RETURN
TO THE VIRGIN
One
of the primary goals for last summer’s adventure was a backpacking trip through
the Virgin River Narrows in Zion National Park.
We had done the full hike in a single day five years
earlier. It is 16 miles, through the
world’s most famous slot canyon. Most of
the hike is wading in the river. Our
first hike through the canyon had been grueling, and we finished it at
dusk. Incredibly, we caught the very
last shuttle bus from the trailhead back to Springdale. That hike had been spectacular, but we had to
rush through the final miles to avoid being caught in the canyon in the
dark. We decided to go back, but to
spread the hike over two days. That
would give us more time to enjoy one of the most amazing places on Earth.
Getting
the permit had been an event. There are
only 12 campsites in the canyon, and about half of them can be reserved in
advance. Originally
I obtained a permit for a trip in late June.
However, Zion’s computer system crashed, and all record of my permit
disappeared. By the time I realized it,
all of the permits for June were gone. I
made another attempt the following month, and grabbed campsite 12 (the campsite
farthest downstream) for July 1st.
We
picked this time of year strategically.
Earlier in the Spring, the canyon may be impassable due to high
water. By mid-July, the annual monsoon
season starts. If there is a chance for
thunderstorms, the Park Service closes the canyon to hiking due to the danger
of a flash flood. As a result, June and
early July are the optimal time for the thru-hike.
We
packed light for this trip, as wading and swimming with heavy packs wasn’t
appealing. I carried two sleeping bags,
Christy’s hammock, and my sleeping pad.
We had debated skipping the sleeping bags, but it does get chilly in the
canyon at night. We needed them, too –
along with the extra layers of clothing we brought. We brought packaged dinners (OMeals) that come with chemical heaters. That enabled us to have warm dinners without
carrying a stove, fuel, and cooking gear.
Those meals worked out ok, but they were very light on calories. They were also heavy and created a lot of
trash. We brought a lot of snacks to
supplement those meals.
I
wore my Five Ten canyoneering boots, while Christy went with her sport
sandals. The Park Service doesn’t
recommend sandals for this hike, but she is more comfortable in them. She did have problems with grit getting
between her feet and the sandals though.
We
got up at 4:40 on Saturday morning and broke camp at Sand Hollow State
Park. We drove straight to Zion
Adventures in Springdale and checked in at 5:55 for the 6am shuttle. We made a quick dash down the street to get
coffee. We returned in time to help load
our packs on the roof of the van. Then
we endured the 90 minute drive up to the starting
point at Chamberlain Ranch. Chamberlain
Ranch is private property, but they allow hikers to pass through to access the
upper end of the canyon. It was a sunny
but cold morning when we reached the trailhead.
We hit the toilet there before starting the hike. The trip starts with a ford of the river,
which was refreshing in the cold morning air.
After that, we knocked out the first 3 miles on a dirt road. This road passes through open pasture with
pleasant views of the river and surrounding mountains. Most of the dayhikers
had started ahead of us, and the rest passed us on the this first stretch. This worked out great, as we ended up having
almost total solitude on our first day in the canyon.
The
upper narrows of the North Fork of the Virgin River start subtly, with cliffs
rising on one side of the river or the other.
Eventually the walls closed in, and we were forced into the river. Fortunately, the day warmed quickly, and the
walking was mostly easy in the shallow, upper part of the river. We enjoyed fantastic scenery and utter
solitude as we splashed through dark, narrow hallways squeezed between the
sheer canyon walls. Most people that
hike the Virgin River don’t see this stretch, as it is not accessible from the
main, lower trailhead in Zion Canyon.
The Park Service doesn’t allow dayhikers to
continue upstream beyond Big Springs, which is near the midpoint of the canyon. Seeing the upper narrows requires either a
very long dayhike or backpacking trip downstream from
Chamberlain Ranch.
One
highlight of the upper narrows is 12’ falls.
Although there are several waterfalls on tributaries in this canyon,
this is the only waterfall on the river itself.
The river passage leads right to the brink of the waterfall, which is a
sheer drop. Luckily there is a bypass
channel through a tunnel on River Left.
I imagine this tunnel has been carved by the frequent floods that tear
through this canyon. The hike around the
falls is rocky and a bit steep, but not tricky.
At the bottom it is possible to wade upstream to view the waterfall from
the base. This is a little tricky due to
a fallen tree and some deep pools, but it is worth the effort.
We
had lunch there before continuing downstream through more narrows. We reached the first campsite at the
confluence with Deep Creek. Deep Creek
is a major tributary – in fact, it may have more water than the upper part of
the river. A group that was on our
shuttle bus was at campsite 1. They were
the first people we’d seen since the beginning of the hike. We took a break there and filtered water, as
Deep Creek is the first source of relatively clean water on the hike. Drinking from the upper part of the river
isn’t recommended due to a large concentration of cattle upstream.
