Women's Services is sponsoring a free men and women self defense class this Wednesday, 6-8 PM, in the Wilk Ballroom. This will be taught by the BYU Brazilian Jiu Jitsu club and Michael Pease who teaches the martial arts class at BYU. He is also a black belt in Japanese Jiu Jitsu. I encourage everyone to come especially the girls. I just want to emphasize the need of how to defend one's self. I know that Provo is relatively safe; however, it can happen any time, any where, and to anybody. The class will contain verbal, standup, and ground defense. All three are very important to know. Verbal might contain of how to yell for help when being attacked. It's better to yell "fire" instead of just "help". We can avoid lots of situations that will put us in danger like running alone at night. Standup might contain how to escape when a person grabs our wrist and tries to drag us towards where they are going. Always yank free towards the thumb because it's much weaker than five fingers. Ground might contain of how to fall properly when you fall on your back. Whenever you fall, don't put your hands out to catch yourself because you can break a wrist that way. I know it's hard not to do because it's a reflex. In ground defense, we might teach you how to choke someone with your legs. A girl can put a big guy to sleep in five seconds only with her legs!!! I think that's pretty cool. If attacked, fight with everything you have. Normally, a guy is looking for a girl that will NOT put up a fight. They are looking for an easy target. Having pepper spray is good too because it can incapacitate a person to 30 minutes to an hour.
Thanks,
Lizzie: The Sword Wielding Roommate Saving Ninja Master :)
This is what I wrote in Nienie's blog today. Her husband finally let her readers to comment on her blog. There were days that I really wanted to know what was going on when she was in the hospital. I really wanted to comment but couldn't. However, I can always email. That's not a guarantee that she or her husband will write back. I just feel so sorry for her.
"I don't know if you will read this, but Happy Birthday. My heart really goes out to you. I'm sorry that you have so many health issues!!! :( I hope that you can get to a point where you don't have to spend so much time in a hospital. I would hate being there for a month!!! Now, you are back again. I'm sorry. You are going to get yourself again in the next life that's for sure!!! Thanks for your blog. I'm sorry that you have to go through so much. I know that Heavenly Father knows that YOU can handle it. Trust and lean on Him. He will comfort you if you ask Him. Remember to read your scriptures and pray every morning and night. That's what has really gotten through the hard times. Plus, talking to my roommates helps too. You are so beautiful. It doesn't matter what you look like on the outside. It matters who you are on the inside. Again, Happy Birthday. I wish you the best for coming year."
Gerr. I wish I was hiking right now. It's a really nice day outside. However, I need to my homework. I wanted to write in this blog before I got started. I think it's more important for me to keep on top of things for my O-chem lab. I had a horrible yesterday morning. I needed to get help from a TA because I didn't know how to do some problems for my lab write up. Then, I found out that I had to some spectroscopy work for that lab which I didn't know I had to do. After going through some of the spectroscopy questions, we all had to go the class. So, my TA couldn't answer my question of how to do a percent yield. I haven't done that since high school or when I was in Spokane Community College. After class, she showed me how to do it. It finally came back to me; but it's been a long time ago since I learned it.
After everyone left for class, I sat in the classroom and started crying because I was overwhelmed. So, I worked on the why questions that we just went over. When I was finished, my computer restarted on me. So, I went downstairs and tried to figure out how to print from Google document. I finally realized that I had to use Word instead of Google doc. To my ultimate dismay, I found that the printer was jammed. So, I went back upstairs and started crying again. When I was crying, I realized that I forgot that letter from the disability office saying I need more time in the lab. I just felt horrible because I didn't know how to get this first writeup done. So, I ran home, grabbed the letter, and ran back to school. I tried to calm myself down by saying that I'm still progressing and not failing. I hate it when I don't do well in school. I'm trying to get away from my black and white thinking.
When I finally came to class, I listened to the last five minutes of the lecture for lab. I gave that letter to my teacher. I'm not going to call him professor because he's a graduate student. He said that I can have ten more minutes of lab. I was so thankful when the end of lab rolled around because I didn't have to worry about leaving on time. If we don't leave on time, we will get docked points which sucks. During lab, John let me copy his spectroscopy homework. John was my TA for O-chem for winter semester. I'm so thankful that he's in the lab with me. For the past two labs, we've started together and finished separately. Each of us has to do our own lab work. We don't have partners. However, John helps me with my lab though. I'm very thankful that he's right next to me and is in the same class. I know that the lab would be harder without him. Plus, he can help me with our spectroscopy homework too. He's a TA for the second half of O-chem for this summer term. So, I'm planning on working with/getting help from him during his office hours.
