Tag: utah

We woke up the next morning to warm golden sunlight bathing the 2000-foot sandstone walls that surrounded us. If you don’t get up, stand up, and stare in absolute awe, you’re simply not human. We made ourselves a quick breakfast of oatmeal, powdered eggs (yummy…) and instant coffee (double yummy…), packed up our packs for the second half of this puppy, and hi-ho, hi-ho, back to the Narrows we go.

First order of business this fine morning was water. We were out of fresh water so our primary focus was to refill that. Instead of purifying river water, we decided to heed the advice of our shuttle driver from the last post, Chad from Rare Form Shuttle Services, and head to a natural spring that was supposedly just past campsite 12. So we started hiking through the river and after about a half mile, lo and behold, a natural spring shooting straight out of the sandstone walls directly into a freshwater pool…so not only were our Osprey and Gregory packs’ water bladders treated to nature’s Brita, but the added bonus of a refreshing bath in virgin Utah waters certainly helped start this second day off proper!

Second order of business? The highlight of the second half of this hike…”Wall Street,” the part of the Narrows that marks the narrowest stretch of the canyon. This is a section in which you think what you’re seeing is impressive, until you turn the next corner, and then the next corner, and then the next corner. It’s simply insane. Wall Street begins soon after the campgrounds disappear and it goes on for about 2 miles. It was easy to get lost in here as our walk got much slower in response to our jaws dragging across the riverbed. You can’t help but stand in the middle of this madness and marvel at how this was all created…this very river carving its way through this massive chunk of sandstone, over thousands of years, using gravity as its fuel…

After we finally peeled ourselves away and out of Wall Street, the crowds began to slowly thicken a bit, marking the home stretch of our hike. This is the point where visitors can make their way a few miles up the canyon to check out the portion of the Narrows that constitutes the day hike from the valley floor where the majority of the park’s campgrounds and amenities exist. While that option would have been remarkable on its own, and much more practical for families and large groups, we knew that the ‘Top Down’ option was, for us, the way to go, simply due to the fact that through most of the 14 miles before reaching this point, we were on our own, all alone, save for the occasional run-in with fellow top-down hikers, and there’s just something about being isolated in the wilderness that does something to the soul that nothing else in the world can match. It forces you to become incredibly present, an absolute stark contrast to what normal day to day ‘life’ has become – reactionary. Here, left alone to your own devices in the presence of one of Mother Nature’s greatest marvels, you can’t muster the audacity to just react to her wonders – you’re almost forced to absorb, process, and take this with you – you learn about you, and, most importantly, you remember each second of each minute of each hour of each day. While I may have already forgotten what I had for breakfast today, I will never forget what I had for breakfast at Campsite 8.

The next portion of our journey was to commence in Bryce Canyon National Park. We still had enough time to make the 2 hour drive and set up camp, so after a shower at the campground (we saved our tokens knowing we’d need it now more than before…) and a few peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we hit the road. Through the park, up through the tunnel, and our timing could not have been more perfect. As we were leaving, the sun began its decent over the horizon and we were treated to quite the show. The Utah sandstone sunset sky just over Zion, painted with the softest, warmest array of colors silking and bouncing their way throughout the canyon, the roads, and the skyline in the distance. We pulled over to let these moments permeate our membranes. Simply stunning.

And now the sun was gone and it was time to close the book on this one…

Well, almost…

When you drive miles with nothing in sight, then run across a sign that says “Kane County Fair,” and a few seconds later, “Rodeo,” and you’re from Los Angeles, you HAVE to stop…donning board shorts, t-shirts, and flip-flops, we weren’t quite dressed for the occasion, but couldn’t pass this up. We made it just in time to catch the closing event, the junior rodeo. We walked up to the fence and watched several dozen children running around a rodeo ring in their chaps and hides, trying to catch a herd of loose chickens. Yup, we gone done did it…the Kern County Fair. It was a perfectly heartwarming moment and end to this chapter of the trip.

An hour later we were in Bryce Canyon, found a campsite in the dark, set up, cooked up, drank up, and passed out, waking up rested up.

