Day 15: Zion National Park; The Narrows Hike

Day 15: Zion National Park

📍Zion National Park: The Paiute American Indians reside in the area.

We enjoyed a leisure morning, and a wonderful breakfast at Meme’s. I just want to say that I think it’s important to remember to be kind and patient with all waitstaff at any restaurant right now. Most of these local small businesses are trying to bounce back from Covid and have limited staff. They are hustling to serve the crowds of tourists that continue to pour in (us included). Now is the time to show extra appreciation and kindness; and bigger tips when you can.

Around Noon we made our way to the park, using the Springdale shuttle (which is free), and it takes you right to the Zion National Parks Visitors Center, where we had to pick up the next park shuttle to The Narrows trailhead.

Note: We had to pre-purchase shuttle tickets that allowed us down the main scenic road to the Zion trails. Most of the time this shuttle is free and can be picked up at anytime along the route. However, due to Covid, and the park needing to limit the number of people coming in, you had to get a $1 shuttle pass. We bought ours a few weeks ago and the only time slot left was 1-2pm. People who did not know about the shuttle pass program, had to either walk the 8 miles to the trailhead, or rent a bike. Eek! We bought two shuttle passes, one for Sept 9th and another for Sept 10th.

So, hiking The Narrows has been on my bucket list since we were here 5 years ago. We were not prepared then, and I had a broken baby toe, so it wasn’t meant to be. But this time, we made every effort to be prepared! Yesterday we went to the Zion Outfitters store and rented neoprene socks (scuba suit material), to help keep our feet warm from the cold river water. We decided to use our own hiking shoes and trekking poles, however you can rent shoes and large wooden sticks.

While at the outfitters and checking the shuttle system is where our plans nearly got derailed again. There are signs everywhere and Park Rangers warning about a type of bacteria which has been found in the river we wanted to walk in; the Virgin River.

The bacteria is called Cyanobacteria, and there has been an unexpected “bloom” in the river (of course, it’s 2020). This bacteria produces a cyanotoxin called anatoxin-a, which impacts the nervous system. Side affects are skin rash, salivation, drowsiness, tingling, burning, numbness, pain, incoherent speech, seizures, vomiting, and diarrhea. The National Park System recommends avoiding contact with the river water until further notice and do not walk in it if you have any open sores, cuts, etc. However, it’s merely a suggestion and you may enter at your own risk. Thank you 2020; such a whack year!

Ken and I discussed this at length and decided to take our chances and go anyway.

It is also important to note that afternoon thunderstorms are common from mid-July through mid-September. Storms may produce waterfalls, as well as flash floods. There are flash flood warning gauges set up at the head of the trail. Today’s gauge said “Not expected. Your safety is your responsibility”. Okay then; Covid ✅, plagued squirrels ✅, and neurotoxic bacteria ✅! Thankfully no worries of flash floods, ✅. Whew! Let’s go!

I was beyond nervous, again, fear of not knowing what to expect, fear of slipping, twisting an ankle, and now fear of falling in and ingesting some crazy lame bacteria! But as much as this all scared the crap out of me, my desire to go had a much bigger pull.

We got to the second shuttle line, with the hoards of people, and boarded the shuttle. Shuttles are running at half capacity right now so things were taking a little longer than usual. We wanted to take the shuttle to the “Temple of Sinawava”, the last stop on the route, and where The Narrows trailhead begins.

While on the shuttle we met a young girl who was as excited to hike The Narrows as we were. She mentioned that she didn’t have passes for tomorrow and would have to wing it. I didn’t think we would need our shuttle passes for the 10th, so we gave them to her. It made her super happy, which in turn, made us happy. Win-Win!

Once at the Temple of Sinawava, we started the 1 mile trek on the nicely paved pathway to the mouth of The Narrows. It’s such a beautiful walk, so even if you don’t want to do The Narrows portion, it’s worth the stroll.

At this point I was still debating on whether I would do The Narrows or not, anxious and apprehensive, we decided to make that choice once we got down there. Ken was excited and more ready to go then I was.

