Hiking Zion's West Rim is a lofty experience
The West Rim Trail in Zion National Park doesn't actually end at Angels Landing — it continues onward for another 12 miles. There are more heavenly vistas found beyond Angels Landing, though most hikers return after ascending that lofty summit.
It's a 2.5-mile one-way hike to Angels Landing — the last half-mile of which is a side trail off the West Rim path — but hike another couple of miles beyond Angels on the West Rim Trail and you'll find solitude and enjoy backcountry views that few see in Zion.
Ron Terry, spokesman for Zion National Park, said Angels Landing is one of the most popular hikes in the park.
"West Rim is listed as a backcountry trail, and most hikers take two days to complete it," Terry said. "Most hikers do overnight trips from the top down rather than from the canyon up."
However, you need not be a backpacker to enjoy more of the West Rim Trail — you just need to take a longer day trip, past Angels Landing.
Only about a half-mile beyond Scout Lookout, where the Angels side path breaks off, hikers can look for a slickrock area south that leads to an incredible view of Walter's Wiggles — tight switchbacks up a previous portion of the trail.
There's no set trail here — you have to simply head for where you think the view of the "Wiggles" are. Noon to 1 p.m. lighting is the critical element here, if you want to photograph all the switchbacks together.
There's also a small spring in this area that can be watched as it creates a small flow of water over the slickrock.
Nearby, there's also a slice in the rock that allows you to look down at the parking lot at the Temple of Sinawava, several thousand feet below.
Unlike the East Rim Trail — which rises sharply above the Zion floor with numerous switchbacks — the West Rim soon descends several hundred feet into Telephone Canyon. It's here where there's lots of solitude. The trail crosses a footbridge before it begins ascending again.
Terry said the name of the canyon came because for many years there was a telephone line there between the Temple of Sinawava and Lava Point.
(Lava Point mark's the west end of the West Rim Trail, 14 miles distant from the Grotto in Zion Canyon and 3,100 feet higher.)
Evidence of a huge waterfall, active during a storm or runoff, is visible on the walls above the north side of the West Rim Trail in Telephone Canyon. Also seen is a much smaller version of the famous Checkerboard Mesa on a portion of the south side.
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