Angels Landing

 The Plan

We had our eyes on “Angels Landing” hike ever since we tackled Pikes Peak back in August 2023. Fast forward to this year — some of the more overenthusiastic hikers in our group started throwing their names into the lottery for Angels Landing.

For those who don’t know, you can only hike Angels Landing by winning a permit through a lottery, unless you’re brave enough to attempt it in the snow.

Five of our fellow hikers entered, and four of the elite ones got lucky. As fate would have it, we managed to land two lottery permits for the same day, at the same time — April 5th, before 9 AM .

Arrival

Once the date was set, our group grew to 10 hikers, with a couple of friends from Utah joining us for this brave (some might say mad) adventure.

As the day approached, we mapped out a detailed 6-day trip covering Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, and Bryce Canyon National Parks.

We arrived in Washington, Utah on the evening of April 4th. A few of our fellow hikers wasted no time and headed straight to The Narrows in Zion— a unique hike through the river itself. It was a tough trek, covering 5 miles upstream against the current and another 5 miles back.

The D-Day

All of us were buzzing with excitement for Angels Landing the next morning. On the big day, we woke up at 5:00 AM, starting our morning with a simple but energizing breakfast — nuts soaked in milk overnight and freshly cut fruits.

We left the house by 6:15 AM and reached Zion National Park around 7:15 AM. From there, we hopped on the park shuttle and headed to Stop 6. At 8:15 AM, the real adventure began as we set out on the trail.

The views? Absolutely breathtaking.
This was my first-ever visit to Utah. I had been to the Grand Canyon about 20 years ago, but this was something else entirely. No phone camera could truly capture the scale and majesty of these landscapes — you had to be there to feel it.

We paused often to soak it in, taking plenty of photos along the West Rim Trail as we made our way to Scout Lookout.

The famed Angels Landing chain section —  Begins at about the 2-mile mark of the *West Rim Trail,* after a challenging 1,000-foot elevation gain . 

The trail was steep, with countless switchbacks, including the famous Walter’s Wiggles — a tight, winding set of 21 switchbacks offering stunning views at every turn.

Since our lottery entry time was before 9:00 AM, we hustled to reach Scout Lookout in time. But by the time we arrived, it was already 9:15 AM. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you see it), the rangers at the checkpoint let us through.

Sada and Deepa had the entry permits. After a quick ID check, we were cleared to start our climb at 9:25 AM.

As usual, Ganesh and Deepa led the way in capturing memories, snapping videos and photos at every chance.

Angels Landing — The Start

The chain section started right away. The first 10 steps were intense — one side was a  canyon drop, and the other side a  rock wall. It was scary at first, and I immediately got a sense of what the next 0.5 miles were going to feel like.

 

After just 5 steps, Chitra wisely decided to turn back. I looked at the others — either they weren’t scared at all or were just pros at hiding their fear, because everyone was laughing, teasing, and having a great time. I kept my mouth shut and took a good look at the trail ahead. That’s when I realized — this wasn’t just a flat chain-assisted section. There were both uphills and downhills.

To make it worse, I noticed some sections had no chains at all — just narrow ledges about 4 feet wide with deep drops on both sides. That’s when the real meaning of "கரணம் தப்பினால்…" hit me.

We slowly moved forward, passing a few couples heading back who said they were cutting their adventure short. That made me nervous. But when I saw Raju Anna, with no sign of quitting on his face, I thought — _Okay, what the heck. Let’s go for it._

A friend of ours who did Angels Landing last year gave us one golden rule: " Just look up, hold the chain, and keep moving. " So that’s exactly what I did.

In front of me was Venkat Anna, then Sneha, and then me. Right behind me was Raju Anna. I didn’t even bother checking who was behind him.

The first chain section lasted about 50 steps, after which we found a small resting spot. There were lots of hikers moving both ways, and we had to wait 2–3 minutes at every junction to let people pass.

Now came the next uphill — about 200 steps. I looked around at everyone and felt the same nervous energy. Should I continue? But since we’d already crossed 20% of the trail, I decided to push ahead. The confidence from my fellow hikers — casually taking pictures, posing for social media (I need to check Ganesh’s Instagram later) — rubbed off on me.