Yesterday, I ran my IR and aquired my refractive index for my banana oil. That was the rest of what I had to do for the lab that was due yesterday. I didn't finish everything for yesterday's lab. I almost finished one lab and in the middle of another lab. I realized that I forgot to do one thing for another lab yesterday. That's OK though. I got behind because I didn't make enough product. I think most of it went down the sink. So, I had to borrow someone else's product to run the IR. I got enough product to do a melting point. I have to do that on Monday though because I ran out of time. At least, I'm almost done with that lab. Half the class had restart that lab because they grabbed to much of a reactant that destroyed their product. I heard from the TA that Monday's or Wednesday's lab is going to be pretty short.
It's pretty easy to break things in O-chem lab. Trevor said that he always broke something there. It cost him around 100 dollars to pay for everything he broke. On Wednesday, I broke a test tube. I was thankful it wasn't anything else because I don't have to pay for those. However, I broke a 5 ml vial at the start of lab yesterday. Thankfully, I didn't start crying. I did get upset, but not to the point of crying. After that point, my day started getting better. At the end of lab, my TA said that I can turn in my write up Monday morning since I still had to print some things off.
If anyone is interested in the banana oil that I made on Wednesday, look at this little article about Isopentyl Acetate in Wikipedia. It tells you how I made it too.
Last week, there was a big Gasshuku at my old dojo in Spokane. I knew about it for a few months now. However, I didn't go because it would have been too expensive and because of school. I thought it would have been cool because I would have liked to go to back into my roots and meet Higaonna Sensei. I would have loved to go to that class that Chris Charnos taught. I would have loved to roll with him too. Sensei Villa wrote big article about the Gasshuku for the IOGKF newsletter. It was really interesting to read. Some of the videos were intresting to watch too. However, reading and watching really made me glad that I'm in BJJ now. BJJ is so much a different art than Goju-Ryu. Goju-Ryu is all about stances, basics, kata, and bunkai. That's it. There's hardly sparring at all. Even Sensei said that they hardly practice Iri Kumi.
Look at my comments at the end of the video on Youtube. I wasn't really that impressed at first. I thought they were showing the drill to people who participated in the Gasshuku, not the general public. I liked the takedowns and kicks after watching stopping and starting it every second. It's looks weird that they aren't protecting their heads. I know that some fights are like that though, like Smoker Bouts.
When Sensei Higaonna first came to Spokane, he taught the kids class for Sensei Villa. In this video, you can see my Sensei and the dojo that I trained in. I'm very happy that I had an opportunity to train there. Sensei Villa is really nice.
I liked watching the other videos in the newsletter because in one of them, I saw Sensei running across the screen one way and the other. I found another video that shows what a testing looks like. Seeing these poor people still training while being really tired reminded of Sensei Chinen's Gasshuku in Spokane a couple years ago. You need to skip the first part of it though.
I'm not trying to bash Goju-Ryu. I just think that BJJ is more applicable for fighting than Goju-Ryu. One sees it all the time in UFC. You don't see Goju-Ryu. I'd much rather roll than do kata. I think that Goju-Ryu needs to have more full resistant sparring. I thankful that I know how to kick and punch correctly. However, I'm really bad at timing because we never sparred. I don't know what stances are all about. One will not use all of those stances in fighting or real life. They need to teach to kick with the calf instead of the top of the foot. They should get rid of that basic down block because one cannot block kicks with their arms. If the block is only used to catch an incoming leg, teach it that way instead of a block.
I really feel like venting right now. So, there was a brutal rape in Provo right next where Colin lives. It was in a secluded area, in the middle of broad day light. I just feel bad that's she's 19 years old and is in intensive care. Her face was really bashed in because she couldn't even talk to the cops. She had to use sign language. Colin said that area was dangerous at night. However, I wouldn't think about it during the day!!! However, it's pretty easy to hide in the bushes next to the river.
Anyways, women and girls NEED to KNOW how to defend themselves. However, it doesn't help that most people teach crap. I like how those little self defense programs teach girls and women to say "NO" and teach them to really fight out the situation. However, will that help a girl if the guy really wants to rape her??? I'm assuming that most self defense programs doesn't teach any ground techniques. Every rapist will put a woman on the ground to rape her. Why not teach her how to defend herself on her back with her legs wide open?? In Brazilian Jiu Jistu that's a common position call the guard.
