Find The River

“I have got to find the river
Bergamot and Vetiver
Run through my head and fall away
Leave the road and memorize
This life that pass before my eyes” – REM

We decided to throw out the plan for today. Last time we were at Zion we hiked The Narrows of the Virgin River and hated it. The rocks hurt and made for difficult walking but the worst part was the throngs of other REALLY stupid people. There was garbage everywhere, people smoking, playing loud music, being generally obnoxious. I don’t know what caused me to suggest the possibility of doing it again since I’d found a perfectly quiet sounding alternative. I think that perhaps we all felt we should give it another chance though so once I mentioned it the new plan was set.

We woke up early hoping to catch a seven o’clock shuttle. Arriving only a little past our goal time we found the first shuttle to pass us was already completely full. With shuttles only running every 15 minutes we didn’t want to waste precious time before the river was once again overrun with morons so after a brief conversation with the front desk staff we decided to hike to the next shuttle stop where it was likely seats would open up for us as other people left to hike Angel’s Landing. Half a mile and a little jogging later we just caught the next shuttle as it pulled in.

Our plan paid off and for the next few hours we had the river mostly to ourselves with only an occasional hiker or two also looking to enjoy the serenity of this clear desert river. The clarity of the water was one of the most memorable parts for me. Every little polished rock was perfectly visible on the bottom. They came in a variety of colors representing the many different layers of rock that were laid down in the area over the past millions of years. The black with white streaks were my favorite.

After hiking four or five miles in we passed a large spring with what looked exactly like stalactites forming. It seems possible that this layer of rock could be limestone and they could be forming in the same way they do in caves, but I forgot to ask the ranger about them. I guess that’s a good reason to return.

Just a bit beyond that point we waded through a section of the river that was waste deep on me and were rewarded with on of the most picturesque views we’ve had in all of our trips. We sat on a nice flat rock in the sun next to the river and watched a still pool of water cascade down a three foot waterfall.

We all agreed not to remember or talk about the last few miles of the hike back. In fact, I’ve already forgotten them, so perhaps they were just as wonderful.

We had a bite to eat in Springdale, once again doing our best to skirt Utah liquor laws. After a drive through Zion and out the East side I spent the afternoon catching up on backing up and uploading pictures, paying bills, and making plans for the next week or so. It looks like once we leave here tomorrow morning our internet will once again be pretty sporadic for the next week or so. Hopefully we’ll at least be able to post text each day though!