We started the second uphill section, and this time I avoided looking down or getting distracted. I focused on how Venkat Anna moved and followed Sneha’s careful steps.

Thankfully, we all had our gym gloves, which turned out to be very helpful   — they not only protected us from the cold but also kept our hands safe from rough chains and sharp rocks.

The uphill stretch was no joke. With people constantly coming down, we had to wait at narrow points and, at times, literally squeeze past other hikers. Raju Anna even joked about hugging someone while crossing!

One thing I noticed — most of the returning hikers looked serious, with no hint of excitement on their faces. Maybe it was just my own fear clouding my perception, or as they say in Tamil, "அரண்டவனுக்கு…"

After the second uphill, the third chain section came into view — even steeper, with a gradient that made it feel like you were climbing into the sky.

Step by step, inch by inch, we inched closer to the summit. Along the way, we found a couple of wider spots where we could pause for 5 minutes without worrying about the height or narrowness of the trail. We snapped some lovely pictures, though, honestly, no photo or video could capture the sheer depth of the valley or the vastness of the landscape. You just had to be there.

Summit

Finally, after that last uphill climb, we made it to the summit . The space at the top wasn’t all that big — barely enough for about 30 people. There were a few groups already there, including a bunch of Asians changing outfits for photo ops.

Venkat Anna, of course, couldn’t resist climbing a single rock to strike a dramatic pose. Me? I wasn’t about to try anything fancy. I found a rock nearby and just sat down to soak it all in and catch my breath.

We all took our photos, laughed, teased each other, and just enjoyed the view. And what a view it was — spectacular, marvelous, breathtaking, and still very, very scary.

we suddenly heard a familiar hissing sound — like a gas stove. We turned around, and to our surprise, there was a group of hikers making tea right there on the summit!

Curious, Sada walked over and asked them what was going on. One of them smiled and said,"It’s a Russian tradition — to make tea at the top after an achievement."

We couldn’t help but admire that. Though, I’ll be honest — part of us wondered if it was really tea… or maybe a little vodka to celebrate properly. Who knows? It’s Zion, after all — what happens at Angels Landing stays at Angels Landing

Honestly though, you could get a similar view by continuing a little further on the West Rim Trail without having to brave the chain section. And yes, we did that too.

Return Adventure

Now came the hardest part — the descent back to base. Honestly, climbing up was tough, but climbing down? That’s a whole different kind of mental game.

My plan was simple: don’t look down at the canyon floor. Just focus on the steps, the chains, and the next solid spot to plant my foot. Every step, I made sure to place my full weight, get a solid grip, and then move the other foot. Slipping wasn’t an option.

After about 30 minutes, we started making our way down. This time, no photos from me — not that I’d taken many on the way up either. Besides, my phone battery was down to 20%. A perfect excuse.

Leading the way was Venkat Anna, followed by Sneha, then me, with Raju Anna bringing up the rear. The entire way down, Raju Anna kept saying, “Be careful Sneha… careful Sneha…”
At one point, Sneha snapped back, “ Appa please keep quiet! Your warnings are stressing me out more than the trail! ”
After that, Raju Anna wisely stayed quiet.

Meanwhile, Venkat Anna was descending like a pro, moving way faster than the rest of us. What we didn’t realize was that he had reached the base and was already worrying about Chitra ( Our guess) , who had turned back earlier. He wanted to find her as soon as possible, so he raced down without stopping.

The rest of us kept inching down carefully. By the time we reached the last chain section, we found a small resting spot and finally took a few pictures. At this point, I was a little more relaxed.

I still had to cross the final section — the same spot where Chitra had turned back. Surprisingly, it felt much easier this time. Maybe because everything else before it had been so terrifying that by comparison, this section felt manageable. Plus, one side was shielded by rock, and the drop on the other side wasn’t as bad.

And with that, we made it. Angels Landing conquered.

The Story of Walter’s Wiggle View

After finishing Angels Landing, some of us were ready to head back. But a few of us still wanted to check out the famous “ Walter’s Wiggles” from above and maybe grab a few good pictures. We asked a park ranger at Scout Lookout, and he gave us a rough idea:
"Continue on the West Rim Trail, reach the top, descend for about 10 minutes, and keep looking back. You might find a small path off the trail — no signs, though. Just avoid stepping on plants and stay on the rocks."