I've put a lot of thought about if I get attacked by a man. What would I do and how will I protect myself. I know that self defense isn't fool proof even for me; however, I know that my martial arts training has greatly improved my chances. When training in Goju-Ryu, I felt confident that I was able to defend myself when standing up. I think that I can handle my own against an untrained guy when standing up. However, I am much more comfortable on the ground now.
I walk on secluded path at night by myself on campus sometimes. I'm pretty confident that I can protect myself. I just need to keep aware. There's a section that's really dark and secluded. I normally keep really aware at that part because I know that's a perfect area for a rapist. If someone does try to attack me, I will try to stun them and run away as fast as possible. I'll be kicking and screaming if anyone tries to do that with me. If I end up on my back, I think I'll will be really able to defend myself. I have to have my legs wide open and on my back to rape me. So, I'll will probably have tons of chances to defend myself with either an armbar or a triangle. The guy has unzip his pants anyways. That's a perfect time for a triangle. I'd choke the guy out and then, get out of there.
What if bashed my face in and couldn't see?? Well, hopefully that I'll be still conscious enough to feel what's going on and still pull off a triangle or an armbar. I'd be safer with a triangle though. I think I would hold on for a four minutes or a little more to make sure he wasn't waking up for awhile. I know that one will get brain damage if the brain doesn't get oxygen in four to five minutes. I'd probably call 911 because I always have my cell phone on me when I have the guy in my triangle. What if the guys has a gun or a knife?? Well, I'd be more screwed. However, I learned from Sensei Villa that a gun in close quarter combat doesn't always work. It's easier to disarm a person with a gun when they are really close to you than being farther away.
What if a guy tries to rape me when hiking by myself?? Well, I'd defend myself with my hiking stick. I probably need to buy bear pepper spray to for the animals and any creepers. I would probably need to buy rope so I can tie the guy up if I choked him out. I don't know any good knots or how to tie a person though. There's always those slip ties. What if the guy weights my size or even 100 pounds more than me?? I'd be even more screwed because I can hardly control them. I know I'm mostly talking about guys that has some experience in wrestling or grappling. However, I just worked with a guy who's 330 pounds in Paul Tom's dojo last week. He didn't know much. He didn't know how to submit me when he got on top of me. I couldn't even lock my ankles together while he was in my guard because he's so big. I've never had that happen before. I just need to bank on that big guys are slower, so they will give me a chance to defend myself. I can control smaller guys much better. However, they are faster and more agile. One would hope that the rapist is looking for easy pray. If I put a big enough fight, hopefully he would lose interest and run away on his own accord.
Last Saturday, I went with people in the ward to hike Stewart Falls. About 20 of us, carpooled up. Luckily, I was one of them who drove. I felt pretty good after my big hike the night before. I brought my backpack because I didn't have to switch everything to a smaller bag. Everyone took off right from the start because I had to put some things in my backpack. I was so happy that Amber hiked with me. I was going pretty slow because of the night before. I found a blog that has some good pictures of the trail.
I also found a little video about it too. Amber thought she saw some wild strawberry plants on the trail. When we were almost to the falls, everyone from the Ward passed us and started hiking back. I saw a few people who were drenched from head to toe. We didn't take explore around the upper falls. We took the trail down to the lower falls. When we got to the base, we were sprayed with water from the falls. I opted to walk through it and get wet. Luckily, I brought my water sandals. When I came started walking in the water to get to the falls, I remembered how cold mountain streams were. When I walked under the falls, I started hyperventilating because it was so cold!!! I waited for minute to get warm again. Then, I walked back across and hyperventilated again. Amber didn't want to get wet because she was wearing white. Plus, she was wearing tennis shoes too.
On the way back, I walked pretty slow up the hill because my left thigh hurt whenever I took a step and my right calf just under the knee started to ache. So, Amber started pushing up the hill. I went much faster and hurt less that way. However, that tired her. When going back, Neal called Amber telling us that everyone is leaving. That's why I was so glad that I drove. I wanted to enjoy the falls and walk at my own pace. I felt sorry for Amber though because I was walking so slow. However, we made really good time when we walked down hill. I was so happy that I was wearing my sandals because they weren't bugging my blisters at all. I was happy that I got wet too because I would have became hot and sweaty on the way back. I felt like a cripple on the hike. I hiked 10 miles in less than 24 hours. I was so happy. I felt crappy after the hike though. However, I felt better on Sunday.
