Zion National Park, Utah

 

Zion National Park, Utah [wallpaper-s.org]

The greatest hikes aren't only beautiful; they're an adventure. In southern Utah, Zion's Angels Landing hike is definitely both. It ascends a dramatic red sandstone formation that rises 1,488 feet from the middle of Zion Canyon, and hikers have no clue how they'll get to the top until they do it. It begins innocently enough, skirting the Virgin River from a trailhead near the Grotto picnic area and slowly climbing through slopes dotted with pi?on and juniper trees. Portions of it are paved. But soon enough, the real action begins in the form of Walter's Wiggles—21 crazy-steep, supertight, zigzagging switchbacks, like a spiral staircase carved right into the huge block of sandstone. The final leg is as steep as a trail can be, and the drop-offs are sheer, so hikers just might want to grab the handhold chains bolted into the cliff. That's the way to the top, to Scout Lookout. The view of the river and the Zion Canyon floor below looks like an aerial photograph, only there's no airplane.