Protectors of the Valley

After we hiked to the Emerald Pools in Zion National Park, we decided to use the limited time we had left on Scout’s Lookout leading to Angel’s Landing in hopes that we would get the perfect sunset. For those who don’t know, this combination of trails is very strenuous and takes a lot of mental and physical strength. After talking it through as a group, we decided to go for it. With tons of excitement and anticipation, we started to hike on. Quickly, the trail got steep and the switchbacks started to burn our calves. Unfortunately, two of the five of us decided that they were not going to make it especially after a full day of hiking and about 60% more to go on the hike with no easier terrain in sight. After a quick discussion, we decided that the remaining three would go on to the summit. I’ll note that, as a former trip leader, I hated leaving two of our party behind, but the two that stayed back were very close to one of the main buildings in the park. So the three of us climbed on, and counted switchback after switchback. This strenuous hike allowed for a lot of pauses and breaks, which was great for photography but bad for our timeline of getting to the top for sunset. With close to an hour until sunset, we stopped to take in the view and evaluate our progress. That gave me enough time to appreciate the beautiful light and the way it was just peeking over to hit the left canyon walls. I had only one problem: it was too wide of a scene for my telephoto lens. I proceeded to take a handheld panoramic image of this massive scene. I could obviously not see the completed image at the time, but I knew that with the atmosphere and the light, it was surely a keeper. I clipped in my camera and continued up another 45 minutes to the summit where I got to spend the most magical moment with two of my bestest friends with the greatest scene possible.