We went up to Zion National Park last weekend, leaving on Thursday afternoon, and returning on Sunday. We stayed at the Driftwood Lodge, which was a great motel, but had not internet access. Friday morning, we stood in line to get backcountry permits, which Ed received for the Virgin River Narrows. Then, after breakfast, we did the tourist stuff in Zion
Ed and climbed to the top of Angel’s Landing
A nice little hike, with about half of it being paved, but strangely not the beginning. After the big climb, there are then chains bolted into the mountain to help support people attempting to climb to the top
It took us about an hour and a 15 minutes to go the 2 miles and 1500 feet up.
The actual landing is out on the rock in the center, it’s a narrow climb to get there.
The following day, we got up early and left for the top of the North Fork of the Virgin River. Well, not the top, that’s further up. But above where the river enters Zion. It’s private property, and they have a decent sized ranching operation.
The morning temperature was about 50 degrees outside, and strangely enough, so was the water temperature. As we hiked along the 16 mile trail, the canyon walls became higher and higher. Eventually, the road went away and then the trail disappeared. We had to walk through the river most of the way down at that point.
Usually, the water was clear, and moving at a good, but not swift pace, about ankle to shin deep.
Half way through the hike, we encounter Big Springs. This is as far up river as non permitted hikers from the bottom could venture. Before this, we were only passed by one woman, and we passed a group of 8 hikers. Below this point, the river became more and more crowded. The water also became slower, and deeper. There were several points where I was in waist deep water, and was very nervous for my camera around my neck.
We ended the day at about 5:30, or about 10 hours and 15 minutes of hiking. The guide books suggested most people do the hike in 12 to 12 and a half hours. We certainly could of taken longer, but the river was also at 1/3 the level of some hiking days. We had about 42 cubic feet per second, and the park service closes the river to hikers at 140 cfs
Here we are at the bus stop!
