Virgin Narrows, tight and wet
Trip Start
Oct 12, 2007
1
5
Trip End
Oct 16, 2007
Springdale,
Utah,
United States
Sunday, October 14, 2007
The big goal of the Narrows is a portion of the canyon four miles down where the walls are hundreds of feet tall and only 15 feet apart. I was going to get there, no matter what.
Day users gathered at the entry point to the river and gawked at how crazy the hikers were. Today the water was a chilly 45 degrees. I'll admit that it looks crazy, but once my body adjusted to the cold waters, I managed to hike without too many complaints.
The river was waist-deep at its deepest and about an hour into the hike my feet started to numb and my legs began to burn (hypothermia anyone?). Footing in the river was tricky. The basic rule of thumb was hike towards the light parts of the river. Any dark parts of the river were about chest deep.
You couldn't see what you were stepping on. My technique to hiking the river was to wedge my foot and/or ankle in between two rocks before making a step. I didn't trip or fall once.
More than 2 1/2 hours after I started the hike, I made it to the famous slot canyon. The view was breathtaking. The canyon walls were so high you could barely see the tops of 'em. The walls were blue and the sound of a rushing river overpowered the canyon. Not many people made it this far.
Many turned around early as their legs wore down from fighting the current of the frigid waters. My legs were numb as I reached the slots and I lost control of my numb feet.
I found a small patch of dry land to warm my feet up a little bit before turning around. The trip back was a thousand times easier downstream and I reached the trailhead in about 1 1/2 hours.
The hikers coming out of the river all had a hop in their step and smiles on their faces that made the day users wonder what was in the canyon.
What's in the canyon? It's more beautiful than any woman and it's better than sex.
Comments
what is in the canyon
how can it be better than all those hot girls