Day 24
Stops: Zion National Park, UT; Leo Carillo State Park, Malibu, CA
Hike:
Zion National Park – The Narrows to Hanging Gardens (6.0 miles)
Third
day in a row of waking up before 6am. This is rough. But fortunately Zion is
about 30 degrees warmer than Bryce in the mornings. We cooked some more Bryce
Breakfast Boners but modified the recipe, adding some onions and cheese to the
eggs and bacon. I enjoyed both recipes. Although the simplicity of the original
bacon, egg, hot dog and ketchup combination was hard to beat.
We dressed for our hike through the Narrows
(probably overly warm considering we had dry suits). Having researched this
hike it became clear that we would need to protect our camera equipment so
Vinay lent us his dry sack and with two other bags over it we packed the
camera, some snacks, and quick dry towels. Vijay packed Sweet-tarts which
initially seemed quite ridiculous, but I concede that I enjoyed eating them
along the way. We took the shuttle to Temple Sinawava point. On the way we saw
a few climbers scaling the side of the canyon. Zion is known for its incredible
rock climbing for which we will definitely return one day.
We hit
the first part of the trail and then upon arrival donned our rented dry suits
and shoes. We looked like the cast of Star Trek. And then Kirk and his crew
began the journey into the icy cold Virgin River that carves out Zion’s Canyon,
walking sticks in hand and Jeremy carrying our precious camera.
The water was
cold around our bodies even in the dry suits and while the hike lacks elevation
change, it is still physically strenuous, the slippery rocks and fast current
make it an incredibly time consuming hike through the river which is at times
shoulder deep. With the rocks and current it is probably similar to hiking
blind (with only your hiking pole to gauge depth and potential underwater
hazards). Our pace dropped to only a mile an hour. I fell a couple of times but
managed to keep my bag largely dry. When it was deep for Jeremy (at his chest)
- I was nearly submerged. We saw some
hikers without dry suits, but as far as we could tell none of them had made it
to Wall Street. I doubt that our pictures will do this hike justice. It is
absolutely incredible and perhaps the best hike that I personally have ever
completed. The scale of the rock faces in the Narrows is humbling.
After the
Hanging Gardens we reached an opening at the Canyon and Jeremy and I said
goodbye to our new friends and wished them good luck in their travels.
We hiked
back down the river at a breakneck speed, finishing the 3.5 miles in a third of
the time. The hike back was far easier without the camera in our hands, but the
force and velocity of the current at times was overwhelming and Jeremy and I
both were caught up in some fast current that nearly took us under as Jeremy
grabbed me and a rock beneath him to stop us from flying down the river. I must
mention that halfway to Wallstreet both Jeremy and Vijay simultaneously had a
bout of GI distress aka diarrhea. We attributed this to both of them handling
the raw beef. It was painful for them both at the time but it later made for a
pretty hilarious story. Ask Jeremy about the details.
As we
made our way back to the car we were stopped by several visitors to the park
interested in our hike into the Narrows. They initially stared at us strangely
but when they realized we had finished hiking the Narrows they were in awe of
the feat. Many seemed regretful that they had not done something like this
earlier in life when they still had the energy and strength, which really made
us both grateful that we have time do this now.
We
departed Zion for the California coast, driving right past Las Vegas, and
picking up a delicious In-N- Out burger somewhere in California. As we drove we
noticed a distinct smell of onions and hotdogs that came every 4- 6 minutes,
and we’re still not sure where that smell came from. We finally reached Leo
Carillo State Beach, pitched our tent and went straight to bed.
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