Chain bound

This morning our legs needed some much need rest so we kicked back and read a book until noon. It felt good to veg the morning away since the last few days we have been on the move and spending quite a bit of energy while we explored. We would need the rest because today the trail we planned on walking was going to take us 1,500 vertical feet.
After a good energy filled lunch, burgers and fries, we felt that we had enough “energy” to tackle any mountain.
Arriving at the trail head we looked up at the looming impressive cliff that we were going to conquer. At the peak was the destination called “Angels Landing”. Couldn’t this angel have flown a little lower so that we wouldn’t have to climb so high?

The trail started pretty innocently. Relatively flat with some slight inclines. As we got further up the trail it started to slowly increase in angle until we hit a section of the mountain that was straight up. The only way up was to traverse switchbacks that just seemed to snake up the side of this cliff forever.
We finally hit the first landing or gash in the mountain named “Refrigerator alley”. Even though we started our trek in the mid afternoon to get away from the smothering heat it felt good to get into this cut in the mountain. It almost seemed as though someone had an AC running somewhere. The coolness and nice ambiance was short lived. Soon we hit another set of switchbacks that made you feel as though you were on a Stairmaster at the local gym set to suicide.

Finally we hit the second landing and it felt so good to have accomplished this trail. We sat down and enjoyed the view while sucking down water. Only then did we realize that some people were coming down this other section that we thought was a dead end. Reta set off to explore while I quietly talked to my legs to encourage them and poke at them to see if I could still feel anything. Reta returned with excitement in her voice to report that we weren’t at the top yet. There was still another section to go! Oh joy…

This section was one that tested your courage and balance for it was literally walking the crest of the mountain. They had some chains anchored along the way to hold onto but other than that you had 800 feet on your right and 1500 feet on your left. As we twisted up the rock face holding on for dear life and clutching the chains with a death grip we ascended to the peak and finally reached Angels Landing. You might be wondering, “Was it worth it?” Hopefully the pictures will speak volumes because to find the words to explain the view would be useless. The thrill of being up so high and the views all around you have definitely been one of the highlights of our journey so far.
After the excitement started to wear off we realized that we had to descend but at this point gravity is on our side.

Our legs will definitely be feeling it tomorrow but we have a story and pictures to soothe the pain.
Our day today, Thursday, will be spent driving to our next destination. We have already decided that Friday will be a day of relaxing by the pool to re-energize these tired old legs.