Day 59: Spokes in the Narrows

Wednesday, July 31th, 2024

Zion National Park, UT -> Hurricane, UT

 22.35 Miles , 515 ft elevation

We had a somber start to the day as we said our final goodbyes to Cleo. Sophia drove her to Saint George, UT, so she could take a bus to Las Vegas, where she would catch a plane to Paris. Too bad Cleo isn't old enough to gamble, or I would have given her $20 and told her to put it all on black.

After a quick breakfast in Watchman Campground, Hank, Varsha, Jess, Amulya, and I biked into town to Zion Outfitter to suit up for today's adventure. Yesterday, we did Angel's Landing, arguably one of the most iconic hikes in Zion, and today we were doing the most iconic hike in Zion: The Narrows.

We rented some stylish boots, hiking poles, and a couple of waterproof backpacks. Adventure awaits!

We then sunscreened up and headed over to the park bus stop. By this point, it was no longer early in the morning, so there was quite a long line. Thankfully, the buses through Zion Valley run like clockwork, and before we knew it, we were on the bus off to The Narrows. It was only a mile hike from the drop-off point to the official start in the Virgin River.

Once we got in the water, it was time for Amulya to take one of her famous 0.5s.

It wasn't far up the river before we encountered our first deep water crossing. I carried the dry bag on my shoulder to keep it from getting wet as I gritted my teeth, wading into the cold water.

If these pictures make it look like there were a lot of people, THERE WERE. I hope that none of them sue Spokes for posting their pictures online, but it would be damn near impossible to take a picture this late in the day without some bystanders. As we continued walking, the canyon became wider, and the crowds lessened, making the hike feel a little less claustrophobic.

Along the way, I saw a big rock in the middle of the river that was calling my name. All the sides except for the steepest were surrounded by deep and fast-moving water. Not a problem for me. I made a little staircase out of rocks and climbed on top. I must admit, while the picture below makes it look like I did this in three easy steps, the rocks kept falling over, and it took me 10 minutes to pull this off.

Around every corner, we were met with new breathtaking views.

And with chances to swim. The trick is not to think of all the well-hydrated people upstream of you urinating in the water.

While we were hiking, we noticed a small tributary creek flowing into the Virgin River that had carved out its own version of The Narrows. We aptly called this side trail the 'Baby Narrows.'

We hiked a little while longer until we checked the time and decided it was time to head back. In the future, I hope to return to Zion and apply for a permit to spend the night in The Narrows.

As we were hiking out, we met up with Sophia and Rebecca!

We hiked out and took the bus back to town, where we could turn in our rental gear and change into our biking gear. Unfortunately, we could not stay another night in Wingate Campground, so we had to bike to a Motel 6 in Hurricane, UT.

On the team, we often talk about [and pride ourselves in] our delusion, and this bike ride after two days of hard hiking was a prime example. Even though it was a short ride, my legs were absolutely dead the whole way, stretching what should have been an easy 20-mile ride into something that felt worse than a century. The only thing keeping me going was the luxurious motel beds waiting to rest my legs.

We ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant that I'm sure I'd describe as "mid" if I were less hungry, but because of the building calorie deficit from the last two days, I destroyed my fiesta platter of tacos and chimichangas. Throughout the dinner, something felt off. For the past 58 days (with one exception in Big Meadows Campground due to car trouble), all eight of us would eat together and talk about the day, but today was the first day we were missing Cleo. Throughout Spokes, it felt like we were bulletproof. Sure, we'd fall every now and then, but we always got back up. Cleo's fall showed me how indifferent the road can be. Nothing is guaranteed, and at any moment, the road could claim another one of us, regardless of our goals and plans.

After showering, the motel beds were all that I dreamed they'd be. While I'm sure that most people going to sleep in my situation would be worried about the century the next day, I was delusional enough to fall asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. This is why we are so proud of our delusion. It does come in handy sometimes!