Zion Narrows 2006

During September I took the scout troop through the Zion Narrows. We had seven boys and three adult leaders. I was hoping that Marty or Eric would also join me, but because of football games and social reasons I couldn't get any of my boys to come along this time. The first storm of the season had passed through the previous day and temperatures were below normal and the river muddy from runoff, but there was no threat of rain or flash flood, so we went as planned. I had the boys go "ultra-light" with their packs. No extra clothes, no cook stoves and no tents. My pack was lighter than half of the troop with my "Wicked Lite" sleeping bag and slim Thermarest. As usual there were a couple of boys who struggled a little with the river crossings and length of the hike (16 miles). We got out late Saturday afternoon, but with several hours of sunlight to spare. I can honestly say that I wasn't the least bit sore the next day. The canyon was beautiful as ever and it was fun to challenge the boys once again.