The Narrows Hike, Zion National Park, Utah

This was our third (fourth?) visit to Zion and we had one last hike to do - The Narrows. Here is the blurb from the Zion National Park website:

The Narrows is the narrowest section of Zion Canyon. This gorge, with walls a thousand feet tall and the river sometimes just twenty to thirty feet wide, is one of the most popular areas in Zion National Park........A hike through The Narrows requires hiking in the Virgin River. You must get your feet wet since there is no trail. Most people choose to start their hike from the Temple of Sinawava via the Riverside Walk and then walk upstream before turning around and hiking back down to the Temple of Sinawava.

"Most popular hike" it says......damn right!  We are usually some of the first people on the trail - not this one! We were with the masses, although in hindsight, it's nice that there are so many people in the photos - gives perceptive as to high the canyon walls are. 

We arrived to the park by 6:45am, found parking, and took the shuttle to the end of the road - where the trail begins. Again, we were amazed at the number of people doing the same hike so early in the day.

 The first mile is just a land walk - 

Then it basically a mass of people walking into the river. We definitely thought that the water would be colder than it was - in fact, we thought that everything would be colder - had no need for the long-sleeved shirts, rain jackets, and fleeces that we lugged along the entire way. (We wore old sneakers, since we did not want to ruin our hiking boots, and instead of the sticks you see, we each used one hiking pole for balance - and it worked out well.)

After the first half mile, we arrived to the first landmark - Mystery Falls. (Not much of a falls in July........)

Then along with everyone else, we kept meandering along.....

HI BRAD!! 😀

 

We continued to walk - sometimes in the water and other times along the sides - that was surprising - we both thought that we'd be in the water the entire time. Not so.

 

 Action Shot!!

(Not an action shot!)

We continued - sometimes the water was as deep as our waists, but mostly below our knees. The water flow was around 26 cubic feet per second and the flash flood level was "probable" (versus "none," "possible," and "definite").

 

This is the Grotto Alcove area......

 

Then Wall Street began - this is the beginning of the narrowing of the canyon walls.....

Eventually we made it to our destination - Floating Rock - this is about 3 miles up river...

 We walked past it a bit, until the water got really deep.

By this time, our legs were getting tired and Suzanne had fallen (about a mile back) and somehow racked her left knee on a rock and it was still throbbing. So we decided to head back - now it wasn't just people going in one direction (think spawning salmon) but people going/coming in all direction, so a bit more chaos. 

Why is Suzanne sitting in the water?  😏

 

One final picture......

 

So it was a very different hike and we are thrilled we did it - had a great time.  Too many people, for sure, but that's what you get for going to Zion National Park in July!