The Subway
A few weeks ago Alison got a permit for the subway at Zions national park. She got the permit for March 26. We actually got a subway permit for the same weekend last March, but Alison got a cold and we weren't able to go. We regretted not going ever since. This year Jake and Meg planned to go with us. It ended being a really busy week and when we added in all the time spent prepping for the trip we really wondered how much we wanted to go. We worried we would regret not going again so we stayed committed. It turns out this trip is one of the hardest and stupidest things we have ever done.
Last year Jake and Meg still ended up using our permit. They hiked the subway from the bottom up. While the subway was beautiful they didn't love the hike. They wanted to do the technical top-down version, which required canyoneering. Since we had such a great time canyoneering in Pine Creek on Labor Day we were game - especially since everything we read said it was fairly easy for a technical hike.
We packed our car on Thursday night and got all ready to go. I stopped by the U to pick up wet suits and helmets. At the time Alison was questioning whether or not we would need helmets since the rappels on the hike were going to be short and easy. I decided it would be better to have the proper safety equipment.
We were planning to leave Friday right after work. Blake called me during the day to let me know he and Debbie decided they wanted to come to Zions as well and that they were going to bring their little trailer. We decided to drive down with them. They met us at our apartment and we loaded up our stuff. We were out the door on Friday a little after 4pm.
We really enjoyed the ride down. It was fun to chat and catch up. We didn't have a campsite booked, but Jake and Meg got an earlier start and scouted for a spot. They quickly realized they weren't going to find anything suitable in a campground. Instead, they found a spot on some BLM land off the Kolob road. It was awesome. We called our spot Zion's camp. We pulled in a little after 9pm. We set up the trailer and made some fajitas for dinner. Jake built a fire and Meg and I took pictures of the stars. This was my first time trying my hand at night photography. I got one-star pictures that weren't too blurry a few good pictures by the fire.
Alison and I got up the next morning around 7am and drove half an hour to the Springdale entrance of Zions. Even at 7:30am the line to get into the park was a little bit outrageous. Once we were in, we got in line at the wilderness desk to pick up our permit. It ended up taking about half an hour because the ranger giving out the permits was very slow. When it was our turn she warned us the conditions would be very cold. She warned there would be wintery conditions including ice and snow and that we would definitely need our wet suits. After this discussion, Alison and I were having second thoughts. Instead of doing the top-down route, we thought about doing it bottom-up. That way we wouldn't have to swim in potentially icy water.
Back at camp we ate breakfast and prepped for the hike. Jake did not want to do bottom-up again. He explained we would still be in the water quite a bit and when he and Meg did it last year it was a bit of a letdown because you hike 9 miles and get about 500 feet of the subway. After some discussion, we decided we would do the route top down.
We dropped Jake and Meg's car off at the left fork trailhead. Then Blake and Debbie dropped all of us off at the Wildcat Canyon Trailhead. They dropped us off at 10:30am. We told them we thought we would be done with the hike between 5 and 7pm. At the trailhead it was very cold - it is a fairly high elevation. Jake and I didn't bring good pants to hike in (plus we didn't have any extra room in our packs to store them once we hit the water) so we were just in our swimsuits, which made the cold seem that much worse.
Once we got going we started to warm up. The wind was biting, but when the wind stopped and we were in the sun it was quite pleasant. We walked a little over a mile and a half down the Wildcat Canyon trail before we realized we had missed our turn. We had to backtrack about half a mile, where we turned onto the Northgate Peaks trail. After a short distance, we found a sign directing us down a new trail toward the subway. After this turn, we would not see another person until the end of the hike. This is where the hike became really fun.
We followed a trail to some slick rock. We traveled across large slick rock formations doing our best to follow cairns showing the way. There would be stretches of well-defined trail between the slick rock formations. We followed this trail for a few miles to make our way down and across Russell Gulch. This portion of the hike was beautiful. We were surrounded by towering cliffs, Ponderosa Pines, and the beautiful slick rock. During this portion of the hike, we were in the sun. It was really nice. We even stopped at one point to take off our jackets and other layers. We meandered through this portion of the hike. Later we would regret the slow pace we took on this easy portion of the hike.
After we crossed Russell Gulch we were still high above the canyon floor. To get to the floor we had to climb down a fairly steep and challenging rock scramble. In one area Jake set up a hand line to help everyone down. Everywhere else we just climbed and took it slow. At one point a large rock dislodged and crashed down barely missing Jake's foot. We were very grateful to have avoided a serious injury.
