The Narrows

I live in an awesome ward.  There is a group of ladies in the ward who get together once a year for a big women's adventure.  In the past they have hiked Mt. Timpanogos and done the Rim to Rim hike at the Grand Canyon.  This year the ladies planned a trip to hike the Narrows in Zion National Park, and I was invited to come along!

So the plan was to hike from the top of the Narrows down to the bottom, a 16 mile hike through the river which required a back country permit.  Average hiking time:  13 hours.  However, a few days before our scheduled adventure the temperatures plummeted and the area got a downpour of rain.  This meant rising water levels and dropping temperatures in the canyon.  But we hoped for the best and drove down to Zion Friday evening to get our gear and prepare for the day ahead.  

Side note:  The ladies make shirts every year to wear on the adventure.  Here is the shirt for this year.

So cute, right?

I was feeling a little nervous already, mostly because the water temps were supposed to be in the 40's and air temps in the canyon in the 50's.  Brrr.  But as we drove down, I started to learn a bit more about the women I would be hiking with and my nervousness greatly increased.  Most had run marathons or half marathons, a few even qualifying and competing in the Boston Marathon.  How was I supposed to keep up with these women?!?

Saturday morning we left our hotel bright and early to catch the 6:30 am shuttle bus that would take us to the top of the Narrows.  It's about an hour and a half drive, with the last half hour on dirt roads.  Because of the rain earlier in the week, the dirt road was too muddy for us to drive through, so we had to turn around and come back.  Time for Plan B.  We would start at the bottom of the Narrows and hike up as far as we could, and then turn around and come back.

Because of the cold temperatures we all rented dry suits, which ended up being a life saver (though not the most attractive outfit)!  

Yes, two of these people are men.  A couple of husbands tagged along.  It was comforting to have a little priesthood authority, just in case.

We started up the river around 9 am, and hiked/swam/floated our way up through the river as far as we could go.  It was amazing.  I really had to push myself to fight against the current, and I got really tired as we began making our way back down, but I did it!  And I had fun!  And I didn't slow anybody down!  We ended up finishing in 3 different groups.  Two ladies turned around a little early, followed by the group I was in, and a few die hards followed about an hour later.  My group got out of the river around 6 pm.  I was exhausted!  Luckily we planned to stay one more night in the hotel, so we just showered, ate dinner, and crashed.  Sunday morning we drove back home.  I wasn't even sore the next day!    Probably because of the cold water I was in for the majority of the hike.

All in all, it was an excellent trip.  I got to know some amazing women, and was able to really challenge myself and feel empowered for succeeding.  Next year I will have to take Spencer, but we'll plan to go in August instead of October.