In July of 2022, I had planned a trip to the Narrows with a friend of mine that lived in Vegas. He was supposed to come out and we were supposed to do this amazing adventure together. unfortunatley the day before we were supposed to meet he got a concussion and had to go into the ER. They told him to get bed rest and that he couldn't do anything strenuous for 48 hours. So that plan blew up in my face and after that I did the Very, very long journey home.
With all that being said J and I had planned to visit Zion while he visited and before he landed in vegas I got things set up for our stay. First, let me point out that Zion is THE national park of Utah. It's wildly visited and if you plan to go there try to go in the wintertime. Yes, its cold but NOBODY is there. We were able to make reservations at the campground a week and a half before our allotted time. That is practically unheard of. With those reservations set we then planned to do Angels Landing since I tried to do this hike back in 2019 and failed due to covid putting up a barrier to prevent people from going up to the landing. Why? Because of the chains. They were afraid that if people were sick and touched the chains that it would spread the virus so they put up a barricade and cameras and anybody who did the landing could get 6 months in jail and a $5000 fine..
Needless to say, I didn't finish the hike.
So this time we planned to go just so I can finally say I did it and finally check it off my list.
One small problem.
They now require you to have a permit to go up to angels Landing. Apparently, the decision to adopt this new system and just started in the last 6 months of 2022. Honestly, I was furious but looked into it. They had a daily lottery during January and you sign up for it the day before they announce the winners at 4 p.m pst time and if you get in then you go do the hike. Long story short, we did the lottery and we did not get the chance to do it. So we decided to do the next best thing. The Narrows.
The Narrows is an 18-mile hike (if you want to go that far) but in honesty, it doesn't have an end destination. It's one of those hikes where you can go as far as you want and then turn around. They also provide a bib that you can rent along with water shoes and a hiking stick for balance while in the Narrows. We got the Bibs and we set out on this adventure. Now a few things if you do this in the wintertime.
1) check the weather. This place is literally a river that your walking through and can be subject to rock slides and flooding so always check the weather beforehand.
2)get the Bibs. They are $50 + Tax but they keep you warm and dry while you're out there the water was around 30 degrees when we did it and it can get up to your waist if not higher.
3) If you are clumsy or have balance trouble I would recommend a walking stick. The current is strong in some places and I was able to get through without issue but I can see how people can fall and hurt themselves on this hike. It also is hard to see the bottom in some places so its good to have the stick to feel around so your not tripping 24/7
4) Bring water and snacks. The water in the Narrows is Toxic so you CANNOT drink it or you could die. They have had an issue with algae clumps and unfortunately, they found out the hard way how toxic it was by someone's dog getting sick and dying from drinking the water. So this is one of those hikes where you also leave your dog at home.
5) Bring your camera in a waterproof sack. Trust me, you will want it.
With that all being said it is quite the experience and I loved it. It was tough because you are walking through the water the whole time and I would highly recommend it in the wintertime because there was No one on the hike. Normally it's very crowded and apparently that cause some traffic jams with crossings and I just think dealing with a load of people that are struggling to cross and you wait your turn on an already tough hike would ruin the experience. We also realized that we were lucky the water was low. I'm 5'4 and the water came up to about my waist in some spots but not that much higher. There have been people who go on the hike that where they have to lift their bags over their heads to cross over and with a strong current that would be a no go situation.
And yes the water was cold but it was worth the adventure and experience.
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side note: This hike is NOT for little kids. I would say Teenagers or babies you can carry on your back would be fine but I do not recommend small children as they could get swept away or the water could be to high for them to cross.
