Zion National Park (Day Two): The Narrows and the Emerald Pools
If you missed Day One of our Spring Break trip to Zion National Park, go here to read about it first.
If you read my first post about this trip, you’ll know that our Zion adventure came in the middle of a very busy semester during my PhD program, so I didn’t do the ~ best ~ job researching and planning beforehand. I’d done some cursory reading on how to make sure that the water level isn’t too high; otherwise, the Narrows is impassible. But it had completely slipped my mind to think about the water temperature. Or question my assumption that a canyon/river hike is the same as a normal hike. I can only imagine that the poor NP ranger we asked about water level and the conditions of the Narrows the previous day was giving us weird looks for looking as if we wanted to hike 9 miles in 45-degree water wearing only leggings/shorts and a t-shirt (which, in fairness, was our original plan).
Serendipitously, on our scoping mission for parking the previous day resulted in us noticing that every single person leaving the trailhead by the Narrows was wearing what looked like giant grey overalls. Which made me Google. Which made me realize our mistake. So we scrambled to reserve proper gear from Zion Outfitters in Springdale to pick up the previous evening.
The Narrows (Up to 9.4 miles, out and back)
Equipped with waders (the grey overalls), neoprene socks to prevent blisters, and waterproof boots, we set out from our campsite around 7 a.m. This turned out to be nearly too late, as all the “official” parking was full, and we had to find a spot on the side down the road a little ways. (Word of warning: rocks are hard to see before daybreak, and we saw multiple cars bottom out trying to park on the side of the road).
The Narrows via Riverside Trail is what they call the bottom-up hike from the canyon floor up the Virgin River. You start on the paved path beside the river, where we were joined by a lot of people. We did see some wading birds and an adorable deer and fawn during this section of the hike.
You then enter the slot canyon through which flows the Virgin River. The water was cold and the sun doesn’t really reach you in most places, so I was very glad for the whole wading getup. We did see a few brave souls in shorts and tennis shoes, but they didn’t get very far.
At the beginning of our trek, we had a lot of people around us. Which, in some weird, irrational way, made me less afraid of the warning signs that there was a moderate chance of flash flood for that day. As we continued further, the crowds thinned, and the hike was much more enjoyable, as you weren’t getting stuck behind slow people.
The hike is rated as strenuous, but for the most part, it just required balance and the foresight to test where you were going to step to ensure you didn’t lose your footing. There were a few places where the current was swift enough that without my stick, I would have been swept away, and without Ryan’s help, I don’t think I could have (as a very short, not super in shape person) continued on. These were spots, in particular, where the water was up to my waist or chest while it was significantly lower on Ryan.
The rule of the Narrows hike is to keep hiking until you can’t anymore, and then turn back. We estimate we probably hiked about 3.5 miles into the canyon before we hit a boulder and deep water blocking the canyon. There was another family with us who were very athletic, and one of them climbed the boulder, dropped to the other side, and turned around because the water was at the top of his waders. Another group of young women also tested it and discovered the same. This was our sign to turn back, as we had no desire to be soaked to the bone and have to expel a suit-full of water from our waders (as we’d seen a couple others do).
This was by far one of the coolest hikes I’ve ever done in my life, and I would recommend it to anyone going to Zion as a must-do. It’s so unique, and despite the cost of renting equipment, totally worth it. Just one hint for anyone small-statured renting a pair of waders: make sure the band at your calves is TIGHT (like really tight) when you try it on at the outfitters. Mine was tight enough that it felt secure, but Ryan’s was tight enough that it was just a little bit uncomfortable. Guess who didn’t have a water leak that soaked through their entire pants and underwear, leaving them freezing cold for the second half of the hike? Regardless, it was worth it for this experience, and I’ll know what to do next time!
Emerald Pools (3 miles, loop)
The good thing about getting into this part of the park early is that you can drive freely within the scenic drive even after they close it. We were doubly lucky that we finished our Narrows hike during the transition time in the afternoon when people leave after their morning hike but they still haven’t reopened the scenic drive to more visitors, so we were able to nab a parking spot in the Grotto and there weren’t many other people on this hike with us.
This trail is rated as moderate, and the only slippery parts were at the very beginning with water dropping down from the canyon walls. I will say that the elevation 620 ft, which made this more challenging after a physically demanding hike beforehand. Still, it was definitely worth it to climb all the way up to the Upper Pool rather than stopping at the Lower or Middle Pools, as the Upper Pool still had snow at its base and was surrounded by stunning red cliffs.
Thanks for reading and following along with my adventures! Check out the “Hiking” category at the top of the post for more hikes like this one.
Up Next: Zion National Park (Day Three): Angel’s Landing