[zinger-uk]

Ok nothing to see here move along.. no biking pictures in this post

My Mtb Biking buddy Rick from St George and organised an overnight hike for me through the Zion Narrows - I'd never done an overnight hike before and he'd got together all the camping gear I would need..

The Hike is about 17 miles from Chamberlains ranch to the park shuttle pick up point

As well as Rick his brother and a friend were along for the hike as well

Ricks wife kindly gave us a lift to the start of the trail which took a long time due to road work, and a long drive on a dirt road

After a hike along a dirt track we got into the river and started hiking, we had neoprene socks which kept our feet warm, and two hiking poles each to keep our balance

The hike itself was great - apart from the heavy pack on my back

Rick set up a stove and we cooked up some food - the grub was suprisingly tasty

I discovered one bad thing about an overnight hike - thats trying to sleep in a tent on a thermarest - I couldnt sleep flat on back as my lower back started to hurt , so i'd lie on one side for a while till that hurt and then onto the over side - by the morning i felt like a rotisserie chicken

The 2nd days hiking in the river was abit harder than the fiorst day as the water was deeper and had more rocks hidden under the murkey waters, at one point i fell over and my camera got soaked - the screen stopped working - but I carried on taking pictures - luckily enough they came out ok

The hike had been a great experience - But I dont think I'll be doing another overnight hike - as my old back cant cope with sleeping under the stars

But I would do the Narrows Hike again as a day hike with a nice lite day back instead :thumbsup:

 

[rockman]

Very nice. I like your approach to cross training.

 

[scorpionwoman]

Lots of great shots! Thanks for sharing.

 

[KRob]

Beautiful. That's such a great hike. I haven't done that in 30 years. Time to go back.... but I'm with you: Day hike. I dislike sleeping on the ground more and more the older I get.

 

[crank1979]

That looks awesome!:thumbsup:

 

[Stupendous Man]

That is something new that I must do!! Thanks for sharing! :thumbsup:

 

[Tor-y-Foel]

Nice. Having done the out and back up to Wall Street, with a little excursion up Orderville, on a previous trip I am certainly planning a day hike down the whole length for next time! Travelling lihght without all the gear is definitely the way to go.

 

[Heat]

Awesome pictures! I'm loving all your posts, looks like it was an amazing vacation!

 

[2Slo4U]

Next time you're in the US and go to Zions, do "the Subway." It's a day hike and will knock your socks off. You need a permit and can get one 3 months in advance. thanks for the awesome pics, makes me extremely glad to live in Utah.

 

[chuky]

We have done in a few cameras canyoneering. Sand and water are not your camera's friends. We went the Otterbox route for a while, but even those fail sometimes. In the end, we just bought a Stylus Tough. Camera quality isn't quite up to Canon standards in the slots, but it isn't too bad and is way better than 3 new cameras in a year.

Oh, and if you are willing to get up early, you can get Subway permits the day before you go.

Shot of the narrows from above, taken with the Olympus: