Slight Change of Plans

We had to make a change in our itinerary because the Park camp grounds were filling up and we were not going to get a spot if the backpacked out the West Rim trail and stayed in a backcountry site on Thursday night.

So, we got one of the last spots in the South Campground Thursday morning and then hiked the East Rim trail during the day Thursday. It was a LONG 5 mile hike into the backcountry with numerous switchbacks that climbed up over 1500 ft. After an 1.5 hrs of hiking we saw no one. It took us 6 hours over some of the most breathtaking terrain. (Pics below)

Today we hiked the famous Zion Narrows. It’s a hike that is almost all upstream of the Virgin River into the narrow towering Canyon. The walls rose over 1000 feet above in spots. We rented special water shoes & socks along with a water tight bag to carry our gear & shoulder length poles to support us going through the rapidly moving freezing Virgin waters. At spots we almost had to swim the water was neck-deep in spots. We made it to Orderville Canyon and had to return. Round trip about 4 miles but most of it is wading in waist deep water up-stream for half the hike and it took us 6 hours. We saw several people fall in the rapids and get bounced around pretty good. Had to pull one lady out of the rapids after she fell and could not get back up. Lots of bumps and bruises but she was ok. (Pics below.)