Bogley

[trackrunner]

My first canyon of the year. :banana: :banana: The original trail report is 8 pages essay. :blahblah: I will write a small cliff notes version. Sorry no pictures. When I get my friend’s pics then I’ll consider posting them.

This was my friend’s and mine first time for Subway. Followed Tom Jones’s beta on the approach hike, and found it to be spot on as always. At the overlook we hear the waterfall out of Das Boot and see a flowing Left Fork. Wetsuits are needed, :cold: my partner wore a full 5/3 mm, me a summertime shorty wetsuit. I was plenty warm with the shorty, but I wish I hadn’t forgotten neoprene socks :cold: :cold: (stopping in the warm sun sections would warm up my feet). Neither of us wore gloves; my partner hands got cold sometimes, but mine were just fine. Soon we hear a group running up behind us. It’s a former college teammate of ours with a bunch of college freshman and their dates. Noticed they are only wearing cotton t-shirts, sandals, and no wetsuits. :cold: Tell them the beta I had received from Bo Beck as caution, but they push on.

The first obstacle was easy to overcome following Tom Jones’s beta. Down canyon we swim a strong cold flowing three pools. We believe the college freshmen are over their heads, so we decide to help them out rest of the way.

We continue down canyon to the second obstacle the narrow corridor where a bypass by a high traverse on the left, college freshmen went that way. We’ve got wetsuits so we head for the fun, or what we thought would be fun. The first down climb was a waterfall with a good force. At the second drop it’s a raging water fall with a strong force. Above on the right is a bolt with webbing for a hand-line down. I tell my partner, “Let’s get out the rope.” “No”, he says, “look at the webbing someone else down-climbed this we can do it too.” :crazycobasa: “No”, I tell him, “the walls and webbing are too wet”. But off he goes with our only rope despite my objections!!! :angryfire: He starts to down climb and then the waterfall’s force forces his left calf into a crack. He is stuck and taking a good face shot. :ahhh: He powers with all his strength using the webbing to lift him up out of the crack. Exhausted from the ordeal he falls into the pool below. :ahhh:

I think to myself no thanks and head back out to go the way the freshmen went. :peepwall: Big problem, that normal down-climb up stream is today a waterfall. Because of the current I can’t even make it close enough to chimney up. :wallbash: I have to go the same way as my partner but with out a much needed rope. :stupid: Trying to learn from his mistake, I chimney high and away from the waterfall. I then slowly chimney down using the water logged webbing as a hand-line. I make it most of the way down, but my suspicion was correct, the walls and webbing are too wet I slip and fall towards the pool. I splash into the pool with the water over my head. Lucky the pool was deep, never touched bottom. :phew: I read over at Bo & Tanya’s site normally there is a boulder three feet below. Big LESSON LEARNED!!! :phew: Thank goodness it turned out alright, next time I’ll steal the rope as he goes over the edge and smack him across his helmet. :boxing: :kicknuts: :vader: :duel: :bash: :chairshot: :flamer: I cuss out my partner for stubbornly pushing on with the rope despite my verbal reluctance of not feeling safe about the situation. :argue: :soapbox: :frustrated: :flipa: After my meltdown :kboom: I unwind my panties and reach for my sunglasses. Oh-no! I lost it in the waterfall. We look and soon realize my expensive sunglasses are long gone (If you find them, I want them back it was a birthday present from my wife). :cry1: I’m bummed but I’m more thankful that previous situation turned out so good. LESSON LEARNED, glasses go into protective caring case while canyoneering. I’m glad I wore my contacts today or I’d really be screwed. :phew:

Down canyon we make it to keyhole falls and again the current is strong. I don’t want to repeat my previous experience. We note the old hanger up stream and the two new hangers are on the down canyon right wall. But the current is too swift to even make it to them. The normal black choke-stone for the drop is covered by the raging rapid. Then we notice the arch on the left Tom Jones refers to in his beta. There is webbing anchor and it can be safely reached. :banana: We would end up using the anchor and arch to safely descend down the obstacle. Just then a group of two with out wetsuits catches us. One has a tank top the other a cotton shirt. One of them is not wearing shoes. I think he must be warming up his cold feet in the warm sun and rock like me. :kickit: We talk about the hike. He tells me he lost his shoes at the last water fall trying to do what we did. :eek2: What you lost your shoes and now you are going to have to hike out barefoot? Damn . . . Well good luck. :help:

After descending the arch and swimming the narrow corridor I enter the first real subway section. Pictures make it look so much bigger than it is in real life. There is a flow of water about 3 inches high, where if not carefully about your footing would take your feet out from under you and put you flat on your butt (I fell three times making to the end of the Subway section). Me and another guy marvel at the beauty. A sharp right turn we enter another corridor and a log along the wall, North Pole Log, it looks smaller in real life.

