Personal Statement - Neil J.

Angel’s Landing is one of the craziest hikes in America, it’s famous and infamous for its chains, it is rocky, unpaved terrain more than 1,000 feet up with steep drop-offs to both sides. There have been 10 deaths since 2004 because of Angel’s Landing and I climbed it, when I was 12.

When you see a picture of the chains at Angel’s Landing at Zion National Park, you think, wow, that’s pretty cool I wanna do that.

When you actually get to the end of the trail and the start of Angel’s Landing you’re thinking, MY CALVES!! I literally just walked up 30 degree ramps for the last 2 hours. So I was ready to go back to the motel and have lunch. But, that’s not what happened. We started going up Angel’s Landing pulling on the chains, two feet to my right was a steep drop off. I was frightened. A third of the way up my mom said no and headed back. You have to understand that Angel’s Landing only has one set of chains so when people are coming back YOU have to let go of the chains, and just stand there a few feet away from your doom. During the hike I actually saw someone slip and almost die! That did not make a good impression on me, but I carried through. Mostly because I had my dad with me and I trusted that he would keep me safe. When I have someone I trust next to me I’m able to step out of my comfort zone and believe that I will make it through.