Last Thursday I went on a most excellent hike in Zion National Park. The hike - Orderville Canyon or The OC. I really have no idea if anybody else in the history of hiking this canyon has ever referred to it as The OC but I am doing my best to sound cool. Okay, not working. We'll just call it Orderville Canyon.
My friend Nica extended the invitation to join her, her cousin Heidi and her cousins husband Kent in a hike down the Canyon. I accepted that invitation and was very excited to go. I had hike up into the Narrows a ways some fifteen years ago and absolutely loved it so the idea of hiking down from the top was very appealing. Now, I learned a few things, Orderville Canyon is a seperate canyon is a completely seperate canyon from the Narrows. It connects with the Narrows and you end up hiking the last few miles of the trip in the Narrows. We estimated the hike to be roughly 12 miles based on where we parked and the road we had to walk to the trail head. My body held up fairly well and I quite enjoyed it. We started around 11:20 in the morning and were at the tram station for the Narrows a little after 8. Kent managed to find a group of hikers that were willing to drive his car back to the visitors center in the park and that was a real life saver at the end of the hike. We were all pretty tired at the end so driving back tto the car would have been a lot at the end of the day. If at all possible I would recommend being dropped off at the trail and leaving your own vehicle in the park. I don't know that we could always count on finding someone to do that for us. We were definitely gratefull for those that helped.
When I say my body held up fairly well I do want to note a few things there. You are hiking in a river bed and there are a lot of rocks and even more so when you reach the Narrows. Kent said that the last couple of miles would be like hiking on bowling balls and he is right. That can give you a bit of a work out. I would highly recommend a couple of walking sticks, at least one. I liked hiking with both sticks when I finally started using them. They really helped with balance. I picked up a pair of collapsable poles in Wally world for under $20. They did the trick for me. I also managed the hike with 2 litres of water on my back and a couple bottles in my back pack.
I have attached some pictures to this post and will make comments on them. They are in order for the most part. I was amazed by the beauty of the place. Lots of fun. Anyway, here are the pics.
The road to the trail head at Ordervilled Canyon
Where you drop into the canyon.
The slot is wide at some parts and much tighter at others.
Thought it would be fun to take a pic straight up the canyon wall.
I loved the beauty of the canyon. What an amazing place.
This was just a little log jam.
We did a little repeling down this obstacle. It would be a good idea to bring a rope, and some gloves.
I am a big fan of slot canyons. They are fantastic.
This little waterfall and pool go right into a log jam. Swim time.
Stepping stones were available in some areas once we found water.
Where Orderville Canyon meets the Narrows. Amazing Spot.
This was a great hike. I don't know how else to say it. If you like a good water hike you will find plenty of it here. It did take a while to get to the water but when we finally did, wow, it energized me for the rest of the hike. I am a big fan of the plunges and the swims and made it a point to get as wet as possible. When we got into the Narrows there were some fairly deep spots and I enjoyed a few good swims. If you prefer a little less swimming you can find your way around them.
Would I hike Orderville Canyon again? Absolutely.
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