Conditions in The Narrows

[moabfool]

Has anybody hiked The Narrows this season? Water levels are looking good (53 cfs as of this AM). I'm taking a group of friends down there two weeks from now and I'm wondering how deep the pools are. One girl is really worried about deep pools since she "swims like a rock." If it helps, the girl is 5'-11" and we're doing an overnight trip.

I know this probably belongs in the hiking or backpacking forum, but this page sees more traffic, so I hope it's okay here.

-Mike

[James_B_Wads2000]

A friend of mine is going through this weekend. I'll get the details from him next Monday. He did it last year and said there were many full swimmers. He is over six feet tall. I would guess that the swimming holes would still be there this year.

As for swimming like a rock, I would suggest a PFD. But the same results can be obtained by having a drybag full of air in your pack wile you swim. This weighs a lot less.

If your friend is that bad of a swimmer I would sugest taking her on another hike. The Narrows are not a good place for people who have never hiked or backpacked much.

James

[moabfool]

A friend of mine is going through this weekend. I'll get the details from him next Monday. He did it last year and said there were many full swimmers. He is over six feet tall. I would guess that the swimming holes would still be there this year.

James

Thank you. That's good to know. There are easy ways around swimming like a rock. A PFD would be a good idea. If you could find out how long the full swimmers are it would be appreciated so I can take a length of rope/webbing of the appropriate length. I can swim her pack with me and string a handline for her to pull herself across. She's a pretty good hiker so I'm not worried about that.

[moabfool]

Thought it might be a good time to resurrect this thread. The conditions forecast for this weekend in Zion sounds like a James Taylor song. "I've seen fire and I've seen rain...I've seen sunny days I thought would never end..." We could get burned out, flooded out, both, or neither. The canyons I want to do are on the east mesa so the fire won't stop me there, but the weather forecast is a concern to me. I have campsite 8 in The Narrows reserved for Thursday night. Would some of you with more experience give me your take on this forecast? It's for the headwaters of the North Fork of the Virgin River.

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/index.php?wfo=slc&zone=utz017&fire=utz437&county=utc021

I realize it might not rain a drop, it could just spit, or we could have a frog strangler. That's why it's called the weather, you never know "weather" it's gonna try to kill you.

I bet they've closed Mosquito Cove because of the fire too :frustrated: . There go my accommodations for the weekend. My apologies to everyone for making plans more than three days in advance. This situation is completely between me, that dirty rat Murphy, and his law . Sorry to get y'all involved.