When my buddy, Re Wikstrom (an amazing photographer), texted me and said, "Want to hike the Narrows, we have a permit," I said, "Hell yeah, sign me up." It's a 16-mile hike down the Virgin River in southern Utah's Zion National Park, weaving through slot canyons, sandstone grottos, natural springs, and hanging gardens. (See pictures to the right.) It really is a magical experience.

The plan was to head out from Salt Lake City, UT, on Friday evening, camp the night outside of the park, and take a shuttle the next morning at 6:30 a.m. to get started on the two-day overnight mission (it can be accomplished in a day, though that is brutal). Our group of nine was psyched when we got dropped off by Zion Adventure Company after a 1.5 hour shuttle through the park (this is recommended since doing a shuttle after the hike would likely be miserable). Over the 16 miles, the topography changed so much, starting with a babbling brook that flowed through cow country, then opening up into a shallow hike through slot canyons so high you could only see a 500-1,000 or so foot span of sky above. We decided to meet up at the waterfall about 5 hours in for lunch, then carry on to find our campsite. There are only 12, and only two that allow for more than 6 people. As we were hiking along, we started to hear thunder and looked above to see cumulus clouds developing. SCARY! Flashfloods can be a uber dangerous happening in slot canyons so we were on high alert. We thought about our options, and decided to quickly move on to the campsite areas where there was higher ground. We were lucky, since it only drizzled a few drops on us as the terrain got harder. The river opened up, got deeper, and now we were struggling through the water stepping on "wet bowling ball" river rocks. However, the next day we heard that there was severe flashfloods in lower Zion. Wow, we were lucky.

So finally, we found our camp 7 hours after starting. We were so exhausted but decided to go for a quick dip in our own personal swimming hole. After a good night's sleep, we got started on the coolest section. We all brought tubes to float, as we knew the upcoming section was full of deep pools with mandatory swims, hanging gardens, and amazing scenery. Two of our friends hiked in a waterskiing tube with a cover and all, which was the coolest thing. We strapped three packs on that and Ben captained that ship while others put packs on their tubes and just let them run the river behind him. It was so fun letting the bags go and running behind hoping to catch up. At some points, we clung to our mini rafts and waded through the deep sections with hanging gardens. It was spectacular scenery. One of the best parts of the trip was how few people we saw considering the park allocates 80 permits a day to hikers/campers on the Narrows.

After making good time, and some wild floating, we started to see more people (hikers coming up from the bottom), and knew we were getting close. After an exhausting two days, we went straight to Oscar's Cafe in Springdale (just outside the park) for the best burgers anywhere. I got a "whoopass" burger with jalepenos and more jalepenos. Yum! It was an unforgettable weekend. If you ever want to do this epic hike, definitely get a perspective from someone who has gone before. Bringing a tube is a must! For more information about the hike, click HERE! --Vanessa Pierce