Fall Colors 2014 | Monday, November 10, 2014
On Monday morning we woke up before sunrise again so we could get an early start on our hike into The Narrows. I wanted to get an early start in hopes that we might have the canyon to ourselves for at least a little while even if it was pretty cold out. The previous evening we had rented dry pants from Zion Adventure Company and wore neoprene socks to keep our feet and legs warm since we would be hiking through the Virgin River most of the day.
After parking in the almost-empty lot at the Temple of Sinawava and taking the paved Riverside Walk to it’s end, we got into the water and continued hiking up the river in the narrow canyon. At first we thought we had started early enough to be alone for a while, but after stopping for a few photos we were soon overtaken by some larger groups of people hiking up the canyon that made taking photos more difficult. We took our time and made our way past the confluence with Orderville Canyon and into the darker Wall Street section. For most of the hike the water level was below our knees, but there were a couple of deeper sections that couldn’t be avoided. The deepest section we went through was near the end of Wall Street shortly before we turned around to head back out.
Since I was taking longer exposures to create smooth silky water using my tripod, I didn’t want to keep changing the settings on my camera too much, so I didn’t take any photos of us hiking in the canyon like I normally would. I did have a lot of fun photographing in this canyon when there weren’t a bunch of people around. The reflected light around every corner was pretty amazing!
Reflected Glow by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
The Narrows by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
River Rocks by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Depths by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Glow Over Moving Water by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Cascade Bend by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Blue Water by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Into the Alcove by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Out of the Darkness by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
A Little Glow by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Rushing Water by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Dark & Narrow by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Glow Stripe by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Wall Street by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Behind the Boulder by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Near the End by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Along the Edge by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
By the time we reached the end of Wall Street the sun was high enough in the sky to start reaching the bottom of the canyon in places.
Stripe of Light by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
On the hike back I didn’t want to worry about taking photos, so I put my camera away and just enjoyed the beautiful scenery. We made a quick detour up Orderville Canyon, but didn’t go too far this time. There were still a ton of people in the canyon on the way back, especially the closer we got to the Riverside Walk. When we arrived back at the parking lot we were surprised to find that it was overflowing with vehicles. I couldn’t believe how busy this park was on a Monday in November. Still, even with the crowds it was a beautiful hike and I think I’d still like to hike the canyon from the top sometime.