As we pulled into Zion National Park, the sunrise turned the orange rocks into a purple glow. I would be the only one that would know that because the rest of the guys were sound asleep as we drove into the park (Hunter will claim that he was awake). The previous night, we drove from the Grand Canyon five hours to a little campground right outside the entrance of the national park. We didn’t have a spot reserved at the camp site, so we had to leave really early to avoid getting caught.
We arrived before anyone else got there, so we were able to get a pretty great parking spot as well as being first to get on the transit bus (Note: You are not allowed to drive to the trails or sights, you have to take their buses that are inside the park. It took us fifty minutes to get to our hike). As people started to pile in, it got really crowded and I started to feel a little claustrophobic. There was nine stops between the entry and our hike so I figured that people would thin out before we got there… I was terribly wrong. Everyone and their mom were going to Zion National Parks most well known attraction, the narrows! The narrows is a very shallow river that travels through the national park that you can hike through to experience the red rock that line the side of the river. You start to feel really small being surrounded by red rock that are hundreds of feet tall.
As we journey onward, we remembered that a man told us a few days back that about two miles into the hike we would approach a cut off… and he told us to take it. Thank you Jesus we took that cut off. The 1/2 foot deep water soon turned into a swimming pool. We had to abandon our backpacks just a few yards into the cut off because we knew that they would be no use when we had to swim upriver. We took that cut off and there was not a soul in sight. We continued about two more miles into the unknown were there was only us and nature. The water was crystal clear blue and you could see straight to the bottom. THIS TOOK MY BREATH AWAY! It looked like I was standing in a National Geographic Magazine. I did not think places would actually look the way they did in a picture.
We got to a point where we could go no further and decided as a group to turn around and head back to the van. We were wet and cold but it was worth it all. I believe this was my favorite moment from our trip.
We want to acknowledge and thank the past, present, and future generations of all Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples whose ancestral lands we travel, explore, and play on. Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!
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