SWIMMING IN THE VIRGIN RIVER

I absolutely loved the road trip I went on with my friend Karine in Utah, Nevada and Arizona. These states are gorgeous all around with their mountains of red limestone, deep creeks, deserts as far as the eye can see and narrow canyons, but, in September when we went, it is HOT. In some parts, it is scorching.

On the second day of our road trip, we were hiking in the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada before driving to Zion National Park in Utah. We started early as we knew it would be hot. I had intentionally chosen small hikes so we could slowly get used to the heat as, being from Canada, we are not used to this. The two hikes were about 30 minutes each, but after the first one, I could feel myself getting dizzy and dehydrated even after drinking from my water bottle every two seconds. As a lifeguard and having lived in Florida before, I can recognize the signs of heat exhaustion and this was it. We took a break before deciding to do the second hike. We stayed in the shade, drank cold water from our refrigerator, ate fruits and veggies and salty snacks and we were both feeling good enough to go. And it was so worth it as the view on the deep red and orange mountains and valleys took my breath away.

We then started the drive to Zion with the air condition bringing as much relief as possible from this heat. Unfortunately, as soon as we started going up a hill, the engine was not strong enough and the air condition would stop. Let's just say that when we arrived in Zion at about 4PM we were both sweaty and exhausted, but excited to be there. Zion is also a lot cooler than Valley of Fire and, as the sun was starting to hide behind the mountains surrounding the canyons, we felt a huge relief. Unable to resist getting a first glimpse of the canyon, we both put on our swimsuit under our clothes and headed to a small trail called Lower Emerald Pools, with the intention of going for a swim in the river afterwards. 

​We took the shuttle and exited at Zion Lodge, crossed the bridge and started walking on the easy path. On the way, we noticed tracks heading to a small beach by the river and called it: if we were to swim in the river today, this would be the perfect spot. A huge boulder hid a small pool from the current and the bottom looked sandy and soft.

We quickly walked the 2 miles to the emerald pools and back, excited at the idea of wading in the refreshing looking water of the stream. We made our way to the little beach and in no time we were out of our shoes and clothes and ready to jump in, but as soon as I approached the river, I noticed tiny little fishies hanging around the branches on the edge of the water. If you know me even a little, you probably know how terrified I am by any living creature in the water and know that they would have stopped me right there. Well they did. But as we were standing there looking unsure, a group of hikers saw us from the trail and decided that our spot was obviously way too good to pass up and joined us. The lady jumped in right away with no hesitation whatsoever and it gave Karine enough courage to try a first step. Seeing her go in, I gathered my courage and jumped over the band of fishies to join her. The water felt amazing after the heat of the day. I didn't even noticed if it was cold, which I now know it was. We spent at least thirty minutes walking around with water up to our thighs and after a while I completely forgot about the fish and dived in.

I still can't believe I did it, but what a moment. With the gorgeous view on the canyon and the clear turquoise of the water as the sun slowly set behind the mountains. After a while, the group of hikers left to resume their hike and we were left all alone in the creek to enjoy our perfect spot. We returned two days later to this exact spot after hiking Angels Landing, but that time I noticed how freezing the water was and we didn't spend as much time in the water although we enjoyed it just the same.