Day 10 or our final official day of vacation!
For this day we have saved our longest and most challenging hike of all, a hike up the Narrows. The Narrows is created by the Virgin River, which has carved a spectacular gorge. The water temperature this time of year is 59 degrees and the river in places can run deep and fast and has slippery rocks in it. In preparation for this hike we had decided to rent some special equipment and after, we all agreed we were very glad we did. The night before we had picked up special water shoes, neoprene socks, and a staff, all very important. Ian chose to wear his Vibram five-finger toe shoes and they also worked out fine. The Narrows trail is at the Temple of Sinawava at the end of the Park.
Most people hike up to the area they call Wall Street, but our goal for the day was Big Springs the place you have to turn around if you don’t have a permit. It is 5 miles to that point, plus 1 mile to the head of the trail, so it would be 12 miles total. There are a couple of things you need to know before you go, one is the level of the water that day, and if there is any prediction of rain. 60% of the Trail is in water and it can rise fast!
The start of the trail and our trip. We all had lots of water and had packed plenty of snacks to eat along the way. This was going to be an all day trip!
Right at the beginning we spotted 2 male Mule deer, right along the river.
One of the dry areas of the hike, and a little further into the Canyon.
Making our way up the Canyon.
Rock hopping! And entering the Wall Street area.
The water is getting a little deeper and we hiked a lot in this depth or just a little higher.
Just a little deeper! And the Canyon is a lot narrower here. This is the area they call Wall Street, where most people turn around!
Taking a break in the sun and enjoying the Canyon!
Along the way Ian and Becca find a good deep water hole and a big rock, which equals!
Jumping off and…
making a Splash!
This is one of the few areas that we had to hike in water up past our waists. Sometimes the water can be up to your shoulders!
Our Goal “Big Springs”! We took a long break eating lunch and some taking a swim, even though the water is pretty cold. Brrr! By the time we got this far, it was just us and another couple who were making the trip up this far. Just before we left, 2 other couples came up, but otherwise we had the Canyon to ourselves.
On the way back down at Wall Street area.
It took us about 9 hours to complete and were glad to see the end when we got there. We all decided we had, had enough of wading in water to last us a long time. It is faster going down, and we only had a couple of slips of falling into the water. By the end of the day we were all exhausted!
The next morning we didn’t get up as early as we had hoped, but loaded up and headed out. We had a 15 hr. drive ahead of us!
Ready to go on our way home! We drove from Southwest Utah, thru Colorado, to Salina Kansas. We had scheduled a college visit for Ian at Kansas State in Salina at their Aviation School. We arrive in Salina at 1:30 a.m. Yes a.m. and got up the next morning at 6:00 a.m. for a 8:00 Tour. We let the girls sleep and picked them up after the tour.
We finally made it home about 5:00 that evening. The Adventure was over!
Thanks for joining us on this journey, hope you enjoyed it. Now back to work!
Would love to hear from you!