  I never get this kind of excitement in my cubicle, so I welcomed this new type of danger into my life with open arms. I will not lie though, the climb was absolutely terrifying.  The chains made it possible, but they did nothing to quench my fear.

Here, you can see where the chains start.  It is a long trek on a path so narrow that you can’t stand with both feet next to each other.  There are ups and downs, and the chains help through it all – though I must say that even on the way up, I was fearful of the return trip back down.

Encouragement from Strangers

More than once, I thought about turning back.  Every once in a while I would run into groups of strangers who would encourage me to continue.  The level of encouragement and camaraderie was an amazing experience.  I did not believe I could complete the hike but I took the challenge anyway, knowing that I could turn back at any point.  Then, when I’m just about to turn back because I can’t take it anymore, I come across random people who give me the most encouraging remarks you can imagine.  Since I had no gear, one person was even willing to share his water with me.  He was already on his way down and I was still climbing.  I guess he figured he could spare some for little old me!

I knew at this very moment that there was something special about what I was doing.  There is a collective struggle shared amongst everyone who is hiking, and it is really great to be a part of that.  I’m used to the opposite.  In corporate America, there is this notion of dog-eat-dog (I think rat-eat-rat is far more appropriate) and that people will step on your hands if it means climbing up the ladder.  Over here, it was totally different.  People motivated me with small and few words that ended up having a big impact on my life later on.

“You’re almost there and it is SO worth it!”

Even when I was an hour away from finishing, they would yell out, “You’re just about 10 minutes away buddy!”

In that moment, these words were enough to help me reach the top.  The views were jaw-dropping:

My Thoughts at the Top

I made it.  Suddenly, I was poured over with this amazing sense of euphoria because I had done something that I had never done before.  It was physically and mentally exhausting.  Needless to say, it was a humbling experience.  The flame inside of me when I started the hike was on the verge of being extinguished multiple times, but when I made it to the end there was this culmination of struggle, anxiety, pleasure, pain, excitement, and contentment that collided inside of me.  Words do not adequately describe that feeling, and it is that feeling which I have been chasing ever since that day.  I remember smiling the whole way back down.  It was a long journey but I felt as if I had wings and the weight of the world which was compressing my chest for the past eight years of my life had just gone away.  I was now floating on stress rather than drowning underneath it.

Reflecting on my Adventure

After I left Utah for the city, I pondered a lot.  What is the point of being stuck in an office and working so hard when I don’t even enjoy life? The funny thing is, I don’t need to do anything extravagant to enjoy life.  I had the best time ever simply walking and climbing on rocks and enjoying the fresh air!

This brings me to the whole idea that although people might be different, it is how we act upon our preferences that separates us.  We all have different needs and I have come to realize some people prefer civilization, reliable cell phone service, and the comfort of being connected to others, while others see this as superfluous and prefer the independence and freedom that open spaces and nature provide.  Though I can see the value in both, life is about making choices, and those choices ultimately terminate certain life trajectories.  It is painful for me to let go of other possibilities and life versions, but that is the beauty of putting myself out there and discovering what speaks to me.  Although a busy city life once seemed necessary and inevitable for my goals, what has become clear to me is that this is a life I would happily give up after experiencing what else is out there.