This past weekend I hiked the Zion Narrows with my sister, brother-in-law, and father. I must first begin by noting – I forgot how stunningly beautiful the entire Zions National Park area is. The Narrows hike is roughly 16 miles. You start in a field with a stream running through it. By the time you’re finished, you’ve hiked through areas where the walls are 800 feet high (or more) and where in some places the canyon walls are no more than 10 feet wide. The rocks are all sorts of colors, from pinks, to reds, to browns, to blacks. You’ll see trees growing out of cracks you’d be hard pressed to cram 2 fingers into. From beginning to end, it’s an amazing experience.
My dad is almost 70 – and as a result, he’s a little slower than most hikers. We started at 8:30 AM and finished at 10:00 PM. I’ve hiked the Narrows twice before. This was the first time I hiked at night. For an hour or so, we had bats flying all around us. They would skim the water and fly right by you. Very cool. After the sun went down, we were able to hike with the moonlight lighting the canyon rim. Ah, what a great time.
I didn’t get a chance this time, but need to visit again and climb Angels Landing. I want to do it with the fam. We’ll have to rope them together for some parts. Can’t have a wee one taking that one big last step.
What a great hike!
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