Canyons, Canyons, Canyons

The Subway kicked our butt and we were sore for a few days but nevertheless it was time to try another canyon hike. Another highly recommended canyon for beginners was Orderville Canyon. Orderville actually spits you out at the most epic part of The Narrows (WallStreet) and you walk it back toward the Zion shuttle.

Orderville Canyon…

We again had to obtain a permit from the visitor center and get a shuttle ride for this one (both of which were much easier then The Subway). Our 6:15am shuttle took off with an hour ride ahead of us. We were dropped off at the road (not the trailhead due to the road condition) and started hiking. 3.5 miles of hiking down (including the road) and we were in the canyon. The best part of this hike was that we were hiking a canyon almost the whole way. The next 2 miles were pretty easy (basic terrain, no repelling and no water).

There are two pretty easy and short repels in Orderville, which you might even consider climbing down if you wanted. About 6 miles in and we started to see water. This is when it got interesting!! I decided to put on my wetsuit but Andy decided to try it in shorts and a t-shirt. The second repel has you land in water, but it’s not too deep, so shorts would have been fine. From then on it was hiking through water, around rocks, and ducking/climbing over logs. It was so much fun! None of this was as strenuous as The Subway hike!

The weirdest part was when we started to hear people! We had been hiking for hours with just the two of us and the canyon. The Narrows offers a completely different perspective! If you don’t know, The Narrows is one of the most popular hikes in Zion. It is walking in water for about a mile. The water is much more swift then anything we experienced in Orderville, so it was interesting to say the least. We ended the hike with everyone else in The Narrows, take the Zion shuttle and headed back to the car (33K steps and 8 hours after we started). It was a great day for sure!!

Next Canyon…