In The Narrows

This past weekend, I did the up-and-back-down version of the famous Narrows hike in Zion National Park. It was physically exhausting, since the hike involves nearly constant wading up a swift river with depths varying from shin- to thigh-high, but also immensely rewarding – especially where the river was wall-to-wall and 30 feet wide, with vertical walls towering 1500 feet above. The temperature reached over 105 degrees that day, but in the canyon it was cool and comfortable.

The conditions in The Narrows makes casual photography difficult, so I have no photoset to show off, but I posted the above image to give you a sense of the scale. I’m the orange humanoid speck at the bottom of the opening.

Submitted by crazymonk on Tue, 07/17/2007 - 5:00am.

Comments (10)

casual photography difficult...unless you are the CAMERAMASTER who took the above awesome photo!

chafed flea | Tue, 07/17/2007 - 8:50am

That is true.

crazymonk | Tue, 07/17/2007 - 9:43am

Well, that's just beautiful. 16 miles of wading, huh? How long did that take, and at any point did you feel like giving up? Also, what was your equipment setup (i.e. clothes, shoes, pack, water)? Can you just filter off of the river?

Jon May | Tue, 07/17/2007 - 10:13am

We did the up-and-back-out version, not the 16 mile version (which is better done in two days). So we probably only went up the river a couple of miles, and then the same back down. We were out there for a little over 5 hours total.

We rented water shoes and walking sticks. We packed in plenty of water, but yeah, you could also use a water purifier off the river.

crazymonk | Tue, 07/17/2007 - 10:31am

what about clothing?

Jon May | Tue, 07/17/2007 - 11:01am

Non-cotton hiking shorts and shirts. We brought along long-sleeve shirts in case it got too cold, but we didn't need them. The water was near 60 degrees, but it supposedly can get quite cold. On non-summer months, a wet suit is strongly encouraged.

Also, a flash flood during this hike would pretty much kill you, so you have to check the weather at the ranger station before taking off. Many parts of the hike have no high ground to run to for safety, since the river is wall-to-wall.

crazymonk | Tue, 07/17/2007 - 12:09pm

Looks like fun. Were there other people doing
it too?

Slater | Wed, 07/18/2007 - 6:06am

there were, but fortch we were motivated to start early, and we were alone more than not on our way upriver. it was quite peaceful. on our way back though, there were quite a lot of people starting out, especially back at the beginning. we guessed a lot of people started out - many in rolled-up jeans and bare feet - and just didn't make it very far up.

chafed flea | Wed, 07/18/2007 - 8:23am

Are there any pictographs or petroglyphs in there?
Probably not, because now that I think about it,
I guess that the water would erode them.

Slater | Thu, 07/19/2007 - 7:50am

It does get really cold due to the run off when the snow melt up the canyon. My dad worked for the Park service there in the mid 70s and early 80s so we lived in the residential area below the Watchman. The Narrows is the most popular hike in Zion and definitely worth the hike. Wear shoes that you can get wet, because you will in a lot of places. If you want an easier walk, try the April Pools trail. Not as dramatic, but still a beautiful walk. Veteran hikers (in shape) wanting a challenge should go up Angel's landing.

Charles in Vegas | Thu, 08/02/2007 - 11:19am