Submitted by No_Aside7816 t3_125s88c in EarthPorn
Comments
No_Aside7816 OP t1_je6w7sy wrote
It was closed due to water volume. It rained the entire visit. I have great waterfall photos too. They seem to be a rare thing.
wpnw t1_je7oah0 wrote
Some of the waterfalls do flow reliably every year when the snow melts, but if this was about two weeks ago, that was definitely a rare event for sure. Water absolutely everywhere.
LocalYote t1_je7bnsr wrote
Beautiful place. What scares me about this picture is the water on the canyon walls and the dirt in the river/color of the water. Definitely looks flash-y, which is no bueno.
justwanttoknow571 t1_je73pgr wrote
What trail 😂😂😂
No_Aside7816 OP t1_je76cgx wrote
You’re supposed to walk through the water. It’s around 16 miles long.
tallgirlmom t1_je7hcpg wrote
That’s the magic of the Narrows hike. You actually hike in the river. Sometimes on one bank or the other, but constantly crossing through the water. As the canyon walls narrow, the water gets deeper. Depending on recent weather, it can easily be hip or even chest high in some places. It’s amazing. Obviously a summer hike.
The trick to really enjoying this hike is to wear a swimsuit under your clothes and don’t take anything with you at all. No camera, no backpack, no phone, nothing. That way you won’t have to worry about stumbling, and can even float some sections on the way back.
No_Aside7816 OP t1_je9tn0e wrote
There is a YouTube channel by a fellow named Jerry Arizona who filmed a top-down hike of the full-length Narrows trail that is really good.
mylarky t1_je8d9av wrote
I'm hoping to get a permit for it this year. It's going to be full of water!
Photonix2368 t1_je82trg wrote
We were there in mid February and fortunately when there was good weather. So beautiful!! Thanks for sharing your photo!
kuruman67 t1_je8n44z wrote
Looks rough! I can see why it was closed.
ImpressiveTale605 t1_je8lxy1 wrote
perfect place for my yoga aasan
WhyteCross t1_je82ylr wrote
Worst hike I've ever been on in my life.
30 year veteran of Zion, done Angel's 3 times and most day hikes within the park including Kolob.
foreverhalcyon8 t1_je8ef9f wrote
Why is it the worst to you?
WhyteCross t1_je9x6pb wrote
There is no trail. It's just the river. Fine. A unique opportunity to hike in a river on a warm day.
But you're hiking with 3,000 to 5,000 of your closest friends. Half of whom don't understand or respect difficult trails--and make no mistake, the Narrows is difficult.
On a medium river day, there are few if any points of dry land. There is no place to stop. No place to sit and re-tie a boot. You're in the river, and that's it. At its lowest the river is a foot or two deep. But the river gets deep in places--up to your chest--and you either go in or you go back.
All of that is fine. I'm no cupcake, like I said I've done Angels and pretty much every other day hike in Zion.
But the trail isn't what you think. This isn't a sandy-bottom river. The river bottom is nothing but rocks and boulders. Imagine a million bowling balls of different sizes, all covered in incredibly slippery river slime, under 3-4 feet of water.
That's it. That's the Narrows.
Hours of unending, ankle twisting, dangerous slime-covered rocks under several feet of water. Every step you take you're subject to serious vacation-ending injury with no place to stop, no way to get help.
It's astounding the park service doesn't have to air lift a hundred people a day out for broken bones. That's not hyperbole. Even with experience and in the rented hard-soled water boots and walking staffs, it is ridiculously treacherous. People talk about the chains on Angels being dangerous and not understanding how the park service allows people to attempt a death-defying climb. But I'll take Angels over the Narrows any day.
And the messed up thing is that the views you get in the Narrows aren't unique or even especially good. The park is filled with tall, sheer cliffs and gorgeous scenery. There's nothing you can see in the first few miles of the Narrows that you can't find better examples of elsewhere in the park.
The Narrows is the emperor's new clothes for people who make an 8-hour stop in Zion on their way somewhere else. Cold, dangerous, crowded, and generally unpleasant.
xHourglassx t1_jea4wwj wrote
Couldn’t disagree more. Went in the middle of summer and found it to be far more awe-inspiring than Angel’s Landing. We didn’t have trouble finding places to stop. It might have been a lower water level for us; it definitely never came up to chest level. I’m of the opinion you were there on a day of near rapid conditions, with high water volume creating dangerous conditions.
On a hot August day the cool water is so refreshing. There is absolutely nothing dangerous about the water flow most of the time. You just have to watch your footing and mind the weather reports.
WhyteCross t1_jea5xn7 wrote
Glad your experience was better than ours. But it was nothing close to rapids. Just a typical day: The current was never an issue.
It was the treacherous footing and the endless slippery river rocks. It's not that you encounter them occasionally. It's literally every step you take for hours.
The Narrows. Not even once.
dmah99 t1_je6rs3s wrote
Single greatest hike I've ever been on.