At the bottom of the scramble, there was a pool of water under a small overhang of rock. This marked the beginning of our canyoneering adventure. We found a spot where the sun was shining down on the sand. We stopped here for lunch and to change into our wet suits. We thought we were ready for what was to come. We started along the path and for the most part, we could avoid the water. When we did have to go through the water we got our feet wet. It was bitter cold, but nothing unbearable.
We came to the first rappel in a boulder field. It was short, easy, and fun. Right after the rappel, we hit a spot where we had to walk through water up to our chests. It was really cold, but the wet suits made it bearable. We thought this might be the first "swim" from our directions. If that had been the case this hike may not have been bad at all.
We hiked a little further through extremely cold water and then came the first swim. It was unbelievably cold. Our wet suits did not cover our arms. Our arms and feet got so cold. I don't think I have ever been that cold before in my entire life. Even though the swim was very short the cold made it seem like it lasted forever.
After completing the swim we quickly found a place in the sun where we tried to get warm. We waited there long enough to get a feeling in our extremities before pushing forward.
From that point forward walking through the water was painful. Every time we turned the corner we held our breath hoping there would not be another swim. We knew there would be at least one more. We weren't sure how much more we could take.
Before we knew it we were at our next swim. This one was particularly treacherous. It was in a very narrow corridor. You had to swim/walk (the water was up to my neck) through the first part until you reached a log and round rock where you could rest before entering the most difficult part. Attached underneath the rock was some webbing you could use to let yourself down onto an extremely slippery log. From there you had to swim through a narrow corridor. I cannot even begin to describe how difficult this portion was. Jake and Meg went first. Jake got down first and yelled back a few instructions. It took a while for Meg to get down. After they were through It was Alison's and my turn. I grabbed the webbing and slid down as quickly as I could holding on tightly enough that I was able to catch myself from sliding off the log with only a minor scratch on my arm. Alison was geared up to go next. I wanted to wait to try to help her but she told me to go ahead because she knew the water was so cold. I swam out about 10 feet to an area of slick rock where I could hold on. I watched as Alison grabbed the rope and tried to slide down. She quickly lost control and fell on the log hitting her tailbone. She then went completely under the water. I sat there feeling terrified and helpless. I was ready to jump in and pull her out if she didn't come up, but otherwise, there was nothing I could do. Thankfully she popped back out of the water and we swam the last few yards for dear life. We pulled ourselves out of the water and limped to the nearest sunlight. There we stood with Jake and Meg freezing and trying to get warm. This was truly the coldest I have ever been in my entire life. None of us could feel our feet and our arms and hands were all red and swollen. We were worried about frostbite or hypothermia. We stood there shivering and trying to get warm. The worst part of this was that as we warmed and the feeling returned it came with excruciating pain. It was one of the most painful experiences I have ever had.
At this point we realized this doing this hike and taking this route at this time of the year was quite possibly the dumbest thing we have ever done.
One of the worst parts is that at this point we weren't sure what obstacles were up ahead. We had read about the bowling-ball room which is a narrow corridor that requires swimming. Our reading told us this was the most difficult part of the canyon. It turned out the stretch we had just completed was the bowling-ball room. However, it was very different than the descriptions we had read so at the time we thought it was still ahead of us. I didn't know if we could make it through another difficult swim.
Now if the water would have been a little lower we probably would have recognized the stretch we just completed as the bowling ball room. The webbing would have also been much easier to use and we may have even been able to rappel. The conditions were not in our favor. We also would have been in better shape if we would have had full wet suits and/or neoprene socks. We were woefully unprepared for the conditions we experienced.
Once we were unfrozen enough to walk we knew we had to keep moving. Up ahead we hit one of the truly tender mercies of our trip. There were two pools of water we had to walk through. None of us were thrilled about getting back in. To our surprise and delight, the water in these pools was warm. This was incredible considering they were hidden away in a sunless area of the canyon.
Before long we came to the next rappel. I was elated as I realized this meant we were through the bowling-ball room and the worst of the swims. At this point, I no longer doubted we could make it without being rescued. This was a really awkward short rappel made all the more difficult because we were all pretty frozen. Alison and Meg both swung out to get into position to start the rappel. Alison hit her head and we were very grateful we got the helmets because they protected her from harm. When it was my turn I realized I could sit on the rock ledge stick my feet out and slide off the rock to start. This was much easier and Jake took this approach as well.