We got to the mouth of The Narrows and I instantly felt like a fish out of water. We were surrounded by loads of twenty-something’s, super fit sporty-types and the self doubt started in. I watched as others slipped on the rocks crossing the first part of the river, and then I saw injuries, one guy with a big gash on his leg. What were we thinking? Should we be doing this? Can we do this? Do we even belong here? My mind was in overdrive.

We got our trekking poles extended and ready, I fiddled with my backpack, rearranging things for the 100th time, drank some water; basically doing everything possible to procrastinate while I was internally trying to make this seemingly impossible decision to go or not, but on the outside, pretending to prepare and seem confident. I was not!

Ken could sense my apprehension, gave me a pep talk and we decided just to cross this first portion of the river and see how it goes.

We started walking into the river. I must have stopped and started 3 to 4 times trying to enter the river at different spots to see which one was the best route to take. Every step was calculated and thought out. We made it to the other side of the river, and I started feeling a little more confident. Time to regroup. The hike itself is 8 miles, rated strenuous and so our plan was to go in as far as we felt comfortable going, knowing we would have to trek back out the same way we came in.

We kept going and zigzagged up the river crossing back and forth. We hit a section where the rocky bottom turned into sand and the water was waist deep. We couldn’t see the bottom and had to feel around with our feet. The water was a murky, but a pretty pale green! I really enjoyed this section of the river.

Side Note: What did we wear? Ken wore moisture wicking quick dry hiking shorts and shirt. I wore paddle board swim leggings, underneath my moisture wicking, quick dry hiking pants. The extra layer provided warmth and worked out perfectly.

Back into the rocky and larger stones, my shoes would get wedged between rocks and that’s where the trekking poles came in handy; to pull my feet out. In some sections my poles would get stuck and other sections my toes bent so far back I swore they might snap off. All that being said, it was the most exhilarating thing I’ve ever done. Fricken AWESOME, though incredibly exhausting!!

At this point we stopped to have another discussion and decided to turn around and trek back to the trailhead. My hands and wrists were feeling fatigued from holding onto my trekking poles so tightly for balance and my legs were moderately squishy, so this was a good time to turn back around. Thankfully Ken felt the same way.

We safely made our way back to where The Narrows started.

We made it!

We did it!

We DID belong here and I’m so glad we did this together!

We took a quick rest and water break and started the mile trek back to the shuttle. As I walked along the path, listening to the river, putting one foot in front of the other, I nearly lulled myself to sleep. If I could sleep walk, I would have. It was so peaceful and I was so tired. But even as tired as I was, there was a huge part of me that didn’t want it to end. Everything felt amazing.

We arrived at the shuttle stop and waited for the next shuttle, our feet were soggy and there was a chill in the air.

We saw a fellow passenger with huge cuts in his feet. He had done The Narrows in hiking sandals. I would strongly advise against that; it looked so painful.

Slowly rolling off one shuttle and walking to the next shuttle, we headed into Springdale; boarding like zombies. We missed our stop and had to get off at the next one and walk our unconscious butts all the way back up to our hotel. That’s how tired we were, haha!

Remember that list of side affects from the river toxins (i.e. skin rash, salivation, drowsiness, tingling, burning, numbness, pain, incoherent speech, seizures, vomiting, and diarrhea), well I would say that due to our extreme fatigue, we easily ticked off the first 8 of those!

We finally made it to the room, and that hot shower never felt so good. I could’ve stood in there for hours!

Refreshed and somewhat alive again, we walked down the road to dinner. The restaurant was warm, I ordered a tea and got too comfortable; I nearly fell asleep. We ate too much (hiker hunger) so I’m glad we had a small walk back to our hotel.

What a day! I’m so thankful the hike went great and the day ended well. No injuries, no cuts, and no crazy toxins entering our bloodstream. Whew!

Nighty night!

“You never change your life until you step out of your comfort zone; change begins at the end of your comfort zone.” – Roy T. Bennett