Hiking the Narrows

May 15th: Zion National Park

Preparing to hike the narrows was complicated! We read a lot of information online about renting gear, water temperatures, etc, and it was very unclear whether we would be freezing without waders or too hot with waders. It was 95 degrees outside in the afternoon, and the water temp was 55-60 degrees. We ended up not getting the whole rental package of waders, scuba socks, a walking stick, and shoes because we had trekking poles, wool socks, and hiking boots. I truly expected that the farther you went into the Narrows, the deeper the water got and the longer you would be in the water- and that might be true if you continue to the end of the 5 miles you are allowed to do without a permit. We only went to Wall Street, which was about 3 miles out (2miles in water). They tell you a mile per hour, and the mile estimates do include a mile on dry land before you even reach the water. We only really had to be in the river to cross it, and because of the air temperature it was really refreshing. We did stop in some shady spots to take photos and eat lunch and it was cold once we were out of the water a bit. You can hike the Narrows either top-down or bottom-up. You need a permit to do top-down and that usually starts at Kolob Canyon and requires a night or 2 sleeping out. Bottom-up starts from the scenic drive, stop #9, and starts off the Riverside Walk. You can go as far as you like and turn around, but you can only hike 5 miles out- which round trip would take 10 hours.

We were able to see the lunar eclipse from our campsite at the South Campground in Zion. The campgrounds in the park don’t have showers or laundry, but there is running water and it’s only $20 a night for a tent-only site & you will see mule deer walking around at dusk! My 4th time at Zion did not disappoint. It still remains my favorite park, I guess we’ll see if that changes after this summer 😉

May 16th: Zion National Park > Jackson, WY

9 hour driving day! We stopped by In-N-Out for lunch outside of Salt Lake City and Idaho is beautiful!