So below are a few images from the last 24 hours, and if you missed Parts 1 through 3 of “3 National Parks, 3 States, 2 Weeks, 1 Crap Bag,” just click HERE to go to the beginning.

And for the next part, “3 National Parks, 3 States, 2 Weeks, 1 Crap Bag – Part 5 – Hoodoo the Voodoo & Melee at Moab,” click here.

Yes! Here it was! The morning of not only one of the most anticipated parts of this trip, but one of the most anticipated hikes of the past decade and a half…the Narrows! While Angel’s Landing was a test in the fear of heights, this one proved to be the complete opposite, hiking Zion National Park’s Narrows was a test in our threshold for claustrophobia…and this one, I found myself MUCH more comfortable with. I don’t know what that says about me, but the only thing I was afraid of here was getting my camera gear wet as, over the next 48 hours, we’d be hiking through Utah’s Virgin River for 18 miles.

So we broke down camp, threw everything in the car, parked at the Visitor Center, grabbed our packs and our crap bags, and met our shuttle driver Chad from Rare Form Shuttle Services, an extremely personable and knowledgable cat, at the pre-arranged meeting spot, where he, thankfully, convinced us that our Soloman and Vasque trail runners would do us just fine in lieu of the heavy bulky river shoe rentals…

…and off we went.

We began the 90-minute drive up through Zion National Park, through the tunnel, up and over the ridge to the plateau at the top of the canyon and made our way into Chamberlain’s Ranch. This is where the trailhead lies for the 2-day ‘Top Down’ hike option, which is the option you’d want if you were looking to hike the entirety of the Narrows, and option I HIGHLY recommend.

The start of this thing is a mild 2-mile hike across a meadow on one of the plateaus that flanks either side of the canyon that is the masterfully crafted centerpiece of Zion National Park. It’s a mild walk amongst fields of fresh grass, cows out to pasture, a few abandoned old barns and tool sheds, right along the lazily flowing Virgin River. After two miles, the landscape begins to noticeably change with each step. What’s essentially happening here is, you’re starting atop the plateau that forms the 2000-foot walls of Zion Canyon, and over the course of 2 days and 18-miles, you working your way down to the bottom along with the very waters that have carved this cavernous masterpiece over millions of years.

As you proceed, the sandstone walls begin to get higher…and higher…and higher…and higher on each side of you – they basically start to close in on you, the direct light begins to disappear as you navigate your way through the slot canyons illuminated by the soft diffused sunlight that has spent that past 1000 feet bouncing back and forth against the warm-toned stone by the time it gets to you. The river begins to become impossible to navigate around, and that’s when you realize that, well, you’re going to be walking right in it for the majority of this jaunt, and considering the fact that the temperature outside it was closing in on 100 degrees (38C), that was perfectly fine with me.

As you slosh through, you can’t help but do it in absolute awe and with a guilty grin cutting into both sides of your cheeks. The colors, the scenery, the smells, the fact that this ever-changing exercise in excitement-restraint had only just begun and there were still 30 hours of this to go!?!

As we made our way deeper into the canyon and became more acquainted with the nuances of the crevices, what started off as a soft and easily grippable gravel underneath our feet began to turn into larger and larger rocks that took a much more planned and careful approach to safely make your way through it. This is where our trekking poles became much more essential in making sure that certain parts of the river weren’t too deep and to be able to feel our way around the boulders that we were hopping, only they were under water. This certainly began to take a toll on our ankles and energy, but just as our legs began to get wobbly and huff and puff as our blood sugar was in desperate need of a boost, we reach our campsite, one of 12 along the banks of the Virgin River deep within the Narrows. We dropped our Osprey and Gregory packs, fell upon the sand, and next thing you know, we’re waking up an hour later just as the sun light begins to disappear, the moonlight begins to illuminate the canyon with a silver glow, the bats start fluttering around, and the stars pop up bright in the slots of sky we see in the canyon above.

We popped out our GSI Dualist and MSR Pocket Rocket, boiled up a few Backpackers Pantry meals, set up camp, and jumped into the tent for the night to escape the creepy crawlies that started to seemingly infest the sand around us. The sounds of the Virgin River flowing beside us coupled with the endless melodies being chirped by the critters that are fortunate to call this canyon home, helped close out a glorious Day 1 in Zion National Park’s Narrows.

