More of the Virgin River

This is an area of the Virgin River called big springs about four miles from where the walkway ends at the last shuttle bus stop in the canyon. That back pack I'm carrying probably weighs about thirty pounds. We rented water shoes, neoprene socks and the wooden hiking poles from the Zion Narrows Outfitters. The equipment worked out great. I also rented and carried dry pants but didn't end up using them. After a while you just get used to being wet and it doesn't bother you. I had a garbage bag in my back pack which kept most of the contents dry.

Hiking the Zion River Narrows

I spent last weekend hiking the Virgin River Narrows in Zion national Park - 16 miles! Having never done this before I was told we would take two days to hike 16 miles down river and stay overnight in a camp ground half way downstream. Didn't sound too bad. Well I should have remembered better some of the stories of the early explorers who first map some of the rivers in the West. Going downstream is not always going down stream. Sometimes to avoid little waterfalls and deep areas you are forced to take the path up on the bank and over rocks and boulders. We started out Saturday morning at the trailhead after driving 15 miles on a narrow dirt road. The camp ground we reserved was located at mile marker 10 which we finally reached about one hour before dark. The water Saturday wasn't much above our knees but the water Sunday reached above our waists at times.