Hiking the Narrows

Years ago, when the boys were much younger, we took a similar road trip to Nebraska. While Joe & Zach have some memories of the trip, David just doesn't remember it. So I wanted to make sure that we went to some of the same places we enjoyed on that first trip including three National Parks in Utah: Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Arches.

Yesterday we went to Zion National Park. We stopped in town and rented some footwear and a walking stick, because we were going to hike the Narrows! Or at least part of it. This was something I always wanted to try, but the boys were just too young and we weren't prepared back then.

Zion National Park is a gorge that has been slowly eroded by the Virgin River. The sides of the canyon tower over you as you drive to the different trailheads. Many of the peaks have biblical names and even a few Mormon titles. The three most impressive are The Three Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob. They keep a watchful eye over the many visitors as they travel through.

While there were many hikes we would have liked to venture on, our purpose was to hike the Narrows. So we took the shuttle to the end of the line at the Riverside Walk. This is a mile-long paved hike that takes you alongside the Virgin River. It was hot, really hot, but we were on a mission. When we arrived at the end of the Riverside Walk, we walked down to the river edge and continued to hike up and IN the river. It was awesome!

Hiking the Narrows from the bottom up is about a 5 mile hike one way. 75% of the time you are in the water; there just isn't any dry land to walk on. You can also hike from the top down and that's about 16 miles. The river is shallow and at most you might have to hike in waist deep water. The views are spectacular and majestic.

We only had time to hike about a mile or two up the river, but it was fabulous and exhausting. I chose the rocky shoreline when available, but Zach and David always took the hardest route, against the current. Although cold, the water was cool and refreshing and most of the time we were in the shade as the canyon walls were so close to each other that direct sunlight couldn't find its way into the canyon.

We left around 6:30 p.m. and headed to Bryce Canyon. The drive was beautiful, but we were tired and couldn't wait to check into the Lodge and get some dinner. After settling in we had a light dinner at 9:00 p.m. and collapsed into bed. The only sad part of the day was that Joe wasn't with us. It was his birthday, and I think he would have liked the hike.

We are staying in Bryce Canyon National Park, so WiFi is limited to the lobby and coffee shop. David and I woke up early to see the sunrise over Bryce Point. We snagged a quick breakfast at the coffee shop, uploaded our photos and blogs and now we are headed out to explore Bryce Canyon and then on to Arches National Park.