We ate at IN-N-OUT burger the first night. That place is always busy. Always.
The Narrows aren't that narrow. Sure it is a good hike, but walking thru water on top of rocks is really hard. It is a great hike in 100 degree weather, we didn't see the sun all day.
There was a guy with a broken arm doing the hike, not too big of a deal, but he was by himself. What if....you finish the sentence? I called him the one armed bandit.
My camera was dropped in the water. Let me explain. I was up on a rise, you will see it underneath this(where you see Greg is what I was up on, only closer to the edge, not that far of a throw), one of the boys was down below I asked him to toss me my camera. I never imagined it would end up in the water. I just didn't think it was possible. He threw short, way short, I couldn't get to it. Splash. It still worked, but blew out the lcd screen. Luckily we bought a warranty with accidental water damage. Still can't believe he threw short.
Here was my award winning shot--this was after the drop--so yes the camera works but the screen doesn't so it is being repaired as we speak.
Orderville Canyon, an offshoot of the Narrows--much more fun and narrow.
The infamous camera drop ledge--waterfalls in the background.
After the Narrows we did the West Rim hike--I would totally recommend this hike on the following conditions. Either make sure you are in great physical condition and can carry plenty of water and your 30/40 lb pack with you or do it all in a day 18 miles, or just go for a day and come back. Let's just say this was a taxing hike, but it was real neat. There are a few places for water and they are small springs, I mean small, and you need a filter.
We got to camp at around 5:30 after starting at about 11:00. It was 11 miles. One mile of that was completely uphill and steep at that. I laid out my sleeping arrangements and laid down for two hours. I didn't sleep, just rested, my back ached, legs were sore, and I was drained. The boys all laid down too.
You can really see the stars when you get out of our valley. It was awesome.
At one in the morning we were awoken by a lone hiker, trying to find the spring. Let's just say this spring is hard to find in the daylight and is right near a cliff with at least a 500 ft dropoff. This gomer wanted to continue to hike after filling his water. He claimed he didn't want to hike in the heat. Now that is understandable to a some degree, but why not start early? Why hike in the dark? Not only is completely and utterly stupid and dangerous, but the hike is about the sights, if you want to just go for a walk in the dark then go around your neighborhood at night, you don't need to drive to Zion for that. Plus he was alone. I named him the midnight bandit.
We did Angels Landing on the way back. This hike is totally worth all the switchbacks. Although it was tough with a pack. The view is as good as it gets. On our dvd that I made I used U2's "Even better than the real thing" it was the only song I felt that could capture the view.
Alas our trip ended with no major injuries, just a lot of sore legs and backs and a waterlogged camera. It was a good time and I already have an idea of where we will go next year.
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