Day 4: Las Vegas to Zion National Park

The goal of the day is to arrive in Zion National park by 12:00 PM to hike the Angels Landing Trail.





Distance: 5 miles
Average Hiking Time: 5 hours
The Angels Landing Trail is one of the most famous and thrilling hikes in the national park system. Zion's pride and joy runs along a narrow rock fin with dizzying drop-offs on both sides. The trail culminates at a lofty perch, boasting magnificent views in every direction. Rarely is such an intimidating path so frequented by hikers. One would think that this narrow ridge with deep chasms on each of its flanks would allure only the most intrepid of hikers. Climbers scale its big wall; hikers pull themselves up by chains and sightseers stand in awe at its stunning nobility. The towering monolith is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the Southwest.

It's roughly a 2.5 hour drive from Las Vegas to Zion. With an average hike time of 5 hours, and including lunch, we would need to leave Las Vegas minimally by 9:00 AM to arrive back at the car as the sun sets. I have some backup plans if we get a late start. There's additional trails that are nice, I'll post some pictures as a do more research on it. Additionally, alternative plans need to be made in case of snow, since trails will close. If this happens, we can go to the Valley of Fire, or pick even easier trails in Zion to hike.

The details

I checked orbitz, priceline, expedia, and travelocity for ticket pricing. The cheapest was about $375 for layovers that would last hours. Having a nonstop flight is the one extravegence I'll pay whatever it costs to get. I'm 6'5. Being on a plane just sucks and is cramped, I just want to get it over with, and it will kill your whole day. Here is a breakdown of the cheapest non stop flights for each agent (per person):
ORBITZ $493 - US Airways
PRICELINE $486 - US Airways
EXPEDIA - $492 - US Airways
TRAVELOCITY - $493 - US Airways
SOUTHWEST - $412.30

Southwest really does have a whole lot of savings! Their website is easy to use, and I booked the car rental and hotel while on there. I didn't save any more (I checked the car rental website before booking to make sure) but it was just so convenient to use their forms.

Depart PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL (PHL) at 9:35 AM
Arrive in LAS VEGAS N (LAS) at 12:20 PM
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Depart LAS VEGAS NV (LAS) at 10:45 AM
Arrive in PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONA (PHL) at 6:35 PM

We're booked!

What's with this first person subject plural bullshit that's going round here? I'll tell you what it is. I'm going to LV with Kate, the insti-kater because, well... I'm pretty sure at some point years ago we made some pact to not go to parks without each other and this is what a good chunk of this roadtrip will be about (post wedding!)

She's a classy kinda dame, in as much as someone who I've called on formal and informal occasions "freak" for more than a decade (there's also rumors floating on her myspace page that she eats ants for sport, but let's not get into that.) I had no problems with staying in hostels when the cost differential was so large for one person staying in a hostel compared to two people staying in a hotel:
1 person per night: hostel--$25, hotel $100 = $75 in savings

2 person per night: hostel--$50/2, hotel $100/2 = $50 in savings

but $25 extra is worth is for a private (clean) room with a hot shower. Instead, we are staying at the Las Vegas Hilton, on average $71 a night for the first three nights of the trip. I didn't look into the benefits of staying there compared to other hotels-- it's where Dave and Jess are staying. It'll be easier to stay close by to them, and the hotel is off the strip, which means more savings.

The strip. I've heard people say if you are going to do Vegas, you should do it right and stay on the strip. At prices about 3 times as much as a block or two off, it's just not worth it. Having a 5 minute walk to save over $100 a night? Is worth it. I don't plan on being in the hotel for more than a few hours of sleep each day, so why go extravegent? Living in Philly, I know firsthand how much pricing decreases for each block your hotel/parking lot/restaurant is away from independence hall/city hall, for the same experience.

The contiki trip is out too. The message board had postings asking if anyone was going to some New Years Eve party that had a $300 cover charge, with no open bar! I wanted to do the tour because I thought I'd be alone for a week, and some fun would have been nice. Having a group of 50 people from all over the world celebrating the New Year in Vegas sounded like a good idea, moreso than hanging out at some house in Philadelphia throwing down beers and shots. With a large group theres no need to go to some ridiculous elite club. Get everyone to chip in $20 and get a penthouse for the night. DONE. I figured this portion of the trip would be the first to go, it was more wishful thinking that I'd have some kick-ass tour group just like the one I had in Egypt.