I whined about the rough rocky main Whitney trail. Very uncomfortable on the feet. I imagine some parts of that river are rocky and slippery.
You're referring to the Narrows hike, right?
I did a Google Image search for "narrows hike zion" and came up
with these.This one is from that page....
I think about 1/3 of the total distance you are sloshing through the river, most ankle-deep. But one section was chest deep. The rest is rocky river shoreline. I wore old hiking boots and tossed them after the hike. Others on our hike wore trail runners or just running shoes. You can rent water-hiking boots just outside of Zion.
Hiking poles are mandatory -- you are constantly working your feet over river rock. Some nice gravel, sometimes 12-inch round and slippery rock.