We continue down canyon to the last obstacle, pull out the rope and descend. Though warmed up, I think the water is too cold to go into the waterfall room. :cold: A decision I regret now. :wallbash: I had the rest of the hike to warm up.

When the subway portion ends (shocked at how short it is) and land appears my partner and I walk to the left down canyon and strip off our wetsuits on a bolder overlooking the first Red Waterfall Cascades near the “no camping sign.” We watch two college freshmen, one right after the other, lose their footing and get swept over the water fall from the current, double ouch. :five: :five: Soon after the shoeless canyoneer passes us as we pack and take a few bites to eat. :help:

The hike out was long but nice considering the temperatures. We stop to only take pictures of the Red Waterfall Cascades (look fantastic because of the amount of water), miss the dino tracks (shoot, have to save that for another time). It took us just a few minutes over 7 hours. Good timing considering the numerous rest stops we.

Can’t wait to do this canyon again in normal conditions, Russell Gulch entrance, Das Boot entrance, and the yo-yo version. Next time I’ll remember to carry the rope! :clap: :party: :fishing:

[Felicia]

Wow! Interesting way to do the Subway. :lol8:

Ya gotta try and get the pictures. I would love to see that much water.

Great write-up and I hope you get back there agian. I never get tired of that place. :2thumbs:

:popcorn:

ps: What happen to the shoeless guy?

[tanya]

You are such a character! I have a feeling you are going to be a blast at the parties. :lol8:

[trackrunner]

Felicia wrote: Wow! Interesting way to do the Subway. :lol8:

Ya gotta try and get the pictures. I would love to see that much water.

Great write-up and I hope you get back there agian. I never get tired of that place. :2thumbs:

I agree the extra water made it more challenging. If anyone goes don't make the mistake the freshmen made. They only had a rope, no wetsuit, no harnesses. I personally think the problem I had should be avoided. Current too fast, no way to avoid the waterfall. Take the high traverse ledge to avoid the portion until the water force tames down. But if you want the challenge go for it. Don't get sucked into the waterfall. Right now the water is deep enough if you fall in. But of course that could change anytime soon, or a big boulder could wash down causing you to break your leg.

Yes I need pics because it is worthless without pics. I think it will be a while before I get them though. I'd go back today if I could.


Felicia wrote: What happen to the shoeless guy?

This is from my 8 page TR:

Quote: Just then a group of two coming down catches us. They are not wearing wetsuits. One has a tank top the other a cotton shirt, but at least both were wearing quick drying swimsuits. One of them is not wearing shoes. I think he must be warming up his cold feet in the warm sun and rock like me. He comes over to me. We talk about the hike. He tells me he lost his shoes at the last water fall trying to do what we did. WTF did you just say! What you lost your shoes and now you are going to have to hike out barefoot? Yes. Damn . . . Well good luck. We rap down through the arch to a pool waist deep left down canyon, and spot the noobs as they descend. I and my friend wait in the corridor helping out the noobs. But my feet soon get cold. I head down canyon to find the warmth.

. . .

Quote: We pass bottom up hikers that are heading up or heading back. We see the shoeless canyoneer resting his aching feet; sorry I need my shoes for the hike out. Two-by-two we pass some of the college freshmen. Interesting how they segregated themselves into male & female pares hiding in the bushes, college freshmen. The freshmen pass us running, but we continue pushing on at our good clip. Now we pass all the freshmen huddled around resting on some boulders. Again we just push on at our pace.

Maybe I should have asked if he wanted SAR to bring him some shoes.

[Iceaxe]

Quote: I unwind my panties and reach for my sunglasses.

CLASSIC!!!! :lol8:

:2thumbs:

[Alex]

Great TR man, very entertaining, thanks!

