 One of the best hikes, if not the best hike, I’ve done. The Narrows refer to the narrow canyons the North Fork of the Virgin River. It is one of the most iconic hikes to do in Zion National Park and perhaps the most unique hike of all national parks. You’re hiking in river water as high as chest-deep snaking through the massive slot canyons, where the sun’s rays occasionally shine through to create dramatic curves and shadows. Besides your footsteps splashing and the echo of your voice, all you hear is the endless roaring river The river water was still freezing in March so we rented full-body dry suits from Zion Adventure Company. This was totally necessary and kept us dry and warm the entire hike!  The beginning of the Narrows hike. The hike began at the Temple of Sinawava where the paved trail ended. We immediately hiked in the river and started our upstream trek to Wall Street, the narrowest part of the canyon about 2.5 miles up. After passing 2 groups early in the hike, we had the entire canyon to ourselves since we were the first group. It took a while for us to get used to the neoprene water shoes, find our footing with all the rocks, and balance ourselves with the water currents especially in deeper water. We used the hiking stick to test water depth and to balance ourselves against undercurrents.  This was relatively shallow compared to other parts of the river.
We were in waist-deep water about 50% of the hike and at times the water even reached our chest or shoulders! It was challenging traversing deep water and I lost my footing a couple of times, but it was exciting trailblazing our way through the river and battling the currents. The hike was like nothing I’ve done before!  Orderville Junction: The left is where Wall Street begins and the right is Orderville Canyon. There is no set turnaround point for the Narrows since you can head back any time. We decided to hike until Orderville Junction where Orderville River merges into the Virgin River and where Wall Street begins.
We hiked about 100 feet into Wall Street until we couldn’t touch the river floor. It wasn’t worth continuing since it was likely only going to get deeper and the view wasn’t that different from what we already saw.
Since we didn’t get far into Wall Street, we decided to also explore Orderville Canyon. Before even getting into the canyon, we had to swim through a deep and tiny pool and climb over a massive rock. It took team effort for both Jeffrey and I to scale the rock but we did it. Orderville Canyon wasn’t as tall as the Narrows so it was much sunnier, but the waterflow was lighter. We didn’t spend much time here and began our hike back.  Our necks were both slightly wet after we took off the dry suits :P. The return hike was relaxing and we felt like veterans after successfully hiking upstream. We even attempted floating on our backs, but we learned that the dry suit neck collar wasn’t completely waterproof…  Thinking back on the Narrows, I still feel so enthralled and awed at how beautiful the canyon was and how surreal it was to hike in it. The height of the canyon makes you realize just how impressive and grand nature is and how small humans are in comparison.
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