Winging it works pretty well a lot of the time. I held that attitude boarding the Zion NP Canyon bus at the midnight-dark visitors center. The full(!) busses seated hikers sporting walking sticks and waders, while other adventurers just wrapped themselves in layers of dri-fit that’d make any Coloradan proud. I was part of the latter group, with a DSLR and tripod in tow. I figured there’d be some popularity to the Narrows hike, wading through knee-deep water in the early dawn hour, but underestimated just how many people would willingly step on a 5am bus and bear the Temple of Sinewava’s rushing, cold river water. 

About 200 yards and a couple of dozen frames up river, I realized winging it may not work this time. I’d hoped for some private time to take early-morning photos of the streaming water between the canyon walls. Instead there was a never-ending stream of hikers in front and back of me. Time for Plan B.

The water’s briskness was sufficient wake-up call to forgo caffeine that morning, and I turned around to find a less popular hike. The bonus was my partially-extended tripod worked as an excellent walker and stability stick in the quick-moving river. 

Because of a bridge being out, I ended up hiking several unplanned miles that morning, but with plenty of water and snacks, it was a pretty easy fare heading back toward the mouth of the canyon and the rising morning sun.