Day 18 – June 5, 2024 – Springdale, UT
Today was a leisurely morning since we did not want to head to the Narrows early in the morning, so decided to wait closer to lunch time. We donned our gear, special socks, and shoes, grabbed our hiking stick and headed to the bus. We walked to the park and then to where the bus will pick you up and take you up to the last stop, #9 The Temple of Sinawava, the trailhead for the River Walk and then to the Narrows.
The River Walk trail is about a 1-mile paved trail that runs along the Virgin River. Once you get to the end, you go down and you start walking through the river heading upstream for as long as you like. The Narrows is the narrowest section of the Zion Canyon. The walls are a thousand feet tall and the river is at times 20-30 feet wide. If you hike up to Big Bend, it’s a 9 ½ mile round trip hike. It’s very slow moving as you are fighting the current on the way up. John thinks we only went about ¾ mile and then decided to head back. Walking closer to the walls is a little easier and there are spots that have places that you can sit and it’s easier to walk on. We chose to walk in the water heading up and then hit some of the easier spots heading back. It really is amazing and fun to watch all of the people, especially the kids! The deepest part on me, came up to mid chest (I’m 5’0 for reference). I did slip once and went down, but didn’t completely submerge myself. It’s very difficult to walk as you can’t see the rocks and I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have that walking stick. There were quite a few people that did not have one and I don’t know how they managed. I thought I had good balance, but it was not an easy task. We didn’t get a whole lot of pictures, as you’re trying to keep your balance along the way, but got a few. We headed back, walked the mile trail back to the bus station, took off our shoes and socks and let our feet dry. John had packed our flip flops so we didn’t have to ride back with our feet still soaked in water. Even though the socks and shoes helped a whole lot, your feet still get wet.
When we got back to stop #1 at the Visitors Center, we turned in our gear and then went and grabbed a beer at the Beer Pub. We sat outside and enjoyed the mist that they have spraying everywhere. It made it to over 100 degrees today. We headed back to the BNB, a 5 minute walk, showered, and then made a dinner of noodles, Italian sausage and broccoli. After dinner, we started packing up a few things and then watched a bit of TV and called it a night. We have really enjoyed Zion and I would love to come back here again.
Tomorrow we head to Bryce Canyon and new adventure begins. Nite all!
