Zion National Park

I visited Zion once in high school with a friend, and at that time we did some of the easy hikes. This time I wanted to tackle something bigger - and that was going to either be Angel's Landing or the Narrows. Seeing as how I'm deathly afraid of heights, the latter was the definite choice.

The Narrows is actually a section of the Virgin River. It is one of the most popular attractions for visitors to Zion and of the general Colorado Plateau. It has also been voted number 5 by National Geographic of America's Best 100 Adventures.

If you do the Narrows, you will have the option of doing either: (1) the Bottom-Up hike (which is easier and more popular), or (2) the Top-Down hike. With our limited time, we had no choice but to do the bottom-up hike.

If you go in the spring or summer, you'll likely be able to wear shorts. However, going over the last weekend of October meant water temperatures in the 40s - and risking hypothermia if you're not properly prepared. Believe me, I saw some people attempting the hike in regular clothes.

We rented a drypants package for $43 with the Zion Adventure Company, which is literally right next to the entrance into Zion National Park. This package included drypants, canyon shoes, neoprene socks, and a hiking pole for balance. The drypants has a gasket and prevents water from entering, but does not actually provide much warmth, so you should wear some warm pants underneath them. The canyon shoes are great for navigating the rough rocks underneath the water, but are not waterproof. The neoprene socks keep the water close to your feet so that it is at your body temperature. Highly recommend the rental!

Upon entering Zion, you will go through a ticket booth and be given a map. If you intend to get out of your car at all, you will need to park in the main parking lot and take a bus which comes every 5-10 minutes. The bus will take you along all the major stopping points through the park and you can choose which point to get on or off. The entire route takes about 40 minutes each way. The stop for the Narrows was almost at the end of this route. The bus drivers are all well trained and knowledgeable. They provide a bit of history and information regarding the park over the speaker system.

Once you get off the bus, you will need to walk about 1-1.5 miles on a path to get to the start of the Narrows. This is a LOVELY walk. I enjoyed it because of how lush everything is. Not only do you have canyons and huge crops of rock, but there were streams and plenty of foliage in vibrant fall colors.

We met a lovely couple during our walk - they had been married more than 25 years. You could tell these were the kind of people who had paid their dues and are now enjoying retirement because they had the time, energy, and interest in getting to know us. They lived in Kansas, received passive income through rentals on airbnb, and were now empty-nesters (their children had grown up and flew the coop). They spent their time traveling, working in farms in France for lodging and a chance to experience life and culture.

When we got to the entrance to the Narrows, we said our goodbyes to the couple and made our way into the river. Despite having the rental gear, I was a little surprised at how difficult it was to navigate through the river. I don't know how I would have done it without the hiking shoes which had excellent grip. The difficulty was in-part due to the fact that we went late in the year, and the water level as well as the current were both higher and faster than high season. The rocks underneath are very uneven and sometimes the ground would suddenly drop away - which is why the walking pole was so handy. I recommend that you feel your way ahead with the pole, and to stay by the sides as opposed to the middle of the stream.

Now the Narrows is what you make of it. You can turn around at any time, but keep in mind that you have to walk the same distance back as you did forward. There is no shortcut back. While it is pretty for the first 2 miles, it is nothing compared to the beauty of the stream and the surrounding canyons once you make it past that point. You will know because you will reach a fork in the stream.

If you take the left side, you will go up "Wall Street", which is the most photographed path of the Narrows. It is also an area with the deepest waters and the quickest currents. The water went above my waist at times, and I am 5' 9". By the time we got to Wall Street and started trudging up against that current, we were soon after feeling the exhaustion kick in. Not long thereafter, we decided to turn back as we did not want to be caught there when the sun set. This was a good idea, since the current was steadily increasing in speed and size toward the end of the day. We also made much better time on our way back since we were going with the current, as opposed to against.