Today, I told Paul Tom that I climbed 3,500 feet in three hours and forty minutes. Then, I told him that I hiked 10 miles in less than 24 hours. I said, it's because of BJJ. He laughed and said to put this on my blog. He said that Sid has been trying to run a mile for awhile. Then, he ran two or three miles without any trouble. He asked why I would hike Y mountain. He said that that sounds like a lot of work. Oh Paul Tom, of course it is. I hike for the exercise, the love of being out doors, and of course to improve my cardio for BJJ. Hopefully, I can post about Stewart Falls soon. It's not going to be a long of a post as Y mountain. Paul Tom said that I should be careful when I hike alone because people get hurt doing those types of things. I know that is way more likely to get hurt doing BJJ than hiking. Paul Tom doesn't seem like that much of a hiker. When I told a person that I went hiking in the dark, he said that seems dangerous. Well, it's not that dangerous. It was more scary than dangerous. When I look upon it now, I think that was a good experience for me. One needs to be more careful when hiking alone. Dad doesn't mind me hiking alone.
Twice, I've ran into guys that don't know how to teach me to defend the things that they are doing. Angel always sweeps me because he always starts from an open guard. I don't know how to defend from it. So, I asked him how to defend from it. He said that he doesn't know. That's the problem with being a guy. They get to win a lot and tap people out all the time. I always have to defend, defend, and defend some more. Guys are so much stronger than me. They do things that I cannot do to them. That's why girls become so technical. I think that we learn faster because most guys can beat us. I'm glad that I can use my strength for tournaments though because I'm bigger and stronger than most girls. I just wonder if Vanessa is going to be in the next tournament.
Ever since that hike on Angel's Landing in Zion's National Park, I've been really wanting to go hiking. So, I finally went hiking on Y Mountain last Friday. I was planning to do that hike for about a week and kept on looking at it. So, my views changed of the mountain whenever I traveled somewhere in Provo, Orem, and/or American Fork. I planned to hike with Ji Sun, (my new roommate who just moved in on Memorial Day). However, she had to go somewhere at six. My class ended at noon and had to do a few things before I left. I brought lots of food, a gallon of water, my water sandals, a small first aid kit, my headlamp, a hand-held flashlight which I bought for emergency purposes, long pants, and my coat. So, my backpack was pretty full and somewhat heavy. I guessed that I weighed around 10 to 15 pounds. It might have been a little more than that. I left at five. However, had to turn around to get my pants and coat because it looked like it was going to rain from looking at the clouds that were across Utah Lake. It wasn't your dark foreboding clouds. It just looked like that it was raining from a distance.
I started at the Y trail head at 5:18 PM. I knew I had to hurry up the mountain, so I pushed myself up the Y. I got at the top of the Y at 6:14. I was very happy with myself because I climbed 1,000 feet in an hour. I huffed and puffed on that trail. Actually, I don't call that a trail because it's way to wide. It's more of a steep, sandy jeep road. That part was pretty boring. After taking a short break on the Y, I continued up where it cut across the Mountain and went into Slide Canyon. The trail was pretty narrow. I had to watch my footing because there were pretty steep ledges. If I misplaced one of my feet, I would have fallen off the ledge and slide down. I don't how far I would slide because the slope varied from a bare dirt, some grasses, and some bushes. I also had shorts on, so I knew that I had to be careful. I remember my mom telling me one time when she was hiking with my dad, she fell of the trail and broke her bamboo hiking stick in half. So, my dad fixed it where us kids can use for hiking. I was using a sturdy branch that I found on the side of the trail when hiking the Y last year. I'm very happy that I had it with me because it helped me go up the Mountain where I was really tried and down when it became dark.
When looking back when climbing Slide Canyon, one can see a good view of the city and always hear the general hum of traffic. There are some cool rock formations up there. The canyon curved left so I couldn't see the town anymore. I went through lots of trees that didn't have leaves on them yet. The ledge eventually went away and became the other side of a valley. I couldn't see that much because of the trees. Then, I eventually came to a meadow where the grass was all brown. After the meadow, I had to go through a lot more trees. This is where the mosquitoes started following up the trail. They were pretty big too. That set me on edge because I didn't have insect repellent and couldn't stop to take a break. I had to keep moving so they wouldn't bite me. I kept them at bay at best as possible; however, they still bite through my shirt on my shoulders.
