Angel's Landing & Grafton ghost town

Hello everyone,

A warning in advance - LOTS of photos today! Today was one of those amazing days you’ll look back on fondly forever. I captured it as best I could.

We had breakfast at the hotel at 7am and then set off back towards Zion National Park. The convoy of cars heading in already was insane, and when we arrived we got a free carpark but the lot was filling up already. We saw nearby spaces advertised as being $40 for the day and we reflected how lucky we were yesterday to find our “cheap” $12 space so late in the day.

Once in the park we bought a subway roll to carry with us for lunch and then queued for the shuttle (a much shorter queue earlier in the day today!). We alighted at stop six and started our hike up to Scout’s Lookout and Angel’s Landing. Angel’s Landing is a very popular, dangerous and strenuous hike - the most infamous in the park. It’s been open for over 100 years but in recent years had become so popular that the National Park Service had to implement a lottery/permit system to regulate crowd numbers. Since 2004 approximately 20 people had fallen to their deaths on the walk as it was becoming far too crowded. The new system was implemented about a year ago and we were fortunate enough to get a permit. I heard plenty of people throughout the day saying they were unsuccessful, so we were very grateful albeit a little nervous to have a permit and be able to go up.

It started off quite chilly this morning in the shade, and we made our way up towards Scout’s Lookout via some windy paths and eventually a very windy section called ‘Walter’s Wiggles’. We made it to the lookout after about 45 minutes and had a look around. There were some drop toilets which we didn’t expect and lots of cheeky squirrels and chipmunks trying to find crumbs from peoples’ lunch. We ate our lunch and waited for our 12 noon permit start time. Right before we went to show the ranger, two men pretended not to see the two rangers and tried to walk right past. You could tell instantly they didn’t have a permit. They tried to say they did, and - surprise, surprise! - the ranger couldn’t locate their names on her list. One of them then still walked past the rangers and started to ascend the first section. She warned him he would face a significant fine when he returned. Us and all the other people gathered around booed him, it was hilarious!

We showed the park rangers our permit and passports and started our climb. Hilariously, five minutes in the man passed us on his way back. He couldn’t even cheat properly - what a loser!!

The hike was great. It definitely wasn’t as hard and strenuous as the information online and at the park made out. However, some sections were terrifying as the path narrowed to about 1m wide and you had sheer drops on either side of you. We were so high up we could see condors circling nearby. It was certainly thrilling. We started off using lots of chains to traverse a rock wall, then got to the narrow part where you could see the ridge we would ascend. The ridge was pretty difficult and people like myself with short little legs needed to pull themselves up quite a bit. The desert trees on the way were interesting, winding their roots around the rocks to dig into whatever soil they could to survive.

After about another 30-45 minutes we reached the top, where we enjoyed stunning views (the best hiking views I’ve ever had in my life I would say!) and ate our sweet treat rewards we had carried up. We stayed up there for an hour taking photos and just taking it in.

Then we headed back. The way down was pretty hard on your knees and hips but I found holding the chains and going backwards helped. The first section to the lookout was quite sun bathed and hot on our way down and we were back at the bus stop at about 3.30pm feeling very proud of ourselves. I wouldn’t say it was the hardest hike I’ve ever done, I think Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia definitely takes the cake for that as we ascended in the pitch dark in the rain using chains to pull us up and I had altitude sickness. However, today was the first difficult hike I have done since hurting my hip in August 2020. Some days tying my shoelaces or lying in bed is agony due to the torn cartilage in my hip, let alone propelling myself up a narrow ridge to a cliff face. I’m going to sound braggy for a second but I think it’s warranted - I am really damn proud of myself today. And proud of Rob, too! And the best part was after a bit of a stretch at the end my hip actually felt quite good. Hopefully it keeps up as prior to us leaving and even in the last few days I had had a fair bit of pain on both sides. I didn’t even take any painkillers or use the Deep Heat I carried up!

We caught the shuttle back and enjoyed a beer in the sun at the same pub we went to yesterday, where we chatted to a retired couple from Ohio who had a beautiful golden retriever I was patting called Olivia. As most Americans are, they were astounded when we told them we were away for eight weeks.

On our way back to our hotel, we stopped at a ghost town called Grafton which I had found online by chance. It was about ten minutes off the main road. There are many ghost towns in the old “Wild West”, abandoned towns that were once home to inhabitants from the mid 1800s to mid 1900s. Many fell into abandonment and disrepair due to nearby mines closing or diseases ripping through. It felt like we were in an old western when we pulled up and looked at the old school hall/church and three houses. They’ve been partially restored in 2000 and you could even walk inside some of the houses!

In 1847, Brigham Young and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) arrived in
Utah after fleeing religious persecution elsewhere in the US. They settled near what is now Salt Lake City and then sent volunteers on colonising missions throughout the west to secure territory and resources. A group of them ended up in Grafton in 1859, utilising the nearby Virgin River to grow cotton. However, the town was flattened by a flood in 1862 and the residents rebuilt. At its height 168 people lived in Grafton, and it was interesting seeing the kinds of houses they lived in. It sounded like a very hard life with no modern day luxuries, and many dangers present including natural hazards and hostility with the native Americans in the area.

Once a canal to the bigger nearby town of Hurricane was built, the town dwindled as many people moved there for safety in numbers and a better life. The last resident left Grafton in 1945. Our final stop in the town was the town cemetery, where we could read graves dating as far back as 1871. It was interesting reading about the fates of the residents - various diseases, attacks by native Americans and even being dragged by a horse were causes of death.

We ended the day having dinner at a coffee house called River Rock Roasting House in La Verkin. It was very popular and with good reason - stunning sunny views on their deck and cheap delicious food.

What a fabulous day - I hope you enjoy the photos! We are off to Bryce Canyon National Park tomorrow, also in Utah.

Love to all
Claire
Xoxox