The Narrows!

Check another national park of my list! In October, Andy and I were luck enough to be able to sneak over to Zion National Park after attending a manager's retreat in St. George. Our trip was fast and furious, but well worth it! We spent most of Saturday October 13th wading/hiking the bottom up hike in The Narrows. We got to the trail head just before 9 am. It was a little bit overcast, but still beautiful nonetheless.

 The water was a cool 58 degrees that day. It rained the day before and cooled things off quite a bit. It was chilly when we started, but not unbearable. We figured our neoprene socks would keep our feet warm enough.That being said, it probably would've been more comfortable if we had stopped and rented dry suits.

 Sometimes you would be walking along in ankle deep water and then it would drop off without any warning and you would be up to your knees. . .or even your waist!

 I like this picture because you really get a feeling for how massive the cliffs are and how insignificant you are.

 As we were just starting out, Andy made a rule that whoever was the first person to fall down in the water couldn't get up until the other person took a picture. Of course, he was the first to to a face plant in the water and unfortunately he had the camera in the front pocket of his jacket (sealed in a Ziploc) so I couldn't get a picture until after he got up. But he was soaked. Checkout the water just pouring from his jacket. Brrrr!

We laughed that someone took the time to pile up cairns along the way. There were cliffs on either side of us. . .so really, there was only one direction to go. . .right?

Because of the rain the day earlier, we saw a few seasonal waterfalls (including this 135 foot tall one) that aren't always visible.

Toward the end of our journey we encountered a number of boulder obstacles like this one pictured above at the end of Wall Street. While they look easy enough to go around, the water was always waist deep around them, the current was stronger and the footing slipperier. It was exhausting!

As we were hiking, you could also hear a gurgling sound in the rocks. It was very interesting. And a little disconcerting. It almost seemed like the rocks would implode and crumble at any given minute.

Our trail guide said that it took 3 to 4 hours to reach Big Springs, the ending point for The Narrows without a permit. After being in the water for just over 4 hours, we decided to turn around and head back. Little did we know we were probably only a half mile for Big Springs!

 

The sun was very elusive. You would get small glimpses of it between the rocks from time to time. Mostly, however, we hiked in the shade of the rocks.

On the way in we only say a handful of people. On the way out, however, the river was littered with dozens of people. I am glad we got to the trail early. By now our feet were completely water logged and shriveled, our boots were full of water and sand and easily weight 1 or 2 pounds more than when we started. (Experts say that each extra pound on your feet is equivalent to an extra 5 on your back!) After spending close to 9 hours walking 8 miles or so in the water, we were ready to get on dry land.

On Sunday we did a bit more sightseeing in the park. After that we hit the road and headed back home. We unpacked our suitcases, did some laundry and then packed them back up two days later for our drive to Denver!