So, I kept on moving. At this point, my left thigh was starting to hurt again whenever I hiked uphill. I just ignored the pain. It was starting to get late too. Whenever my family went backpacking, we would have stopped and set camp in the evening. So, the mosquitoes were following me, some big flies were buzzing around me, it was getting dark, and I was alone. That put me on edge. I don't know why there were mosquitoes up there because I couldn't see water at all, let alone standing water. It was more more wet up there though. I was surprised because that was my first time seeing them while in Utah. I walked through another meadow and it comforted me for some reason. Probably, it's because there were less mosquitoes. When climbing through, I saw snow on the mountains above me. I crossed two little snow patches the whole trip. I finally reached the fork in the trail. I thought I was saved and almost done. However, the trail became more steep while the stupid mosquitoes were following me. It ended up that I climbed another 1,000 feet. I kept pushing myself because I saw the horizon getting shorter and shorter through the trees. I finally came to another meadow where the trail went father up and to the left.
The trail became pretty faint while I was climbing to the top. I think I walked pass some cliffs because I saw the town below me. I finally arrived at the top at 9:00 PM. That means I climbed 3,500 feet in three hours and forty minutes. I immediately called Katrina so she would know where I was. I left a message because she didn't answer. So, I called Dad instead. It comforted me that I wasn't cut off from humanity. Dad said that hiking in the dark wasn't so bad. He said that he has hiked by himself a whole bunch of times. He said that I had to be more careful though. He said that he can't remember a time where he hiked by himself in the dark. He said that he's probably have done it though.
After talking with him, I ate while changing into some pants. It sprinkled a few seconds while I was up there and was colder. So, I put on my light ski jacket. Plus, I had to walk pass tons to branches of trees that tended to touch me while I climbed up and down. The view was pretty awesome because all the lights were on in the valley. I saw a few stadiums including BYU's. I saw some lights across Utah Lake and also beyond that little point where the lower valley was separated from Salt Lake Valley. I stayed there for 26 minutes and started climbing down. However, it took some work to make sure I was on the trail because it was pretty faint. That scared me because I didn't want to get lost and get caught on a cliff or spend the night on the mountain. Plus, the park closed at 11. I really wanted to go home.
I was really thankful that I grabbed my flashlight that I bought for my emergency kit. My headlamp wasn't bright enough for most of the whole trip. While it was getting dark, I still used it because I saw the outline of the trail better. So, I used the red light for awhile. While I was hiking down, I was comforted that I was passing landmarks while I passed climbing up. Once I went off the trail on accident. I thought it wasn't right because I couldn't find a path and was making too much noise. So, I took a right and found the trail again. I was really thankful.
I prayed a few times to Heavenly Father that I'd get off the mountain safely. I was a little surprised of how steep the last part of the trail was. No wonder I became really tired at the end. When it was getting darker, I kept on turning my flashlight on and off to see the trail more clearly. When it became dark enough, I used it the rest of the way down until I got to the Y. When I passed through the meadow again, I wished I was in the trees because I didn't want a bear or a mountain lion come racing up behind me. I knew if any of those animals, I wasn't going to try to out run the thing. I knew I couldn't climb any of the trees either. So, I was going to roll up in a the fetal position and put my coat over my head. That's what I learned to do with Grizzlies. However, I just learned with black bears and mountain lions, I need to make myself as big as possible while making a whole bunch of noise. I think it would be pretty hard to not look them in the eyes though. It would be pretty hard to stand my ground if I was charged. I found a pretty funny video on the internet of how to survive a bear attack.
If I had a tent and was able to spend the night on the mountain, I would have done that too. However, I knew that tents don't protect anyone from an animal. It just gives an illusion of safety. After going for a while, I was getting comfortable hiking in the dark. That was my first time seeing a mouse while hiking because they are nocturnal. I saw some spiders too on the trail. I got a really good view of the valley and all the lights on the trail. It thought it was really pretty. When hiking down the mountain, it got lighter of all the lights. I really noticed that it became hotter too. So, I had to take off my jacket. I was getting annoyed with all the switchbacks because I had to keep on switching my hiking stick and my flashlight between both of my hands. I didn't want to drop my flashlight, so I made sure the strap was around my wrist. I wanted to have my walking stick closest to the ledge, so there was less likely of a chance that I'd step off the trail on accident.
I think it took me an hour to an hour and a half to get down to the Y. I heard people way before I saw them. I saw a flash light going down the main trail. I fell a few feet from the main trail that was just above the Y. So, a girl gave me back my walking stick. Then, a guy came up to me if I was with that girl. I said "no". He said he was worried about her because she came by herself. He invited to watch "Rocket Man" with a group. They had a projectors and some speakers set up right above the Y which was on the trail. I watched the rest of "Rocket Man". I knew it was a really stupid movie. Rocket Man acts more like a child than an adult. Some of the acting was really bad too.
