Zion: The Narrows

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Zion was full of adventure. After we did Angel's Landing, I knew it wouldn't be my last time in the park. We had a few more hikes planned to get the full experience.

The Narrows was the next priority on our list. We actually ended up having a pretty epic experience for this one. We met a guy who guides The Narrows for a tour company. He hooked us up gear from his shop where we rented neoprene socks, shoes, and pants so that we would be prepared for a full day in the water. This was pretty crucial since our shuttle tickets were from 7-8am in the morning and it was going to be in the 30s at that time. By the time we got to the river and in the water it was closer to 9MT and the temp warmed up a bit. Our new friend planned to join us but since it was his day off he wanted to sleep in a bit. He told us to get started and he would find us in the river. 

As we began walking it was such a surreal feeling. I kept thinking how cool it is that you can actually do this, walk through the water up to your waist in a slot canyon. There was a pretty decent current so going against the grain took a toll on your legs. As we were walking past a small waterfall, a decent sized elk (or deer?) walked the opposite direction. He's known to be spotted in the canyon so we were lucky that we got to witness him on our trip! 

Our guide friend took us right past the point where he's allowed to guide and technically you need a permit go farther. He showed us all the cool things that only guides really point out - good picture spots, fun facts, tips to waking waist deep with a walking stick, everything you didn't know that you wanted to know. You know? He even pointed out the smallest snail in the world which only lives in Zion. It's the size of a pinhead, hard to capture on camera and looks like a spec of dirt on the rock to the bare eye.

He even took us down one of the side canyons in the slot canyon. He showed us where groups typically turn around because there's a cluster of three massive boulders on one side and a waterfall on the other so it's not obvious how to go further. Turns out, you have to go under and through the boulders. We took our packs off because you can't fit through the holes in the boulders with it on and used a carabiner attached our walking sticks to lift our backpacks up and over the boulder. Then we climbed through the hole and kept walking through the slide slot canyon. 


See my little hand trying to lift myself through the hole?

Along this walk, parts of the rock looked like they were shimmering with gold. Turns out, it leads to a gorgeous waterfall where we decided to stop and have lunch. This was a pretty epic experience because no one knows how to get up there. Well, now you do but good luck with getting there on your own. 


Our lunch spot

All in, we were up, down, and around the canyon for a good 8 miles. My legs were super wobbly and weak from walking against the water all day but we held on to each other for extra support which also doubled as extra cute photos. You can see how much fun we had, even at mile 8.



The friends we made in Utah really pulled through for us - a free guided tour of The Narrows and a lottery ticket to The Wave. Thanks boys! 















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