national park

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Angel's landing - aka adventures of a middle aged man

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The previous post in this series is here..

On our second day at Zion National park, we left our cabin at 6:30 when it was still dark, drove 10 minutes to the visitor center and boarded the Zion shuttle to the Grotto. The entire bus was going there or past that to narrows, so it was a 20 min ride. We were on the third bus. So a large crowd had already started up ahead of us.

Our permit to go from Scouts landing to Angels landing was 8:30-9:00 AM. So we walked as fast as we could to get to that point. Then it was pretty steep and a risky climb holding on to the chains.

We did make it to Angel’s landing and enjoyed the view. More than that it was a sense of accomplishment.

This is the best photo of me going to the highest point on the landing site. The top is around 2 feet by 2 feet. Wanted to stand on top. A few people did. I wasn’t afraid but there was a lot of screaming from the ladies and had to be happy with one foot on top.

Then we made our way back to Scout’s landing. By the time we almost made it back there was a huge crowd of folks going up. We were all down within 10 minutes of each other.

Ate a packed lunch.. tamarind rice tastes really good after a long hike like that as do idli’s with milagai podi. Our return from Scout’s landing to the shuttle stop was fast.

We decided to go get something to eat at Zion lodge after the hike, and get something to drink, use the restrooms and decide what to do next.. We had made it back to Zion lodge by Noon!

Angel’s landing has been a dream come true after so many years for me. Most of the photos are of me and Sangeetha. She does not like me to post more than two pics of her in any post but this one has to be an exception. Also I took the COVID and Flu shots yesterday and my hands and shoulders are sore.. so compressing all photos to two galleries.

A landscape one ..

and a portait one

A video highlight reel of our hiking (and at places climbing)..

This place is amazing. Needs some planning to do the hike. You are better off if in good shape and can hike steep rocks. Also not having a fear of heights helps. Definitely having hiking shoes, (poles for whose who need it till Scout’s landing) etc. help.

A totally amazing experience that will stay with us for a long time. We have been asked over and over again if this is harder than Half Dome. Nope. Half Dome last part on the chain is way harder than this.. but this one is riskier especially with a relatively undisciplined crowd. Still, a fantastic experience.

Angel’s landing - Check!

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Waterfall heaven - Plitvice National Park in Croatia

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The previous post in this series is here..

We had a full day plan to visit Plitvice National Park. This has been on the bucket list for a long time. So when San asked me what to visit in Eastern Europe, this was the first thing on the list. 

We met our guide at a pick up point at one of the gates in old town Zadar. She was a student learning English and History and could speak multiple local languages. She walked the group of 50 or so people to an empty parking lot near a busy street and we waited for buses to pick us up. There was a group going to another set of falls called Krka.. they were very particular about sorting the right folks into the right buses as it took some time. 

Plitvice is a 2 1/2 hour drive from Zadar. Zadar is the main city in the south and Zagreb is to the North and this park is in the middle. So we drove along a scenic route from Zadar towards Zageb.

We had a rest stop in between for some tea/coffee and restrooms (and for smokers!)

Once at the park, we had a guide who explained to us that the park is navigable by ourself as long as we followed the rules. Most important of which was not to drop anything even accidentally from our pocket like plastic , paper etc. This lake had 800 employees full time whose job was to make sure no litter of any kind got to the lakes. The ecology was delicate.

The waters crystal clear at depths of 50 feet! Hundreds of specific flora and fauna unique to this park. You had to watch your step everywhere. For a country where 1/4 people was lighting up a cigarette perpetually, inside the park, there is no smoking! So we thanked our stars for some temporary fresh air. 

It was a 10 mile hike around the park with a boat tour to get across a lake at one point, and a bus/train ride at another point. 

There are lakes in layers that come down from each level to the next in the form of a few hundred waterfalls.. we zig zag our way up and then come down partly and then by bus.

There are signs everywhere that show how many falls and the depth profile of the water..

You can see the fishes so clearly. The water is really deep. if you focus your eyes on the still water surface for a few seconds, it almost appears as though the fish are flying in air! 

San was very happy that I suggested this place. She enjoyed it as much as I did. 

We started walking at 10 and made it out at 2. We had to wait at the restaurant for the entire group to come before boarding the bus. Everyone was smoking there as soon as they came out of the park! No non-smoking area. We simply couldn't eat or hang out there. The irony of having such a beautiful place and fresh air only to see the people addicted to smoke come running out for cigarettes was sad to watch!

There were a lot of photos from that day.. it took me forever to select a few to show the beauty of the place and the happiness in our faces.. so, here are four slide show galleries.. 

*** There is a bug in Squarespace that is not allowing me to display galleries*** 

will update this post with the galleries once it is fixed. 

finally a video highlights reel.. yet another place where photos and videos will never do justice to the experience .. 

By 5 PM we were back in Zadar at the same point where we started. We decided to walk back to our hotel along the high wall get a quick shower and go see the rest of the sights in old town Zadar. 

The sun was still up.. we were up for an amazing evening!

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Closing out a trip in style

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The previous post in the series is here..

We slept early after the long gruelling hike. Woke up in the morning and after having Chai in our room we were all ready to go to the Vista point on our way back to Phoenix. 

All nine of us had matching T-shirts to wear. It was great to spend almost an hour taking photos at the vista point.

We were delayed by an extra 30 minutes with the "photoshoot" and raced towards Phoenix.

There was a 30 mintue stop for lunch in Flagstaff at a nice Indian place. It was really good food, great ambience, quick service! If we ever visit Flagstaff, will definitely go back to this place!

We made it 20 minutes before boarding time to the gate! 

It took me two days to be able to walk normally again and be able to sit down and stand up. Was mostly standing and walking all of Monday and Tuesday. Did yoga last two days and finally able to do squats again.

All said and done, it was a memorable trip. Will I go back to the south rim again. Definitely not. 

This was one of the most challenging hikes we have done to date. Enjoyed the trip and most of the hiking except for the last three miles!

Glad it is done!

Copyright © 2012, Sundar Narayanan. All rights reserved.