Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Yeah, I did the Narrows.

This weekend I hiked the Zion Narrows. It is rated by National Geographic Adventure magazine as the #1 hike in the U.S., and top 10 of the world. So yes, it was beautiful, majestic, absolutely breath-taking. It was also grueling and intense.

70% of the time was hiking in water, anywhere from ankle-deep to chest deep. The last 7 miles were the most difficult, and I felt so fatigued from already hiking 10 miles. I fell in the water several times and an average mile at that point took over an hour to complete.

The 17-mile hike took the faster half of the group 11 hours, and took the latter half of the group (because of me) 13 hours. I have nerve damage in my right leg and couldn't feel stable footing in the water and also couldn't see the rocks, since the water was muddy. So I was very slow on the last trek of the hike. But even though I'm not sure I'll ever go again, it was phenomenal. Here are some more pictures:

My brother Jonny got to come along for his 21st birthday gift. That's him in the background...

At about 13 miles along: Jonny, me and Sam. :)

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