The Subway, Zion National Park (Bottom- Top Route)

The draw:Amazing scenic wildernessWaterfalls everywhereGet your permits early!

Our long awaited to trip to finally complete the subway trail in Zion National Park finally came and like most trips, it started off with a few hiccups. We were initially planning on doing the top-bottom route. We read everything we could about it: Applied for wilderness permits 3 months in advance, had all the gear we needed for repelling down the canyon, and 2 cars to have one at the top and one at the bottom. We retrieved our wilderness permits from the Zion National Park visitors center and we were on our way. There was a flash flood warning in effect which we were warned of at the visitors center. We decided to still go for it due to the amount of planning and preparation that went into that trip.

From the visitors center, we actually left the park and drove to where the bottom of the route was, which took about 30 minutes. We had both cars at the bottom part of the route while we were prepping our gear and trying to figure out how to fit 6 people and all of our gear into one 5 person car. Then they closed the road behind us for construction. It wasn't to reopen until 1:00pm which was way too late to begin either route. We considered attempting to drive through the barrier and rush to the top but figured we'd easily be caught and given some sort of hefty fine. We finally all decided to do the bottom- top route which had no repelling and lightened our load a lot when we left the ropes and climbing gear in the car.

It started off with following a trail weaving in and out of trees and finally came to the point where the route descended into the canyon. It was nice slightly steep portion of the hike. We all knew in the back of our heads how rough it will be to go back up at the end of the hike. We finally made it to the bottom after a couple slips and trips and then found ourselves on the canyon floor and in the river. The water was crystal clear and teeming with young, healthy trout. We made our way on the trail which was more following the fresher looking footprints, we took the river upstream occasionally having to cross it. The weather was cloudy and raining on and off. The landscape was green and lush not normally typical of southern Utah.

It was pretty surreal being in the wilderness area of Zion National Park. It had very similar terrain as the normal park but much less populated, which gave it a much greater sense of grandeur. One needs to be very cautious when on the valley floor. Despite being in the valley, it can still be pretty easy to get lost. The lack of people can really make you lose track of the trail or follow the wrong trail to some random place. Following the water is your best bet but there are times where you drift away from it and rely only on the trail, footprints, or heading.

With river crossings similar to the Narrows, you should be prepared to completely submerge your shoes or boots and just live with wet feet for a bit because theres no way around it. The clouds were rolling in and out the valley pretty rapidly, and short showers and sun were scattered throughout the day. The weather was unpredictable and a lot of time was spent putting on or taking off layers, as well as covering camera gear and our packs. I was surprised we didn’t see much of any wildlife on the trail. Just some trout in the river, big beetles, and frogs. We were hoping to come across some wild deer or turkey that are known to be found in that area.

Eventually when you start getting closer to the location of the actual subway, you start climbing the waterfalls. You may expect to slip when walking up flowing water, but the traction was surprisingly awesome! We were able to run up down them and roll around in the water if it was hot. It was a pretty fun portion of the trip. Several times there some carved out portions of rock that look like the photos of the subway. But when you actually approach it you know thats exactly it and thats why you worked so hard to get there. It was worth every step, every slip, every fall, and spending an entire day soaked.

There are some cold, deeper pools within the subway that you can swim around in. The combination of light, water, and sun make for great photographs. Since the day we decided to go didn’t have the best weather we pretty much had the entire place to ourselves. We wanted to stay the rest of the day but knew we needed to leave soon or risk walking the end of the trail in the dark.

The trek back was nice with the weather starting to clear and we had some end of day sun shining on our faces. We spent a lot of time staring up and looking at the cloud cover that was rapidly moving and even managed to get some awesome cloud time lapses. The ascent back up to the top of the canyon was rough as we anticipated. One of the individuals in our party fell and both of her hands landed into a cactus bush. She was in severe pain but luckily we had our first aid kit with us to pull out the thorns. We made our way back to the top of the canyon and group slowly spread apart moving at different paces which left some us alone. There was some solace I found in hiking alone but the return way was much different than I remembered. I was second guessing myself and the fact I was on the right trail. I called for my friends at the top of my lungs to which no one answered. I continued to make my way worriedly through the dense bush and eventually found my way back to the car with my friends waiting for me.

We waited for the rest of the group to arrive and sat silently with a sense of accomplishment of a day well spent and a job well done. The weather immediately turned as we got into the cars with some intense wind and rain that came out of nowhere. We felt lucky that we didn’t get stuck in the storm while still on the trail. We made our way back to the main road and our campsite to make us an amazing well earned dinner.

"If you want to go fast, Go Alone.If you want to far, Go Together." -Justin

https://youtu.be/6uaHqg2mWs8