Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Hiking the Narrows

This past Monday Paul, Kelly, Kevin and I went down to Zion National Park and Hiked the Narrows. I was sooSOSOso excited and grateful to have the opportunity to do this. Stacey and Kyle were so sweet to watch our kids Sunday night and all day Monday so that we could take this trip.

Kev's Aunt has the neatest cabin about 10 minutes away from the park. It was so rustic and all the furniture was handmade from Kevin's Uncle. He has even built some furniture that has been used in Temples! Everything from chairs to beds, even all of the books in the house were antiques!


We got up early Monday morning and started the hike at about 9:00 a.m. We took about a two mile hike to where the trail begins, grabbed a walking stick (extremely helpful) and started hiking up the river. It was so cool!
This is when we were just getting started...notice our dry clothes:)


Shot of the boys...


The scenery was amazing. Almost surreal, it was so beautiful!




At the beginning there were a few spots that you needed to go knee-deep, but it only got worse!


Paul and Kelly. What a cool shot!


I was so amazed at the different colors and formations that the rocks made.


After about a mile in the river we decided to take a detour through a side canyon that we saw. This is where the "hike" really began. We had to climb rocks and logs, swim through the freezing water, dodge waterfalls...it was such an amazing thrill trying to figure out how to get over each obstacle.

Kevin trying to maneuver himself through the rocks.


In the canyon there were so many spots were the water was at least waist high. And this water was NOT warm!! It was beyond that freezing feeling every time you touched it. It was so funny watching our reactions each time we had to jump in. You couldn't talk or even think...it was such a shock every time!

Paul and Kelly saving their camel packs from getting soaked!


A little action shot for ya...this was the only way down!


As the day went on it was beautiful watching the sun try and peak thru the canyon.


We had a passer-by take our picture. Focus didn't come out too good, but still such a cool shot!


We of course had to pose in front of the sign...


It was such a cool adventure. Next time I think we're going to take Kollin. There wont be any ventures up side canyons, but the river is definitely easy enough for his age. This was such a cool experience that we wont forget! If you're ever near the park you should give it a try!! You can do it:)post signature

3 comments:

Stacey and Kyle Nielsen said...

You sure look skinny in some of these shots :) What a cool hike though! I'm jealous.... but it was so much fun watching your kids too. I'm glad you got to go! :)

Katrina said...

So this really is such a fun hike! John and I did it a few years ago with our family and Frank and Diane's family. We even took Hailey...who was just a babe! We mostly swam though...it was so deep the day that we went. It started raining after a bit so we had to get out of there before the floods came :)! So cool!

Debra said...

I saw some of that area several years ago - it was majestic! I'm glad you had the experience.