Just
before we resumed the hike two rangers passed by. They were young, friendly guys, and they were
staying at camp site 11, just upstream from ours. We didn’t see anyone else that
afternoon. Most of the campsites were
vacant, though we did see a tent at one of them. The campsites are popular – permits tend to
get booked as soon as they become available.
We figured that the rest of the backpackers were behind us. Zion Adventures offers a later shuttle bus,
so those folks may have started a few hours later.
We
enjoyed easy hiking down to campsite 10.
The campsites are on high ground between the Deep Creek confluence and
Big Springs. Downstream from Big Springs,
the river volume increases dramatically and the walls close in. There is simply no place to camp in the lower
half of the canyon.
Somehow we walked right by the confluence with Kolob Creek without seeing it. That was surprising, as Kolob
Creek is a major tributary. I did spot
the mouth of Goose Creek Canyon a bit downstream. The mouth was blocked by a big pile of fallen
trees. I had planned to explore up Goose
Creek, as the map suggests that there is a deep slot canyon about a mile upstream. Christy was ready to go to camp though, so I
decided to go with here there and then return.
We were at campsite 10, so I figured that it wasn’t much farther.
I
was wrong. The stretch between Goose
Creek Canyon and Big Springs may be the toughest of the whole trek. It is highlighted by lots of giant boulders
that required a serious scrambling.
Sometimes the best route was over the boulders in the middle of the
river. Other times we climbed along one
side of the canyon or the other. 45
minutes of grueling hiking brought us to our campsite. Campsite 12 is a lovely wooded spot, and Big
Springs is 5 minutes downstream. Big
Springs must be one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It was late afternoon, and the idea of doing
that stretch of river between our campsite and Goose Creek two more times was
not appealing. Aside from the physical
challenges, I wasn’t sure if I’d have enough time to make it a mile up Goose
Creek Canyon and back before dark. I
decided to spend the evening down at Big Springs. If we do this trip again, we will try to stay
at campsite 10 or farther upstream, as that would be the ideal launching point
for exploring Goose Creek.
Christy
napped in the hammock while I spent a couple of hours at Big Springs. Big Springs features several streams that
gush out of caves in the walls of the canyon.
They tumble down into a beautiful blue pool surrounded by rugged
cliffs. The cliffs are covered in ferns
and wildflowers. On our first hike, we
had only spent a few minutes here due to time constraints. This time I spent a couple of hours. I took a lot of photos, and contemplated
swimming in that lovely pool. I decided
against though, as it was already getting cool in the evening shadows. I didn’t want to get wet before the
temperature really dropped that night.
Unfortunately,
my visit to Big Springs was marred by graffiti on a rock next to the pool. Some moron had written a note in green nail
polish. It said that she had lost her
necklace there, and asked anyone that found it to call her. She even left her phone number. I thought about giving her a call after the
trip. If I’d found the necklace, I would
have called her and told her that I sold it and donated the proceeds to the
National Park Service with the stipulation that the funds be used towards
graffiti removal. We met the rangers
again the next morning, and they had been delighted that she had been kind
enough to leave her phone number. They
were planning to give her a call after they returned to Park Headquarters.
Christy
and I enjoyed a cool night, and slept well.
We got a late start the next morning though. It was cold, and the hike from there would be
entirely in the river. It was a little
hard to get motivated to break camp! I
actually went back down to Big Springs for another visit while Christy
dozed. We eventually had a cold
breakfast and broke camp. We could’ve
killed for hot coffee!
We
quickly realized that day 2 was going to be a different experience. As we were packing, a large group of Asians
carrying big backpacks hiked by, heading upstream at a rapid pace. That was odd.
Where were they going with those packs?
And how early did they start, to make it beyond Big Springs by 10am? They were breaking all kinds of rules. Dayhikers aren’t
allowed to continue upstream beyond Big Springs. Backpackers are required to start at
Chamberlain Ranch and hike downstream. They
didn’t look like dayhikers. They appeared to be backpacking
upstream. If they had obtained a camping
permit, they would have known that going that direction wasn’t allowed.
They
must’ve run into the rangers shortly after passing us. We were at Big Springs when they came hiking
back downstream, passing us by in a huff.
They didn’t look happy. It is
lucky that those rangers had been there.
Otherwise, that group probably would’ve ended up camping in somebody
else’s spot that evening, which would’ve caused another group of hikers a major
headache.
We
started seeing dayhikers below Big Springs. At first it was just a couple of hikers here
and there, but traffic picked up as we went.
One guy walked by with nothing but a camera hanging around his
neck. That was brave, or foolish,
depending on how you look at it.
The
scenery from Big Springs downstream is fantastic. The sheer canyon walls close in, and soar several
hundred feet high. The canyon walls are
covered in ferns and wildflowers, as there is water seeping out of springs all
along this stretch. A couple of those
springs are underwater, creating interesting gurgling noises.
We
reached a traffic jam at the biggest obstacle in the canyon. There is a massive boulder in the middle of
the river, with deep pools on both sides.