So of course, our team of treasure hunters was instantly up for it. And yes, you all already know exactly who was most excited about the pictures — I’m not even going to say names anymore. 😄

We kept hiking up the West Rim Trail, and along the way, discovered some beautiful spots with views just as spectacular as Angels Landing itself. Naturally, everyone got busy clicking pictures.

Then came the fun part: finding the elusive Walter’s Wiggles viewpoint . As expected, there were no clear signs. A few of us reached what we thought was the spot, snapped some pics, but I wasn’t convinced — it didn’t have that perfect, clear view of the wiggles.

I kept climbing, and a few minutes later, I spotted Ganesh, Sada, and Venkat Anna on the other side of a ridge. So, naturally, I ran over to join them. We searched around, hoping for a better vantage point, but no luck.

Then, Ganesh and I spotted a small ledge, with a bit of running water and a slippery rock section. It looked risky to cross, so we decided to hold off. Meanwhile, the rest of the group was yelling at us to stop wandering off and come back to the main trail.

On our way back, though, we stumbled upon another spot — this one with a much better view of Walter’s Wiggles. Finally! We took a bunch of pictures, and our team was back to being happy.

Return to Bus Stop 6

Up to this point, we had only covered about 3 miles uphill, and by the time we were done, it was around 1:30 PM. So yep — 3 miles from 7:45 AM. Now came the long descent, and this is when we finally realized just how steep that trail was. Some sections felt like an 80% gradient, and it was brutal on the knees.

As expected, our group split up during the descent. Myself,  Deepa, Raju Anna, and Menaka ended up being the last ones to make it to Bus Stop 6. We couldn’t spot the other five hikers anywhere — figured they must’ve already left to dig into their long-awaited puli soru. That thought made us both furious and hungrier.

We finally boarded the shuttle around 3:45 PM, and let me tell you — that 30-minute ride to the visitor center felt like very long. We were all exhausted, starving, and regretting not stretching before hopping on the bus. Lesson learned.

Aftermath — Missed Connections

When we finally reached the visitor center, there was no sign of the other hikers. About 10 minutes later, we got a call from them — asking us where we were and why we were late. *Oh, smart move!*

Then came the twist. Turns out, they had hopped on a shuttle at Stop 6, but instead of heading back to the visitor center, they went all the way to Stop 9. Why? No one knows. Either they were too tired to check the direction, too excited from the hike, or maybe secretly planning to do The Narrows again. Honestly, it’s still a mystery.And as we all agreed — what happens in Zion stays in Zion. To this day, nobody’s owned up to who made that call to take the shuttle to Bus stop 9 instead of returning back to the parking lot :). 

Finally reunited, we sat down for our much-awaited puli saadham with curd. Classic moment — Raju Anna wasn’t happy because there were no peanuts in the puli saadham. Oh boy,.

And right when we were halfway through our meal, Deepa looked up and asked with her signature mischievous grin —
“Okay okay… but seriously, WHY did you guys miss the bus?”

We all burst out laughing because, honestly, even we weren’t sure anymore. 

Bellies full, legs stretched, and spirits high, we packed up and hit the road for our next adventure.

Conclusion

And that, my friends, is the story of our Angels Landing adventure.

If you ask me whether I’d recommend this hike — absolutely not. It’s terrifying. One small misstep could turn into a nightmare you’ll never forget. Honestly, they should rename it from Angels Landing to Heart Attack Point.

That night, I couldn’t even sleep properly. And just when I tried to calm down, Raju Anna suddenly woke up too, with a jerk, claiming he had a nightmare of someone falling from the top.

Till then, I hadn’t even thought about it — and now, I couldn’t close my eyes without getting the same feeling. Blame it on the hike, or maybe those horror stories we kept exchanging. Either way — that night, sleep was in short supply.

But hey — we made it, and we’ve got a story to tell for the rest of our lives.

Thanks for reading this madness… until the next crazy adventure!