[deathcricket]

Nice TR man. I like your style of writing, very entertaining. I've never been in it with that kind of flow, sounds fun. I'm glad the shorty was ok for you. I would have felt bad if you froze your ass off.

You forgot to cover the exit path, IMO that's one of the harshest parts of the trip. Of course I'm in poor shape, so it's probably not that bad for others.
:2thumbs:

If you want to post your 8 page report, I'm sure a couple of us (myself included) would read it. Sounds awesome.

[trackrunner]

deathcricket wrote: Nice TR man. I like your style of writing, very entertaining. I've never been in it with that kind of flow, sounds fun. I'm glad the shorty was ok for you. I would have felt bad if you froze your ass off.

You forgot to cover the exit path, IMO that's one of the harshest parts of the trip. Of course I'm in poor shape, so it's probably not that bad for others.
:2thumbs:

If you want to post your 8 page report, I'm sure a couple of us (myself included) would read it. Sounds awesome.

This was my orginal exit.

Like the good distance runners that we are we pick a good pace, not a fast running pace like the college freshmen. We stop to only take pictures of the Red Waterfall Cascades, miss the dino tracks (shoot, have to save that for another time).

We pass several bottom up hikers, that are heading up or heading back. We see the shoeless canyoneer resting his aching feet; sorry I need my shoes for the hike out. Two-by-two we pass the noobs. Interesting how they segregated themselves into male & female pares hiding in the bushes, college freshmen. The noobs pass us running, but we continue pushing on at our good clip. Again we pass the noobs huddled around resting on some boulders. Again we just push on at our pace.

After a long hike out we come to the base of the black volcanic cliff. I’ve read trail descriptions of the steepness but unlike the other pictures that made the subway look big, these pictures and descriptions make the hike out look smaller than it is. Should we take a break on the rock before hiking out? No. Like good cross country runners, we shorten up our stride and hike out. We agree to stop when we feel like it, but to our surprise we summit without a problem.

We hear some yell out our names. Turn around and three noobs are running up the switch backs, WTF. We try to guesstimate what time it is. Felt like we spent hours in the technical section. We stopped numerous times to allow people to warm up. Had two half-hour brakes so it must be late, 7:00 pm. But no, the sun in the sky is too high. My friend guesses 4:30-4:40. No the sun is much lower than that. I guess 5:00-5:10. Few minutes later we get pass by two noobs running, what happened to your buddy that was running with you? I stop to use the restroom, talk for a few minutes with the two noobs. Check the clock as we drive out, 5:10, dam I’m good. About 7 hours of hiking, great considering all the stops we had been well over an hour in total. Now I’ve got to shower for a wedding reception.

Heading back an unmarked Nissan pickup truck hauls ass into the parking lot. It is a park staff changing the trash. On our way driving down back
to Virgin going the speed limit the same pickup comes up behind and
passes us on a double yellow line 100% blind curve. I wonder why he
was in such a hurry to pass on a blind curve, hope he is having a
better day now.

[tanya]

trackrunner wrote: I wish I hadn’t forgotten neoprene socks :cold: :cold: (stopping in the warm sun sections would warm up my feet).

Did you ever consider where the name Das Boot came from :mrgreen:

trackrunner wrote: Noticed they are only wearing cotton t-shirts, sandals, and no wetsuits. :cold:

:eek2: :eek2: :eek2: It's so cold in that dang canyon though! :eek2:

trackrunner wrote: :crazycobasa: “No”, I tell him, “the walls and webbing are too wet”. But off he goes with our only rope despite my objections!!! :angryfire: He starts to down climb and then the waterfall’s force forces his left calf into a crack. He is stuck and taking a good face shot. :ahhh: He powers with all his strength using the webbing to lift him up out of the crack. Exhausted from the ordeal he falls into the pool below. :ahhh:

See why I always go with Bo and Shane. :popcorn:

trackrunner wrote: I splash into the pool with the water over my head.

Bet that was cold. :mrgreen:


trackrunner wrote: I unwind my panties and reach for my sunglasses.

