The Narrows

The next morning the time to meet and to catch the first shuttle was 7 am.  That mean we had to get up at 5:30 to get breakfast and lunch and all of our hiking gear prepared.  Katie quickly left the tent and I stayed in bed for a few more minutes.  I heard the car turn on but tried to sleep a little more.  Unfortunately it was WAY to hard to sleep with it being 26 degrees.  (Let me repeat it was so fucking cold.)  I finally got out of bed and bundled up and tried to get warm.  I sat by the fire for a little while and went to the car to get some clothes.  I noticed that there was ice in the door handle.  Katie was in there and she was just miserable.  I tried to console her a little but she almost had enough of this trip already.  She told me that to tell Baron it's too early and to try and push the time back.  I went to Baron and talked to him a little.  Like a good leader he listened to our concerns and pushed the time back.  He also decided to get some dry pants for the narrows hike but, the adventure company didn't open till 8.  We waited around and tried our best to get ready for the hike.  I had left my Nalgene bottle half full on the table over night.  It was frozen solid!   With a bit of thawing near the fire the ice turned back to liquid. 

Screen shot of how cold it was at 7 in the morning.  

When 8 rolled around we went with the group to grab more stuff for the narrows hike.  One of the workers at the adventure company said that during the early morning temperatures dropped into the teens!  Everyone but Chris rented at least dry pants that day so that they wouldn't get cold trudging through the 40 degree water.  Katie and Claus opted to rent some boots as well to add onto their dry pants rental.  I opted to just stay with what I had because I already had neoprene socks and tabis.

 We all met back at the campsite and drove down to the visitors center around 9 o'clock.  Zion doesn't allow personal vehicles at the trail head so you have to catch a shuttle that stops at every stop in 10-15 minutes.  Our stop was the last stop at Temple of Sinawava.  We got off excited to start hiking The Narrows. 

There was a paved trail all the way to the start of The Narrows hike.  On our way the temperatures seemed to warm up as the morning got underway.  We strapped up and got ready for a group picture at the entrance to The Narrows.  For most of the hike we were wading through the water.  Some of us had walking sticks to help balance when crossing the stream.  The water levels weren't that high but the water was really cold.  All of us were in amazement walking through the canyon.  Some just kept snapping pictures.  Slowly we made our way up the canyon.  There were a lot of features that the water carved out.  Big boulders and ruffles along side the canyon wall.  The colors were in layers, bands of sand that had been compressed and eroded away along the wall.  The contrast between the blue stream and the dark red made for some amazing pictures. 

Around 12 pm we stopped for a break near the streams edge and in direct sunlight.  The section we stopped at was perfect for tubing.  I was the only one dumb enough to blow up my tube and proceed to hop in the frigid water.  I made three runs and after paddling with my hands down the stream, my hands were completely numb.  The numbness was like sticking your hand in an ice chest and leaving it there for a minute or so.  On the second run the pants that I wore under the dry pants started to get wet.  Luckily the sun was out at the break spot so I dried off and tried to get my body heat back in.  After breaking we proceeded up the river for another two hours.  We passed the intersection for Orderville Canyon and continued to a section dubbed "The WallStreet".  This is where you are mostly walking in water.  We went up about half an hour where there were two big boulders.  Most of the group called it a day because it was around 2 o'clock and we had to return the equipment at 7.  Katie and I decided to continue and try to make it to Big Spring.  Unfortunately we couldn't find it after an hour more after the turn around point.  Katie and I tried to rush out of canyon to meet the group but we were too slow.  We met up with the group at the trailhead of The Narrows.  

For the rest of the day we cruised at the campsite and shared a few drinks around the campfire.  

Like I said, there was frost on everything!

The view from our campsite during our first morning in Zion. 

Taking the shuttle to the Temple of Sinawava.

Every so often the doors would open at a stop.  I stuck my head out and snapped a few pictures. 

Grant and Paige on their way to the start of The Narrows. 

The group from L to R: Chris, Baron, Katie, Claus, Dan, Paige, Shelley, Grant, Christine, Marie, and Shasta.

Father and daughter time.  I wish my dad would come hiking with me.  He is by far the most rugged dad I know, he came hiking 8 hours up and down the stream and not one complaint from him.  The group was really impressed how he handled the hikes!  Thanks Claus for all the good times on this trip.

The stream meandered, slowly the walls in the canyon come close. 

The group posing for a shot next to a huge truck sized boulder. 

The group blazing through the stream. 

We zig zagged across the stream numerous times. 

The canyon walls and river rock contrasted each other.  It was picture perfect.

While there was a lot of red in the picture above this one... this one portayed a more dark looking Narrows. 

Eventually the group just waded through the water.  This section was called "Wallstreet"

Near our end point we waded in knee deep water.  Sand ruled the bottom of this stream bed section.

 Katie snapped this picture of me tubing down a section of The Narrows.  This face is the oh I don't care if I have cold water in my pants. 

While Katie and I were exploring up stream Shelley and Shasta enjoyed tubing down the stream in their full dry suits. 

The Narrows from Ryan Chang on Vimeo.