Last weekend we took a road trip out to Zion National Park to hike through the Zion Narrows – a hike in the Virgin River through some incredible slot canyons!  I remember going to Zion Canyon many years ago with my family and seeing pictures of people wading through the waters of the Zion Narrows, and since then I’ve always wanted to go back and hike it myself.  So glad I finally got to go!  The scenery was gorgeous and hiking through the water was so much fun!  September was a great month to go because the warm weather makes the cool water feel so refreshing!

Since it’s a relatively long hike, I opted not to bring my heavy DSLR and instead rented a Leica X1 for the trip.  I’ve heard great things about the Leica X1 (and it’s competitor the Fuji X100) and thought this was a good opportunity/excuse to test one out.  I love that the X1 shoots RAW, and while it did have certain limitations, overall I’m really happy with how the pictures came out.  I also borrowed my sister’s waterproof Sony TX10.  Here are some of my favorites from the hike.  Enjoy!

If you’re thinking about visiting Zion Canyon, check out Joe’s Guide to Zion National Park.  I referred to his site a lot while planning our trip.  He has great descriptions, photos, and tips of all the different hikes at Zion National Park.