In the interest of time and space efficiency I have not included pictures on this page. You can see my Zion National Park page for some pictures. I hope to put up more pictures as well as stories on those pages over the next few weeks.
Since most of the people going on this trip have not hiked the narrows before, and some have never been to Zion National Park before, I thought I ought to prepare some information on the trip in general and the narrows hike. I hope it doesn't seem like I am being overly complicated or planning too much. Basically I want to make sure we will all live and be reasonably comfortable. Beyond that I am completely open to opinions and ideas--I do not consider myself to have the final word on anything except me. Most of the information here comes from my experience hiking the narrows last July and also guidebooks that I have purchased.
If you have questions or would like other information, please e-mail me. With this information I list some group equipment that I may not be able to provide.&nbps; I also mention several items that have not been decided fully. I would ask that everyone please give me feedback on these issues, as soon as possible, so that we will be able to plan the trip completely and make all necessary arrangements, especially for food, lodging and so forth.
One item to consider--Some guidebooks list the flash flood season in Zion as starting in late July, and some list it as starting in August. I called the park and they told me that there are no particular black-out dates for permits, but instead the decision is made on a daily basis according to the water pressure at the time. There is a chance that they will not issue permits to us for the day we want (they only issue them one day in advance). I tried to leave us a window of opportunity on Saturday, so that if they will not give us permits to start hiking on Thursday, perhaps we can get some to do the hike on Friday and Saturday. If it does happen that we cannot get permits either day, I promise that Zion National Park has many amazing places to hike and we will still have a good time.
The Zion narrows hike goes through one of the most beautiful and isolated areas in the world, and certainly one of the most beautiful and isolated areas that I have ever been in. It is also a dangerous place; By the time a group is about three hours into the hike, they are already in a canyon with walls high enough that the only possibility for exit would be using technical rock climbing up a face several hundred feet high. The hikers will eventually find themselves between walls eight feet apart and over a thousand feet high, and later will spend three hours in water with no land between walls no more than twenty feet apart and ranging from 1500 to 2000 feet above the river.
About A third of the hike is made along (and in) the North Fork of the Virgin River. At first the hikers will be on dry land making occasional river crossings in water ranging from ankle to knee deep. After a while these river crossings become more and more frequent as the hikers travel along a series of 25 to 150 foot sand bars on either side of the river, crossing in between.
Later this river is joined by the confluence of Deep Creek, the source of two-thirds of the water in the Virgin River. At this point the water level gets higher and the bottom of the river changes. Instead of sand and small pebbles, the bottom of the river now consists of rocks which stick up 6 inches to two feet off of the bottom. The water is deeper, faster and colder. Depending on recent rainfall, chances are that the bottom will not be visible from now to the end of the hike. You will find yourself crossing rapids and trying to avoid falling into deep channels.
The depth of the water on the first day of my hike averaged between mid-calf and mid-thigh. On the second day the water depth averaged between above the knee and waist level, with several times where mid-chest level water was unavoidable, and twice where it was impossible to touch the bottom for at least 20-30 feet, even with a sounding pole. I admit that the water pressure was very high and the river had been running deep that season. I do not expect the water to be that deep or that high this year. Still, we can hope.
There are ten campsites along the river that are above the high-water line. Camping is allowed only in those sites. (Hence the need for permits to hike the canyon.) Permits are also available to hike the canyon in one day, but that would require leaving very early, pushing hard and arriving about sunset. I would rather enjoy the scenery. As the crow flies the entire distance of the hike is 16 miles. I would estimate that since a good sized portion of the hike consists of crossing the river rather than hiking down it, the actual distance is closer to 18 or 19 miles. It is not an easy hike.
I have been hiking for many years on many trails and on trips of up to two weeks in length, and the travel on this one was definitely the most rugged. It is not rugged for the distance, however, and certainly not for the temperature (In July in Zion National Park there is no better place to be than in the bottom of a canyon, out of the sun). The ruggedness lies in the terrain, (the rocky bottom of a river) the conditions, (carrying a pack that has absorbed water from being partially submerged) and the strain of fighting the river's currents, which can be strong. Luckily, there are plenty of moments to relax and walk easily, even casually, and the real weariness did not set in for me until after it was all done.
Most everybody has a pretty good idea of what things they need and use when they go camping. The main consideration for this trip is that we will essentially be camping in two very different climates. Our 'base camp' is going to be very hot and dry, southern Utah desert in the heat of July. Last summer I found that I was unable to sleep well because it was so warm. Each person may or may not want to bring some bedding lighter than a sleeping bag to sleep in the first and last nights of the trip. Unless you hear otherwise we will be using paper and plastic for eating, except in the narrows where you will probably want a bowl and some utensils. I will let you know of any specific cooking/eating utensils that each person will need to bring.
