With a day to spare on the way to mom’s house in Myton, Utah, I paused at Zion National Park, one of my favorite places on the Third Rock. After a hard hike up Humphreys Peak near Flagstaff, a leisurely stroll up the river seemed to be the ticket. At the Mt. Carmel Tunnel, I parked and made the short, but spectacular hike out to the Canyon Overlook, then headed down to the visitor center to catch the shuttle upriver.
I had yet to explore the Narrows in my many prior visits to the park. So with a veritable throng of others similarly compelled, we splashed our way up the Virgin River on a perfect summer day (June 29). I thought the crowds might diminish a couple miles in, but the humanity remained sufficiently dense all the way to Wall Street (the narrowing of the Narrows). Beyond, the numbers did fall off some and I enjoyed a pleasant lunch by myself atop a giant boulder. Half way back to the start, a thunderstorm moved in and by the time I was out of the gorge, the mini-storm was booming off the walls and raining kittens and puppies—not enough to pose a flash-flood threat, fortunately. Kris, who loves the feel of warm feet in cool water, will love this river, I thought. Next time, we’ll have to do the whole, two-day enchilada together from the top.
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