The Narrows
July 14th, 2007
“There is no maintained trail; the route is the river,” is part of the description of the Narrows on the Zion National Park Web site. And that is certainly accurate. One gets to the Zion Narrows by simply jumping into the Virgin River at the end of the Riverside Walk trail, a very easy one-mile trail that starts at the Temple of Sinawava shuttle stop.
From the point where one enters the river, the canyon immediately starts to consume the river bank until, about a mile in, there is nothing but cold rushing water and smooth, red walls. We pretty much waded, waddled and stumbled up the river, slipping often on the hidden stones.
Because it was unlike anything I’ve ever done, the Zion Narrows hike was my favorite element of the two-week trip. The whole day in fact was my favorite. We spent the afternoon on another remarkable hike.
Abigail leads the march into the Virgin River and the Narrows.
Our trip up the river took much longer than the trip back. Besides fighting the current, we stopped every 10 feet to take a photo. The trail is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
Dave catches up to the rest of the group. He and I often lagged behind because we stopped to take group action shots.
The canyon colors and mid-morning sun create a high-contrast light show on the red walls. I’m glad we got into the Narrows before the noon sun washed away all the brilliant canyon colors.
Scott, well, on a rock.
This log seems to mark the exact point the canyon walls narrow signifigantly, leaving nowhere to exit the water.
Meredith carefully choses her route across the river.
We’re finally done. The trail to the shuttle is only a short hike ahead!
