Twenty two years ago when the Mulvenon clan went on the first "family vacation", the tradition of hiking was born.

Now the majority of the family are hiking enthusiasts. Give us a map, a half of a peanut butter sandwich, plenty of water, and we are good to go. This year was no different.

Six of our group decided we had to do Angels Landing, a strenuous, 5 mile hike, with a 1500 feet elevation gain.



This trail is not for the faint of heart, or anyone who has a fear of heights.





Once you pass Scouts Landing, you notice the chains, which are to help you haul yourself up and to hold on to while you climb. I, for one, made good use of them.







The view from the summit is pretty spectacular. In truth though, this was a hike I wanted to do as much for the sights, as the challenge. I thought I could make it, but there was a part of me that wasn't sure. I wanted to test myself and luckily so did some of the "kids".

All along the way there were points where we passed people coming down as we were going up and vice versa. This required a bit of maneuvering. We encountered some of the nicest people ever. Lending a hand, offering an encouraging word, it was seriously good stuff. One woman from Germany in particular had the strongest grip and made sure I knew that she "had" me.

This hike is right up there with the Beehive trail (Acadia National Park) in terms of being memorable. Except this one was much longer and that was 16 years ago.

For the record, Walters Wiggles are unique and exhausting. As hard on the knees on the way down as they were on the lungs on the way up. If you go to Zion, and do this hike, I strongly recommend you visit the Zion Canyon Brewing company in Springdale when you complete your odyssey. I found the Bohemian Pilsner especially restorative after the 4 and 1/2 hour trek... that I would do again in a heartbeat.