The Engagement

Tuesday we awoke cold and covered in snow, well at least CJ was. We drove down towards Zion and we had planned to make our first stop at Kolob Canyon which is a northern section of Zion Canyon National Park which we passed along the way to the main valley entrance. We pulled

into the visitor center and they turned us away, saying that this section of the park was closed due to the roads being covered in a 4 inch thick layer of ice that developed over the night. We headed back to the southern section of the park, not too dismayed since we had a full day planned regardless. When we arrived at the park we filled up our water jugs at the visitor center and headed to the Angels Landing Trailhead. Here is a brief, well written summary of the hike. "The Angels Landing Trail is one of the most famous and thrilling hikes in the national park system. Zion's pride and

joy runs along a narrow rock fin with dizzying drop-offs on both sides. The trail culminates at a lofty perch, boasting magnificent views in every direction. Rarely is such an intimidating path so frequented by hikers. One would think that this narrow ridge with deep chasms on each of its flanks would allure only the most intrepid of hikers. Climbers scale its big wall; hikers pull themselves up by chains and sightseers stand in awe at its stunning nobility." This hike was listed as strenuous and though it is short, it lives up to its name. The hike begins along the West Rim Trail

and ascends the canyon wall for 2 miles in a long steady series of

switchbacks. The view of the canyon slowly grows better and better until you finally walk into what is known as Refrigerator Canyon. This is a narrow slot canyon that leads you into the canyon so that you approach Angels Landing from the north, thus avoiding the sheer drop offs of its southern face. After this relaxing, cooling walk in the canyon you hit what is known as Walter's Wiggles. This is a series of 21 sharp, short switchbacks, which carry you to the top of the Plateau. We did our hike in the morning and being the well trained hikers that we are, we didn't have much difficulty with the climb to the top and the cool morning kept us from getting too hot during our ascent. After Walter's Wiggles you get to a point which is formally known as Scouts Lookout but which Katie has dubbed "Hesitation Point". Both as we were venturing out and as we returned we

encountered people at this spot who were rethinking their decision to climb to the top. This isn't without merit. From

this point you look out to the last 1/2 mile of the trail and can see the narrow path which leads you to the summit. On either side of this path are 1500 ft. drop offs and the only support that you have to make this trek with is a chain that has been driven into the sandstone. On our way out at "Hesitation Point" a lady was standing there looking out and exclaimed as we passed her "Isn't anyone else rethinking their decision to climb this?" As I walked by her, I told her "It's best not to think" and then trudged on. We never saw her again on our trip so she must not have made it out onto the actual Landing. The hike out to Angels Landing

really wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be. I am myself

afraid of heights and literally took my own advice of not thinking about the heights and just focused on each step before me. Once we got to the top we were rewarded with the amazing view of Zion Valley for which the hike is famous for. Katie and I sat here for about 10 minutes before we began to get a little cold. The wind at the top was constant but not forceful as I had initially feared it might be. Having enjoyed the view, Katie decided that she was ready to go. I stood up, helped her to her

feet, then dropped to one knee, and proposed to her. To my excitement and joy she said "yes." After this, she was not so ready to leave the summit. We again sat down and relished the moment as well as the view. This is the reason I described the hike in so much detail above. I wanted to paint a true and vivid picture of

the place and events leading up to the moment when I asked Katie to be my wife. You may ask, "was this always my plan?" The answer is no. My original plan was to ask Katie in Yellowstone National Park. There is a hike there in which you summit a mountain, then descend into a river gorge to view a magnificent waterfall. I had taken this hike with some friends of mine when I was in college and it was very hard for me to do. At the top there was a small metal box which contained numerous pieces of paper on which people had written things on about their struggle to the top. One person told of how he asked his wife to marry him there and I always thought that would be an awesome story to tell if I did the same. The downfall in my plan came about when we headed north to Yellowstone and it was already closed for the season. Next, I thought of proposing at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. At the outset of our trip, this was the one hike that Katie wanted to do. She had read a book by one of her favorite authors in which he descends to the bottom and she had always wanted to do it as well. Unfortunately when the time came, Katie realized that her knees weren't up for the challenge and she refused to even attempt the hike to the bottom. Finally I chose Angels Landing for a number of reasons. First off, I liked the name, plain and simple. Second, I like the challenge and the threat of danger which came along with this hike also provided good fodder for stories later on. Lastly, Katie and I had already discussed this hike before we set off on the trip with the Jacketts at my house. Even then we all talked of it with slight fear and reverence and I always knew that it would be a memorable hike. Anyway, after we again had had our fill of the view at

the top we began our decent back to the valley floor. We went to grab some Thai food in town

for lunch in order to refuel before our hike to The Narrows. The Narrows proved a pretty easy hike over all. The ranger had warned us that this was the most difficult hike in the park since along with hiking you had to fight the current of the river. The current wasn't what we had trouble with, it was the temperature. Before the hike we dressed up in our waterproof rain pants that Russ bought for us but we didn't have any good footwear. We just wore our regular hiking shoes into the water and we soon found

out this was a problem; our feet were swiftly going numb. We managed to get

about 3/4 of a mile up the canyon before turning around. We stopped at every dry piece of land and began to shake our legs and jump up and down to get blood flowing back into our feet. We made it back and overall it was probably one of the most fun and unique hikes that we have done on this trip. Back at the car, we hung our wet shoes and socks out the back of the van and drove off into the setting sun heading south toward the Grand Canyon. Our feet finally regained complete feeling about 2 hours after we left the water.