Zion NP question for Utahtea
 

Question for Utahtea or anyone out there.....I have been reading up on Zion (will be there the third week of September with my 2 male cousins) and I read that to be able to navigate the Narrows properly, I should be wearing water boots and that sandals or sneakers won't do. Is this true? I figured that if the water goes as high as the knee, what good will the boots be? Won't water get in anyway and I'll only end up hiking back to Springdale with soaking wet footwear? I also read an old posting about a lady eschewing hiking boots and managing to climb and hike in tommy hilfiger sneakers!!Any help would be so appreciated, Miss Utahtea. Thanks!!

Hi Ursula,<BR><BR>You just need to have sturdy hiking shoes with good treads that are comfortable for you to walk in when wet. You don't need water boots and sandals are not good. You need something that will protect your feet on the tops & sides.<BR><BR>I hope you are aware of the weather conditions that will dictate your hike. Be sure to get a permit from the ranger station ahead of time.<BR><BR>Have fun!

We were in Zion in late June and hiked a portion of the Narrows. We wore Teva sandals which were okay for the couple of miles we hiked, but if we were going further I would have liked to have better ankle support for the rocky bottom, not to mention better insulation from the cold water. The day after we hiked we were in Springdale and noticed that some of the outfitters in town rent waterproof boots specially designed for hikes like the Narrows--they have an insulated liner similar to a scuba diving bootie. If I were going to do an extensive hike in the Narrows I would definitely look into renting a pair. By the way, for most of our hike the water was about 6-8 inches deep, not up to our knees.

I wore my regular hiking boots while hiking the Narrows (only went about 1/2 mile up - water was knee-hi that September). I set the boots outside that night...by the next morning they were bone-dry! The air is SO dry out there...

So Suzanne, you hiked back to your hotel with soaking wet boots? Wasn't that extremely hard? Is it a good idea then to bring sandals in your backpack to be on the safe side?

Hi,<BR><BR>We've hiked down the narrows but never all the way. We wore old tennis shoes that we save just to wear in the Virgin River so we didn't care if they got wet. The water can get waist high in some spots and we had to carry our back pack over our head so the camera and our lunch wouldn't get wet. <BR><BR>You can carry other shoes if you want, but it's usually so hot that we don't mind hiking back in the wet shoes. Don't worry, you won't be the only ones! <BR><BR>As someone else mentioned, check the weather conditions with the visitor center before you go on this hike. September can bring thundershowers and it doesn't have to be raining in Zion for there to be flash floods in the Virgin River. When I mean flash floods, I'm talking about a wall of water, mud, sand and trees that come without notice. We've seen it twice in Zion and it's truly amazing! The last time we saw it some hikers got stranded on the wrong side of the river. Don't know how long they had to wait for rescue.<BR><BR>Mrs. Utahtea