The canyon walls are sheer, so going around isn’t an option. There are really only two choices. One is swimming. The other is a tricky scramble. There were a bunch of hikers on the downstream
end debating their options. Actually, I
think they were reconsidering their commitment levels. It seemed like most were concluding that
they’d seen enough of the Virgin River Narrows.
Five
years earlier, we had reached this spot in the evening and were completely
alone. We had swum across, as an
alternative route was not apparent. That
had been a little easier though, since we were only carrying daypacks.
We
watched one of the rangers do the scramble.
Heading downstream, the ranger did a traverse of the canyon wall on
River Left. He clung to finger and toe
holds as he sidestepped across tiny ledges above a deep pool. He then scrambled across a submerged fin of
rock, climbed the giant boulder, and then scrambled down into waist deep water
on the downstream end. Clearly he had done this before.
I
didn’t think I could pull that off with a big pack on. I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off without
it! We decided to swim. Christy is a much stronger swimmer than me,
but I had the heavy pack. She swam
across first with her pack. Then she
swam back and got my pack. We had
already packed our sleeping bags and clothes in dry bags. Luckily, my pack floated. Apparently there was
enough buoyancy to keep it from sinking.
She went back across, sidestroking so she
could keep one hand on the pack. I went
after her with only my camera. I had it
inside the dry bag I’d rented from Zion Adventures and inside a second dry
bag. Even with the double protection, it
was disturbing watching my camera float downstream ahead of me.
We
got out and dried off in a sunny spot.
Our timing was good, as we hit this spot in the late morning when the
sun was shining down into the canyon.
After a break we resumed the hike downstream. The only downside to the swim was my wet pack
was now a lot heavier than it had been.
From
there, we descended the deepest, narrowest section of the canyon, which is
called Wall Street. Dayhiker
traffic continued to increase as we went.
This was a very different experience from our hike five years
earlier. On that hike, we did these
final miles in the evening, after all of the dayhikers
had left. This time we were hours ahead
of that schedule, and most of the dayhikers were
still heading in. I don’t mind seeing
other people during a hike, but this became a major detraction from the overall
experience. In fact, the last couple of
miles below Orderville Canyon were just
annoying. By the time we reached that
stretch we were ready to get on the road.
We
had plenty of time, so we took a break at the mouth of Orderville
Canyon. This may be the busiest spot in
Zion’s backcountry. Most dayhikers try to hike at least this far, as it is in the heart
of Wall Street. From the confluence, it
is possible to continue up to Big Springs, or up Orderville
Canyon to a waterfall on the tributary stream.
I wanted to explore Orderville, but Christy
chose to take a break. She hung out
there while I did the side hike. She
endured an endless stream of dayhikers and
tourists. Incredibly, she was constantly
asked how to get to the waterfall. Which
waterfall? How could these people not
know where they were going? There was no
answer to their question, as there are only two options and there are
waterfalls at the end of both.
Orderville Canyon was just as busy. I tried to do the hike carrying my camera (in
the dry bag), tripod, and hiking stick. Unfortunately there was a good bit of scrambling
involved. Some of it required two hands,
and mine were full. This made things
awkward. I wish I’d brought a
lightweight daypack for the side trip. I
went upstream through some narrows before the canyon widened. I passed some interesting, milky pools and a
section of slickrock before reaching a scramble that would’ve been awkward
without any free hands. At that point I
was mostly just annoyed by the constant stream of traffic. It was a shock, after being entirely alone
the previous day. I came to the
realization that I wasn’t particularly enjoying the hike, and feared that
Christy wasn’t enjoying waiting for me.
I turned back well before reaching the waterfall.
We
hike straight out. The last couple of
miles were exceptionally busy, to the extent that we had to dodge people most
of the way. On our previous hike we
hadn’t seen anyone. Maybe we should’ve
slept in that morning and started later?
There used to be a deep, cold pool downstream from Wall Street that
required swimming or very deep wading.
Apparently that pool has filled in with silt to the extent that it is no
longer an obstacle. That’s too bad, as
it had been an effective filter for crowd control.
We
finally reached the paved trail that signified the end of the
canyoneering. We followed it to the
road, where we found a huge line for the shuttle buses. After a long wait we squeezed onto a bus for
the ride back to the Visitor Center.
Then we caught another bus into town, which dropped us off near Zion
Adventures. I returned the stick and dry
bag I’d rented and we drove to Zion Pizza and Noodle Company. On our previous hike, we finished at dusk and
didn’t make it into town until after 10pm.
All the restaurants had closed, but the kind folks at Zion Pizza and
Noodle had graciously allowed us in. That was some wonderful pizza and beer! After that, they had our loyalty for
life. On this visit, it was a bit more
crowded, but we still enjoyed the pizza and beer. Afterwards we walked next door to another
Outfitter, where we paid $5 each for seven minute
showers. That worked out great! Then we picked up some groceries before
starting the long drive back to Colorado.
After a couple of weeks in the desert heat, we were ready to cool off in
the Colorado Rockies!
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