Below is a gallery of some more pics from the first part of the hike, and for the second part of the hike “3 National Parks, 3 States, 2 weeks, 1 Crap Bag – Part 4 – From The River To The Rodeo,” click here.

And here are links to the first few parts of this adventure:

For Part 1 of the “3 National Parks, 3 States, 2 Weeks, 1 Crap Bag” Saga, “Curing an Extreme Case of Wanderlust,” CLICK HERE

For Part 2 of the “3 National Parks, 3 States, 2 Weeks, 1 Crap Bag” Saga, “Almost Used The Crap Bag,” CLICK HERE

And for more of my madness: Instagram: @wasimofnazareth Twitter: @wasimofnazareth Google+: www.Google.com/+WasimMuklashy Facebook: www.Facebook.com/WasimOfNazareth

We were quite exhausted as the sleep the night before was less than optimal, and to top it off, we were forced to rise around 6am to get in line to ensure securing one of the limited number of backcountry permits they issue each day for the overnight option of hiking the Narrows, so after a quick oatmeal breakfast and a cleansing and refreshing dip in the river, decided we’d take a midday nap before using our first day in Zion National park to climb Angels Landing.

Now if you don’t know Angels Landing, I implore of you to look it up…read a bit about it…and hot dammit people, don’t look down! I’d try to explain a bit about it here, but I’d likely get vertigo just typing the description.

It was about 4pm when we hopped on a park shuttle that dropped us off at the trailhead and we began making our way up the steep climb with the goal of reaching the summit for sunset. Now, I’m all for a fairly strenuous 2 hour, 1700-foot climb along some of the most spectacular ridge side switchbacks you’ll ever find yourself conquering. The views of the canyon in its entirety are incredulously awe-inspiring to say the very least. The color palate alone – everything from deep browns to bright oranges to ruby reds, forest greens, neon greens, and turquoise blues – was enough to make an Andy Warhol piece envious.

What I’m not all for is flirting with death.

And that’s where I hit a crossroads.

Call me what you will, but you don’t really realize what you’re in for until your wobbling knees are looking ahead at 2600 feet of 3 foot wide ridge line flanked by a 2000-foot drop on either side…and your cajones depending on nothing but chains and rebar drilled into the side of the ridge. If we didn’t leave them in the car, those crap bags might have come in handy right about now. Sure there was some consolation in seeing the groups of people that did it and were on their way back, but that consolation proved only half effective once you saw the ridiculously concentrated look of horror mixed with anxiety-ridden focus on everyone’s dilated pupils as their white-knuckled hands finally let go of the chain at the base upon their return.

Nope. Sorry. Screw that crap.

So while my buddy decided to brave it, I did what I felt was the smart thing for my no sleep, tired, made-the-mistake-of-looking-down-first self – waited. And that led me to a realization – this was another situation that reminded me why travel is so vital to personal growth – for putting yourself in situations that are unfamiliar and uncomfortable help you learn more about yourself than when you’re isolated to your comfort zone. Those situations are necessary in teaching you things about yourself that you can’t otherwise learn…and in this case, I learned that I’m much more afraid of heights than I ever thought before. I sat there and asked myself a question “Would you rather risk your own safety for the reward of a sunset from atop the heights of Zion National Park, or swallow your pride and enjoy the same sunset from a slightly different perspective on more solid ground?”

One day I will conquer that fear. Today was not that day.

We got back to camp around 10pm, just in time to get our packs ready for the overnight backpacking trip through the Narrows that we’d begin the next morning, cook dinner, enjoy a couple swigs from the dedicated scotch bota, and finally get ourselves some real, restful shuteye.

The Narrows…been trying to get this checked off the list for over a decade. I’m hyped!

To read the next part of the journey, “3 National Parks, 3 States, 2 Weeks, 1 Crap Bag – Entering the Narrows,” click here.

To start from the beginning, click here.

Below are a few images from the climb up to Angel’s Landing, and if you missed Part 1 of this saga, CLICK HERE.