After the movie was over, I walked down without the flashlight. I could see fine from the glow of the city. That hurt my feet because of how steep the trail is. So, I got blisters on both of my big toes again. I'm just glad that I didn't get another one on my pinky toe. However, it did become sensitive. At the bottom, I noticed that two policemen were checking out a parked van. A police car was parked right next to me. I had no idea what that was about. I didn't see them bothering anybody else. I saw no one was in the van because the dome lights were on and some of the doors were open. It's parking lights were on too. So, I don't think the park really closes at 11 because it was 12 to 12:20 when I got into by car. There were still quite a few people still on the Y. When going down, I passed a two groups of two people that were hiking up at separate times.
I want to hike Y mountain again because I want to hike to the other peak. I think I did the western peak which is the highest out of the two. Plus, I want to hike to Maple Flats too. Probably, I'm going to take someone with me and leave much earlier next time.
I totally should go to bed right now; however, I'm totally jazzed about hiking. It all started when I hiked Angel's Landing in Zion National Park a couple weeks ago. The trail was all paved except for the last half mile. I loved that half mile because we hiked on rock with cliffs on both sides. Much of the trail had chains connected to poles that we can hold on to. Some of the rock was carved out so we can have an easier time stepping. I thought it was so cool because of the gorgeous views. I was literally climbing on rock instead of hiking on a dirt or paved trail. There were many choke points where we had to wait and let people go down because the ledges were so narrow. The narrowest part of the trail is three feet across with at 800 drop on one side and 1,200 feet on the other. However, I didn't notice it when climbing up or down. I wasn't paying that much attention to the views when climbing up because there was a big line behind me. Plus, Katy and Jin Sun was ahead of Mo Lee and I. I love the top of the fin because we saw the whole length of the canyon. When eating, a chipmunk climbed on my backpack which was right next to my leg when I was eating. I was really surprised because I've never seen behavior from a wild rodent before. I guess that many of the hikers like to feed the rodents. However, one can receive a 100 dollar fine if the rangers catch them. I saw a man feeding a squirrel when we were walking towards the narrows.
When I climbed down the half mile, I took my time and looked off different ledges. I wanted to get a view this time. The rest of the way down killed my feet. I had to hurry down because I really, really needed to go number 2. So, I developed a blister on each of my big toes and one really big on on my right pinky toe. That blister was the biggest I've ever seen in my life because it was a little bigger than my whole nail on my middle finger. At first, I had to help Mo Lee along because she was shaky from the half mile. She said that was the scariest thing that she has done in her life. So, we hooked arms. Half the way down, I helped her keep her balance. Then, she helped me push myself because my feet were starting to really hurt. The whole hike consisted of 1,500 feet. I really want to take my family on that hike.
I thought that I did pretty well because we made really good time up and down the trail. I was impressed and was happy that BJJ is working on my cardio because I didn't huff and puff that bad. After the hike, we took the bus all the way to the end of the canyon. I really wanted to go home because of my feet. However, Katy wanted to see the trail head of the narrows. We walked all the way until the trail dumped off into the river. It's too early in the year to hike that because of the water. All the snow has to be melted off the plateau first. Katy was really disappointed because that was one of the other hikes she wanted to do. When walking, I really felt like a cripple because of my blister on my pinky and my left thigh was hurting whenever I walked up hill. So, Mo Lee and Katy walked in front of me while I was always trying to keep up. On my way back, I took my time and didn't care if Katy took off without me. She wanted to get back to Ji Sun because she was waiting for us.
For some reason, people chicken out when hiking Angel's landing. I know that there has been a few deaths from it. However, the hike is pretty safe. I felt safe and secure on my way up and down. I knew that if I held onto the chain, I wouldn't fall off the ledge. The areas that didn't have any chains to hold on to were wide enough. I don't think I would have been able to climb that rock fin without the chains because they were totally necessary in many points of the climb. I found a website called Joe's Guide to Zion National Park that reviewed different hikes including Angel's Landing. Look at the the professional quality photos in his review. The pictures can help you understand what I experienced. I found another website that has pictures of the hike. However, they aren't nearly as good. I would put up pictures of my own; however, I don't have a camera yet. Hopefully, I can get a really good one for my birthday this summer. I don't want to get a crappy digital camera.
