Women Hiking in Water

Ever hiked in a flowing river? 
For 25 kilometers?
At the bottom of a thousand feet deep Canyon? 
Women hikers on their own.
Waist deep water- challenge for a non-swimmer!
No markers, no guides.
Like to do it? Then read on.

Zion Narrows is hailed as one of the top-5 adventure hikes by NatGeo. Located in Utah USA, Virgin river cuts through the Canyon in a north-south axis. One can hike either N-S (also called top to bottom hike) or S-N called bottom to top. For a complete adventure, hiking the entire Narrows from top to bottom, from Chamberlain Ranch down to Temple of Sinawava is recommended. That's exactly what an all-women team of four hikers did! See the map below.

This is a guest story by Akanksha, Ghumakkad's daughter who hiked the Zion Narrows along with three other women. All of Indian origin and in their thirties had left their husbands and children behind for two days of adventure. Kudos to Abha, Akanksha, Anchita and Kiran for doing it!

Pictures courtesy Akanksha. Used with permission.
Akanksha's poetic story in her own words. 
__________________________________________ 

Carrying 20 odd pounds, We set out to hike
The Zion Narrows, which seemed dream like.

Your trail is the river, some 20 feet wide
And the gorge is majestic, a thousand feet steep, dwarfing you, with no place to hide.

Very nervous, not knowing what’s in store
We gave it our best shot, not to shy, but explore.
Four women in our thirties, with only a swimmer amongst us
We stepped into the river, with caution, and a wooden truss.

The water was waist deep, and I was gasping for breath
Will I make it or not, carefully I would tread.

The water was cold and would make you dizzy
But we were well clad, in neoprene socks, a tad bit cozy.

By the river, we pitched our tent,
And the next morning, we set out again.

And what an adventure we had.
We, non-swimmers got dunked, in a pool, deeper than we thought
And started saying our prayers, with loved ones in our thoughts.

Just wanted to get across, across to the other side
And get on with what we started, to finish it right.
Thank God for our swimmer, who pulled us out
Because of whom we are still up and about.
Grateful for coming out alive, we were quiet for a while
But soon gathered our wit and set out in a file.

We finished our hike over two days
With memories in our hearts, which shall forever stay.
Bruises and cuts decorated us all
As we retreated, into nightfall.

Whatever said and done, the canyons are mighty sleek
They leave you in awe when nature starts to speak.

It was a 16-mile walk, a walk in the river
The best I’ve ever walked, One I’ll always remember.

____________________________________________ 

Thanks Akanksha for the gripping story written as a poem. Keep writing and keep hiking!

Ghumakkad had posted another guest story of a hike in the canyon titled 'Coyote Gulch- Hiking in a Stream'. It was written by Nikhil, our grandson then ten-year old. Akanksha the guest author of this story is Nikhil's mother. As they say, talent runs in the genes!

Ghumakkad has also hiked in USA. You may read the story 'Toddler on a Trail' where a two-year old toddler hiked with Ghumakkad around a lake in California.

When Akanksha had sent the pictures of Zion Narrows hike a year ago, one picture caught my eye. It showed how water chisels through solid rocks. I had then created a PQ- picturesque quote using the picture. We end this story with the PQ reproduced below.

Thanks for browsing. Do share your experiences of similar hikes or other adventures.

    -  Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Akanksha Bhargava/ 24th Jan 2019
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