The precipitous Angels Landing Trail that climbs up a narrow ridge in Zion Canyon will be closed from noon Thursday until Friday morning so crews can clean up trash and graffiti/NPS
An accumulation of human trash and graffiti necessitates the closing of the Angels Landing Trail in Zion National Park in Utah on Thursday so crews can clean it up.
Cairns set up along the chained section of the trail, promotional stickers stuck to poles holding the chains, and trash -- water bottles, food wrappers, and other stuff that should have been carried out by those who carried it in -- will be taken care of beginning at noon Thursday. As a result, the Angels Landing Trail will be closed beginning at noon on Thursday at the West Rim Trailhead near the Grotto shuttle stop and won't reopen until Friday morning.
Through hikers on the West Rim Trail will be allowed to pass by Scouts Lookout, but not go out to Angels Landing. The Kayenta Trail will remain open. Hikers already on the trail will have time to exit before the closure. Alternate suggested trail hikes during this closure are to Hidden Canyon or Echo Canyon.
Due to the nature of the trail, its narrow working area and 1,000-foot drop offs, this task requires a multi-divisional team from the park, including rappelling operations from the cliffs, a park release said. Crews also will provide security for visitors from possible falling debris while cleaning is performed.
Stickers glued to poles that hold the chains leading to the top of Angels Landing will have to be scraped clean by park staff/NPS
Angels Landing is an incredibly popular and busy trail for park goers.
“It is our hope that hikers understand and work to improve their trail ethics in order to minimize closures like this – pack out your trash, don’t create graffiti and don’t build rock cairns,” said Therese Picard, Canyon District Ranger.
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Comments
Disgusting. My wife and I hiked the trail last Wednesday and we were shocked by the sheer volume of people on the trail in the early morning. We only made it about half way up the chains section past scouts lookout before heading back due to safety concerns. People were passing others on dangerous sections and on the way back, very few people would wait for us to pass before heading up. I used to love hiking this trail in late fall but those days are over now. I foresee a permit system similar to half dome being implemented in the near future.
Smh... bunch of kooks.
So because of some absolute slobs, NPS personnel must risk their lives to clean up after them. Even though climbing is reasonably safe if you know what you're doing, there is still considerable risk on sandstone in a place like this.
I hope they will be getting hazard pay.
This is terrible. I used to think people who go to national park are those who love and protect nature. I am wrong. Guess I will still see lots of things next week when I hike.
I am going to pick up trash I see on my way.
The park should only be visited by people that are accompanied by a guide.
You haven't seen a National Park Service budget lately, I'll bet.
Very few people have:
http://www.schundler.net/Monocracy.pdf
http://www.schundler.net/FOIAfailing.pdf
The American public, particularly those who love the NPS and the parks, should be ashamed of how little money is budgeted to the NPS by a Congress AND an executive branch that simply don't care about prioritizing funding for our failing parks. No money, no staff, lots of abuse by uncaring visitors.