this post is chuck full of gorgeous photos, and i'm not complimenting my photography. you can't help but take beautiful pictures in a place like zion national park. scroll quickly through and you'll see.
we had so many prayers answered just getting to do this hike. it is so tough to be selected as one of the 30 or so people a day they allow in the canyon. but through lots of extra effort we got permits.
we woke up bright and early (5:30 a.m.) and were at the national park by 7:00. don't we look so clean?
we hitchhiked via tour bus to the trailhead, and began our hike by 7:20 a.m.
it was on that tour bus that we met the nicest couple--dave and anne--who were hiking the subway for the first time. they are in their late 50s and were nervous about getting lost, which is really easy to do during the miles before you reach the canyon. so we invited them to tag along.
the hike is a down hike for those of you unfamiliar with it. so you begin at the top and work your way down for an entire day--12 miles total.
such diverse terrain.
this "hoodoo" is a landmark you need to hit to make sure you're on the right trail. you miss it, you're wandering a vast landscape.
this is the canyon in which we would spend the rest of the day.
and preston couldn't wait.
here are dave and anne repelling. it was only their second time, ever. anne kept saying, "bless the good Lord for sending you to us!" she was really funny. (also, they use leavitt group insurance. small world! and let me tell you, it's a good thing they are insured...)
preston and i didn't repel, but hand-lined instead, which is harder, but you don't have to carry so much gear. that crevice on the left side is where preston and i roped ourselves down.
there were tadpoles all over that water. but i'm proud to say i was the first one in.
this thing here is called the bowling ball corridor. we took this picture after we exited. when we arrived, i heard preston say, "uh oh." immediately, my adrenaline started pumping before I even knew what was wrong. "there's a log jam," he said. normally, one can easily swim underneath that lodged boulder. but with the log jam, we thought we might have to dive a bit in order to fit around it. thank goodness there was a space just big enough to slide our heads past on the side of the log. it's important to note that i hate being trapped in small spaces. and for a moment, it looked like we were trapped. we'd just hand lined down into the water on the other side, and there was no way out but to make it around the log jam.
i thought about panicking, but then decided not to. that helped.
this is the famous key hole. i nearly wipe off my whole face in that big rock there trying to hand-line down.
once down keyhole falls, you are officially in the subway.
this last descent is the longest but the easiest. but boy oh boy was that rock slick. my hands get clammy just thinking about it.
i was afraid to even step over that little ledge for fear of rolling right off. i tried shoes, no shoes, forwards, backwards. there was NO GRIP. it became dave and anne's turn to help, holding a rope for me to grip so i could get to the hand-line. (preston makes it look easy, but i promise it was a bit frightening.)
getting down that ledge was so rewarding. this was by far the most exquisite part of the hike.
haha this. this slide. this slide left my back and rear-end bruised.
we spent some fun time playing in this little pool. i kind of felt like i belonged to the swiss family robinson...
we saw all kinds of reptilian evidence.
like a dinosaur footprint.
and a frog.
the last part of the hike is long, hot, and draining. and then, you get to climb a million feet of switchbacks. but you power through it, and then you turn back for a moment to realize you just hiked that. WHOA.
so rewarding.
preston told me to look tired for this picture. didn't have to try hard.
back to our car! sweaty and dirty and hungry and sooooo happy.
i wish wish wish i had gotten a picture of this here valley that morning before we began the hike. in the rising sun it was gorgeous!!! i just had to come back that evening for a photo, but alas, not nearly as pretty.
and lastly, in the name of tradition, one must eat at subway after hiking the subway.
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