We arrived at Zion National Park in the heat of the day - 104 degrees and found a campsite in the South Campground in the park. No electrical hookups, but a little bit of shade. After a brief stop at the Visitor Center, we took the Zion Park shuttle bus into the canyon. We last visited the park in the 80's with the kids and at that time, we were allowed to drive into the canyon. No longer. Too many visitors for such a small canyon, so they have a "free" shuttle service. The $25 a car entrance fee to the park includes the free shuttle. Golden Pass holders (we old folks) get into the park free:) Getting "old" has some advantages.
The ride up the canyon takes 40 minutes. We rode up to the last stop, The Narrows, and back down to the Zion Lodge stop where we took the Lower Emerald Pools Trail. The 1.9 mile hike was on a wide path, not a difficult hike, but the 104 degree temperature made it a little uncomfortable. Were were thankful for the misting waterfall at the Emerald Pools. We returned to the Lodge for a very needed soft serve ice cream cone and more water. On the way back, we stopped at the Zion Human History Museum. |
| Mel testing the water in the river behind our campsite. |
Saturday, June 30, 2012
We filled our Camelback packs with water and returned to The Narrows to begin our river walk. Unlike our last visit to the park, there were lots of people taking the river walk. We thought we were prepared by bringing our water shoes this time...hmm. Wish we would have seen the information about renting the special shoes meant for river walking. Just outside the park are vendors where you can rent (for $22) sturdy soled shoes lined with neopreme rubber booties that help cushion the sole of your foot as you walk on the rocks and also help keep your feet warm in the icy mountain water. A walking stick also came with the rental. We headed in with our water shoes and were fortunate to find suitable walking sticks along the path. Next time...we rent.
There is a nice walking path up to the point where the river stretches from one canyon wall to the other side. If you want to continue, you have to walk in the river. The river bed varies from sandy bottom to small stones to large bolders--at which point you need to choose your path carefully. As you get farther into the narrows, the canyon will occassionally open up so you can step out of the water and walk along the rocky shore or take a break under a tree. The water level varies depending on what time of the year you are hiking. It wasn't long before we hit a spot where the water level was waist deep with shear cliffs on each side. Yikes that water is cold! After a while it was refreshing as the air temperature began to get back up to the 100+ levels.
If you plan to hike the entire Narrows (a rugged 8 hour hike), they recommend you register with the Park Service. At one point the water gets so deep and the walls of the canyon so steep, you need to swim upstream to get back to walking depth. We didn't make it up that far. We spent about six hours on the river...beautiful views and lots of fun. I only slipped on the rocks twice getting soaked up to my neck in water each time. In the hot dry climate, it didn't take long to completely dry out. Found out our backpacks are fairly waterproof as well. Our stay at Zion was definately one of the highlights of our trip. We will be back to rent those special shoes next time and plan to make it even farther up stream! We headed out after our river walk and found a campground to settle down for the night in Kanab, CO. A few more photos....
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