Hiking The Narrows at Zion National Park in September
The afternoon sun hung high over Zion Canyon when I stepped into the Virgin River, ready to hike The Narrows . It was September 2020 — the year everything felt uncertain, when travel was quieter, slower, and somehow more meaningful. National parks had only recently reopened, and there was a stillness to Zion I hadn’t felt before. The morning crowds were gone, leaving only the echo of the river and the rustle of wind through cottonwoods. Golden light poured into the canyon, and I felt a strange mix of gratitude and restlessness — the need to move, to breathe, to find beauty again after months of confinement. Print available on Etsy Stepping into the River The paved Riverside Walk ended, and there it was — the mouth of the Narrows. The sound of the river filled the air like a heartbeat echoing off the stone. I tightened the straps on my pack, gripped my wooden walking stick, and stepped in. The first shock of cool water around my ankles jolted me fully awake. Within moments, I was kne...