Reading the River

Well those of you who bet on my going up the River have won. What it really came down to was me knowing that as long as I didn't go it would be the main thing on my mind. So after updating the blog this morning I went to Zion Canyon Outfitters, put on a 2 pairs of neoprene booties, one pair of canyoneering boots, and some really large dry suit pants.

I then drove (in those) to the end of the Zion Scenic Drive, hiked the 1 mile paved walkway, entered the River and started off on what is unarguable one of the best hikes I've ever done. Hiking between towering canyon walls is awesome. Hiking IN a river is a new skill all together. As the water rushes down you have to figure out where the water is running deepest and fastest. Often I thought of Mark Twain and his riverboat piloting days. The water was always deepest on the outer bends of the Mississippi, and so I walked the inner curves of the Virgin River. The hiking stick, or sounding pole as I soon came to know it was invaluable. Mark five, Mark three, Mark Twain. Actually it was more like knee depth, hip depth, ankle depth.

Wall Street, the area where the canyon narrows to about 20 ft wide with no shoulders was a powerful experience. Between the force of the water and the height of the straight narrow walls it was almost overwhelming. By the time I reached the end of that section I'd been hiking about 2.5 hours and honestly, my knees were starting to shake.

Walking down stream was a whole new experience and at first I didn't like it at all. After awhile however I got the hang of it and enjoyed that too. So much I took a detour into a side canyon which had a gentle flow and some small waterfalls. It wasn't until after that and I got back to the Virgin River that I began to see other hikers. The first 9, in groups of 3, 2, 2, and 2, were all European. That was a bit disappointing. But soon the Americans started showing up. I guess most tend to sleep later? By the time I got within a mile of the paved walk the river was full of young adult types trying the River in Tevas. Their legs were the red of a well done lobster and I was glad to have the dry suit.

Tomorrow I'll attempt Angels Landing which when you think about it, is basically walking on air.