At this point, we were in the upper portion of the subway. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, we were so cold it was difficult to enjoy ourselves. We entered the room with a log propped up against the subway. This is one of the iconic images of the subway and it can only be accessed from the top down. Meg and I broke out our cameras and started taking pictures. I asked Alison if I could talk her into taking a picture with me and she adamantly said no. Then she relented and took a few pics. I am glad because after the experience we had I don't know if we will ever do this hike from the top down again. Even if we do it will probably be at least 10+ years before we even consider it.
After taking a few pics we headed to the last rappel. This rappel was around 45 feet into ankle-deep water. It was a little dangerous because we were all so cold and tired. It was hard to hold the brake with frozen hands. Jake and Meg told us the water in this room was much higher than it was this time last year. Meg went first and scouted out the terrain. There was one final short swim (5 feet max) and then a walk through chest-high water. As soon as Meg was down she headed to find the sun. Alison went next and also headed for the sun. To get out to the sun you had to walk through the subway and across the extremely slippery rocks. Alison fell again further adding to the pain in her tailbone and hitting her head. Those helmets were a necessity - they provided significant protection.
I rappelled next and waited at the bottom for Jake to help him with the rope. We walked out together. After I walked through the last pool I had to pull myself up onto slip rock. I barely was able to pull myself up and I crawled for a minute until I could stand up. Walking down the slick rock Jake took a pretty hard fall. Fortunately, his backpack full of rope cushioned his fall. A moment later I also fell, but I had seen Jake slip so I was ready and able to catch myself before I hit the ground.
We made it into the sun and started to warm up. Alison and Meg took off their wet suits and put on warm clothes. Jake and I left our wet suits on since we didn't have good pants. We just unzipped them and put on dry shirts and jackets. Here we had another tender mercy. I didn't have a plastic bag for my jacket or hat. I put them in my backpack fully expecting them to get wet during our canyoneering. When I opened my backpack not a drop of water got on either of them. It was a little Easter miracle.
Now that we were warming up we decided to get a few pictures at the subway. I was hell-bent on getting a picture of or whole group. I told them that after what we had just gone through a picture was nonnegotiable. I found a spot that didn't require waking through water where we could get a nice group photo. After our group photo, we ventured back into the subway to get a few more pictures.
We hauled and took very few breaks. We warmed up and we were feeling much better. We were sore and tired but it helped to know the end was near. Walking by the river was very pleasant there were fish swimming by and at one point we also saw a doe and a fawn on the trail ahead of us. It was also truly beautiful to watch the sunset on the cliffs as we climbed out of the canyon.
The hardest part of the hike out is the last half mile. When you reach the last half mile you are still at the canyon floor and you have to climb up a really steep trail to get to the parking lot. You gain a lot of elevation very quickly. On a normal day this wouldn't be so bad, but after what we had just been through it seemed like one more almost insurmountable obstacle.
Jake forged ahead. I stayed back with Alison and Meg and we stopped a little more often on our way up. Ahead we could hear Jake yelling and we thought he had reached the top.
We climbed another hill and suddenly Blake was in sight walking towards us. He asked Alison how she was doing and she broke down crying telling him that was the stupidest thing she had ever done in her life. Then she gave him a big hug. It was a tender moment that we won't forget.
We walked the last little bit with Blake and Debbie. Arriving at the parking lot at 8pm right as the sun was going down. We are so grateful they came with us this weekend so that they could be our search and rescue party.
We headed to Hurricane and ate at JB's. We were famished and happy to get some food. We were all so tired that we decided it would not be wise to drive home that night. Blake started calling hotels to find available rooms. He called quite a few places with no luck. Finally, he found three rooms in Cedar City. We arrived at our hotel and fell right asleep.
This canyoneering experience was one of the dumbest things we have ever done. We learned a few important lessons. First of all, we will never go canyoneering in March again. We also will make doubly sure we are properly prepared with all the equipment we may need. Most importantly we learned to never underestimate a technical hike.
On this Easter Sunday, I feel overwhelming gratitude for the sacrifice of the Savior. I have reflected today on the power of atonement to overcome our shortcomings and mistakes. Our decision to do that hike yesterday was a mistake and it could have turned out much worse. Many silent prayers were offered as we struggled through the canyon. As I reflect upon our trip we experienced many tender mercies. I have no doubt that we were being watched over and protected. I am grateful for a Savior who has felt and understands every pain and every sorrow and every fear I will ever experience. I am also grateful for a Savior who has paid the price of my sins and mistakes. So that no matter what mistakes I make I can find redemption through him.
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