By now you have probably already heard the big news: one of America’s most popular national park hikes will require a permit as of 2022.

Officials at Zion National Park have announced that as of April 1, 2022, visitors who want to tackle the famous Angels Landing hike, which scales a 1,488-foot tall rock formation to reveal sweeping views of the canyons below, will have to get a permit.

According to NBC News, Angels Landing was named a century ago by Frederick Vining Fisher, a Methodist minister so in awe of the massive sandstone cliff that he surmised only angels might land on it. The name stuck, and the trail was built in the 1920s.

Fake News!

Angels Landing was first discovered by The Movie Producer’s Son and me back in 1981. 

I had descended Zion’s West Rim Trail a few summers before with The Lost Boys (see Trail Report Redux: The Lost Boys), and I guess we must have hiked right by the turn-off to Angels Landing without even noticing it, which would make sense. The Lost Boys were notoriously unaware.

A few summers later when I next descended the same trail with my college roommate, The Movie Producer’s Son – we noticed the turn-off. “What is this?”, we wondered.

It was a rainy morning, but we took the turn-off for Angels Landing and started climbing.

When we reached the top it was cloudy – completely socked in. We lay on the bare sandstone with our faces up to the sky, enjoying the rain. We really did not have any idea where we were. After a while, the rain stopped and the clouds slowly and dramatically receded to reveal the view of the valley. We were dumbfounded! We were standing on a sandstone “razor’s edge” 1,500 feet in the sky! We did not see any people that entire day. It was a special introduction to Angels Landing.

I had met The Movie Producer’s Son the year before during my first year at UCSD. He was a high school senior taking economics classes at the university. I would see him pull up in first one British sports car, and the next day a different British sports car. Yes, he had two! He was shy and quiet. We became friends. The Movie Producer’s Son decided to attend UCSD and we roomed together the following year.

The Movie Producer’s Son was a gambler and a numbers man. He liked to dabble in stock options and race horses. Coincidentally, I had also recently become friends with The Doctor’s Son. The Doctor owned race horses. We began frequenting the horse races at Del Mar. With the Doctor’s connections we had premium parking and access to the Turf Club, as long as we wore sport jackets.

Second only to discovering Angel’s Landing, my fondest memory of time spent with The Movie Producer’s Son was when one of The Doctor’s horses, Noors Dynasty, won the 9th race at the Del Mar Race Track on August 19, 1981. We had been following (and losing money on) this horse all summer.

This is the only picture I have with The Movie Producer’s Son:

(A quick note about the jockey: Eddie Delahoussaye. In 1982, Eddie would win the Kentucky Derby riding Gato Del Sol. The year after that he would win it again, riding Sunny’s Halo.)

The following year, The Movie Producer’s Son would show up at my house in one of his British sports cars. By this time he had dropped out of college. He asked me to take him to the Tijuana International Airport. He wanted to do some travelling.

When we arrived at the departure counter, I asked where he was going. He said he didn’t know. He picked a flight and boarded. “Take care of my car!” were his  parting words.

The car was not registered nor was it even street legal due to some recent modifications, so I mostly kept it garaged. Once or twice a month, I would take it for a spin up the coast along Highway 1 from La Jolla to Del Mar past the race track.

The Movie Producer’s Son was gone for a long time. One day I saw a VW bus parked in front of my place and a man walking up the street who looked very much like Jesus of Nazareth. It was The Movie Producer’s Son!

He was a sweet, kind and generous person. That would be the last time I saw him. By this time he had developed some mental health issues. I alerted The Movie Producer and shared my concerns with him. Alas, The Movie Producer’s Son had problems that not even the considerable wealth of The Movie Producer could fix.

I would hike Angel’s Landing two more times: with my future wife and again with my son.

It is not a hike for the faint of heart, but if you want to share a very special experience with someone – then this is the hike for you.

Now with the permitting system in place, you can do so safely. If you start early, maybe you can enjoy some time on top alone with that special friend. 

(Originally published on December 11, 2021)