Image Description
I regard Zion National Park in Utah, where the Virgin River has cut a narrow
gorge through 2,000 feet of colorful sandstone, as being the equal of Yosemite Valley
for spectacular beauty. The Narrows, as the best part of the Virgin River canyon is called, is
often only 10 or 20 feet wide. I took this photo of my hiking companions in one of the few places where the
sun reaches the river to illuminate the reds and golds of the autumn leaves.
Hiking The Narrows is an overnight trip of 17 miles and requires
a car shuttle. You just wade through the stream, which is only
inches deep to start but can be waist deep at the lower end of the Narrows. The
water is cold and you are almost perpetually in shade. As many
people have discovered, this is a good place to die in a flash flood. Ann
and I almost joined this elite club on our first trip to Zion in 1977. We
were somewhere near where this photo was taken when a wall of water five
feet deep came down a 20 foot wide section of the canyon. By
pure luck, we were next to a sand bank, which we scrambled up with only
seconds to spare. It was the closest call we've ever had.
|
