Subway Hike - Zion's Nat'l Park

Father's Day weekend I was invited by a good friend to hike the Subway in Zion's National Park. For those that don't know about the Subway, it's a very narrow slot canyon that involves rappelling and a lot of swimming through some pretty frigid water. Luckily my friend suggested I bring a "shorty" wetsuit and neoprene socks, which helped a ton with the what felt like sub 50-degree water. Here's a nice description of the hike if you are interested in learning more about it.

The hike was incredible though. The weather couldn't have been better. Not a cloud in the sky (which is very important when hiking a very flash flood prone slot canyon. It's hard to describe in words and even with pictures. Anyone can hike this as long as they can swim. Although most parts you could touch bottom, a few areas are swimming only. The total length of the hike is around 7-8 miles. If you come from the top, you do need a hiking permit. Many hike from the bottom to the subway and then back, but you miss some of the coolest parts of the canyon this way.

Here is a cool Google Map that I was able to track with the help of a GPS I had with me. I lost reception for a few miles in the canyon itself as you can see from the straight lines.


View Larger Map

Be sure to click the picture below to link to the album I have uploaded. Don't miss the captions for the pictures as well.

Subway Hike

Thanks again to Adam Jacobsmeyer for inviting me on what was definitely not the last time I'll hike the Subway.

Novell Health & Safety Fair

Every year at Novell where I work, they have a Health & Safety Fair where they bring in a bunch of emergency vehicles and also a bunch of booths where employees and their families can learn all about the options available. The kids have been coming for several years now and always enjoy the Air Med helicopter from the University of Utah.

This was Jack's first year of coming and he enjoyed the firetruck as did the kids.

Wearing the fireman helmet was pretty cool (and heavy).

Utah Highway Patrol also had a trailer setup where you could get into a seat and see what it's like to hit another car head on. This one can simulate a 10 mph crash, although the officer didn't go that high for the kids. They were a little nervous at first but hopefully this helps them realize how important it is to wear seatbelts. Tami and I did do the full 10 mph test. It was a nice little "bump".

Iron Forehead

I didn't have the priveledge of being there, but according to Tami, Isaac was racing around this corner and slipped on the hard wood floor and hit the wall here with his forehead. He must have been going pretty fast. Tami said he really didn't cry that much and didn't even bruise that much. Nice to know he has a strong head. Haven't decided whether I want to fill this in with mud or leave it as a sort of museum exhibit. Maybe I can put some vinyl lettering on the wall describing the story behind the mysterious indentation in the wall.

Isaac had some pretty funny commentary around his little encounter with the wall.