On the other hand, the backcountry campsites in the narrows present the opposite conditions. These areas probably get no more than thirty minutes of direct sunlight a day, and are always humid because of the proximity of the river (probably 90% humidity or higher). I slept in my sleeping bag there and was comfortable (at least temperature wise). The ground is not very smooth or level. Remember that the campsites were chosen because they are the only areas above the flood plane, not because of any comfort they may offer. I suggest bringing a plastic ground cloth to put under your sleeping bag.
I did see one group who brought a tent with them, but it was only a two person tent. I don't think any of the campsites could accomodate a tent bigger than that, and certainly not enough for all of us. The chances of rain are not great and even if it does, not very much will reach the bottom of the river. Some of the camping areas, including the largest one where we will most likely need to stay, are covered by natural rock outcroppings.
Our family has some cots that collapse down to a small size but are fairly heavy. I have not yet decided whether I will bring one of those for the narrows. One of the people I hiked with last year had one, and that seemed to be a good solution to the uneven terrain problem. (I kept waking up in the night and finding that my sleeping bag had slid down a foot or two--which was not a danger but was uncomfortable to me.)
Another big thing to think about on the hike is clothing. I brought and was glad that I had one complete change of clothing, including underwear. It was a very nice feeling to be able to get out of my wet clothes and into something dry. I then wore those clothes the next day. (I made sure I had more dry clothes back at camp.) As far as footwear goes, do not plan on hiking in: sandals (the rocky terrain combined with the strong current really demands closed toes and sides to your shoes--I wore some shoes that had been fairly unscathed but by the time I got out of the river they had several scars where the outer portion of the leather had been ripped off by rocks) or Gore-tex or other waterproof hiking boots (I promise that, waterproof boots notwithstanding, your feet will get wet when you are chest deep in water, although I imagine waterproof boots would be more successful than other shoes at keeping the water in--not such a good thing at that).
I would suggest that rather than any hiking boots or shoes that you don't want ruined, (not a guaranteed outcome but a possibility) bring instead some tennis shoes, preferably high tops with ankle support since twisted/sprained ankles are the most common type of injury in the narrows. They should be broken in and comfortable to walk in, but some hiking shoe considerations such as breathability and waterproofing are not really important. Something that will be able to grip fairly well on wet rock would obviously be nice. I think I am going to go to Deseret Industries first to look for shoes, then maybe Wal-Mart. You will also want to bring a pair of dry shoes with you on the hike, to wear once we reach camp. These could be sandals or whatever you want to wear.
One thing I was warned to bring but did not bring last year, and found that I wished very much I had, was a sturdy pole to use in the river. Since we most likely will not be able to see the bottom of the river once the water is deeper than one and a half or two feet, it comes in handy to search the terrain in front of you and try and find the shallower path, or try and find out how far that rock you are about to step on goes before it drops off. In some sections where we will have to cross fast moving rapids, it is very handy as an extra leg to lean on. The people I was with all had them and in the rough spots one of them would cross and then pass back their pole to me. I think a long bamboo pole is probably the lightest and would be effective--I am going to do some asking around and look at some hardware stores to see what I can find.
Everyone will want a backpack with a frame, internal or external doesn't matter so much, since we hopefully will not have huge loads. I am hoping to get by with a large day pack (with a frame) that I have. If anyone does not have access to such a pack, Our family has several and I can probably arrange to get one for you--just let me know soon.
Another consideration when packing would be protecting your gear from the water. Before my trip last year I bought a couple of waterproof boating bags (dunk bags). I was able to put my clothes and things such as camera equipment in those bags and they survived well, even the gear in the bag that was at the bottom of my pack and got submerged several times. These bags are on sale right now ($9.99) at the Recreation Outlet, at about 3100 S. State Street across the street from Kirkham's Outdoor Products. Kirkham's also has some that are probably a more trustworthy brand but are more expensive, ranging from $15 to $30 depending on size and features. I am planning on getting at least one more-they were very effective for me last year.
You can try ziplock bags or garbage bags, but don't expect them to be as strong. Some of the people I was with last year had some trail mix in ziplock baggies. After our swim they had ziplock baggies full of water and trail mix. I can't explain it, but that is what happened. I don't think any of us got away without slipping at least once, and I would say it is virtually impossible to not get at least some of your gear wet on this hike, so plan on somehow protecting or not bringing any gear that will not survive getting wet.
One more nice thing to bring on the trail is toilet paper--not a whole roll but at least some. Alas physical functions do not cease even in the bottom of a canyon.
As I mentioned, I have or have access to a fair amount of cooking gear, both portable for backpacking and not-so-portable for base camp. I have some other gear that I can provide but not as much. Please let me know soon if you have or can get any of the following items:
This trip is going to be a lot of fun and I hope each of you are looking forward to it as much as I am! As long as we are prepared and careful there will be no problems. Please do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions, and please let me know each of your opinions on the questions raised above (i.e. stay into the next week, showers, etc.).