Trying to create a visual image of this. :cool2:


trackrunner wrote: Just then a group of two with out wetsuits catches us. One has a tank top the other a cotton shirt. One of them is not wearing shoes. I think he must be warming up his cold feet in the warm sun and rock like me. :kickit: We talk about the hike. He tells me he lost his shoes at the last water fall trying to do what we did. :eek2: What you lost your shoes and now you are going to have to hike out barefoot? Damn . . . Well good luck. :help:

Oh my! :roll:

trackrunner wrote: We watch two college freshmen, one right after the other, lose their footing and get swept over the water fall from the current, double ouch. :five: :five: Soon after the shoeless canyoneer passes us as we pack and take a few bites to eat. :help:

I can't believe those guys did not get the pleasure of meeting Bo and the rest of the SAR Team. :lol8:


trackrunner wrote: Can’t wait to do this canyon again in normal conditions, Russell Gulch entrance, Das Boot entrance, and the yo-yo version. Next time I’ll remember to carry the rope! :clap: :party: :fishing:

Doing it at the N00bfest! :popcorn:


Best trip report I have read here! ... or at least the most comical :lol8: --- and you did it without pictures. Impressive! :2thumbs: :five:

[Bo_Beck]

trackrunner wrote: :cold: Tell them the beta I had received from Bo Beck as caution, but they push on. :clap: :party: :fishing:

I hope that the beta I gave to you wasn't something like " :ne_nau: Wetsuit? nah, we don't need no stinking wetsuit!? :haha: "

[tanya]

Bo_Beck wrote: trackrunner wrote: :cold: Tell them the beta I had received from Bo Beck as caution, but they push on. :clap: :party: :fishing:

I hope that the beta I gave to you wasn't something like " :ne_nau: Wetsuit? nah, we don't need no stinking wetsuit!? :haha: "


Shaun - Is that boulder gone you mentioned? Do we need to update our trail report of Das Boot?

I don't even want to think of Das Boot without Neoprene socks let alone Wetsuits!

[Scott Card]

If I'm a bettin' man, which I am not, I would bet that he stemed out past that boulder when he fell in the pool. Isn't that boulder directly below the down climb? Again, my guess is that he went horizontal a couple of feet and cleared the boulder when he fell. :ne_nau:

Great write up. I swear I can't believe that folks do this hike this time of year without a wet suit. The wet suit makes it enjoyable so you can actually look around and see the beauty. When you are frozen, you have one thought in mind, if you even have a thought in mind, and that is when is this stupid hike over.

[trackrunner]

Scott Card wrote: If I'm a bettin' man, which I am not, I would bet that he stemed out past that boulder when he fell in the pool. Isn't that boulder directly below the down climb? Again, my guess is that he went horizontal a couple of feet and cleared the boulder when he fell. :ne_nau:

Yes. Plus it was deep water, very deep. You know the boulder, sometimes called the bowling ball, you swim under in the same narrow coridor. Well in the pics I've seen you swim look up and there is a boulder wedged up high. Well I had to swim under it. Not look up while swimming. I swam under it.

For comparison this is tanya's photo off her site. I had to hold my breath and swim under that boulder. That's how high the water is.


Scott Card wrote: Great write up. I swear I can't believe that folks do this hike this time of year without a wet suit. The wet suit makes it enjoyable so you can actually look around and see the beauty. When you are frozen, you have one thought in mind, if you even have a thought in mind, and that is when is this stupid hike over.
Yes I was glad I had a wetsuit on. If you go anytime soon wetsuits are a must. Summer shorty was just fine. :nod:

[trackrunner]

Bo_Beck wrote: trackrunner wrote: :cold: Tell them the beta I had received from Bo Beck as caution, but they push on. :clap: :party: :fishing:

I hope that the beta I gave to you wasn't something like " :ne_nau: Wetsuit? nah, we don't need no stinking wetsuit!? :haha: "

No the beta was some guy did it without wetsuit and wished he had one, also the water was flowing and cold. That is true. I was glad I did have a wetsuit. I wish I had brought neoprene socks. Though stoping on the sand beaches to warm up my feet was a good. My friend that brought neoprene socks had to stop to warm up his feet. I bet he had too thin of noprene socks. What are good thinkness, anyone?


tanya wrote: Shaun - Is that boulder gone you mentioned? Do we need to update our trail report of Das Boot?

I don't even want to think of Das Boot without Neoprene socks let alone Wetsuits!
I didn't do Das Boot. I did the standard Subway route.

[UtahAdventureGuide]

Hey, Thanks for the TR. I plan on doing the Subway this weekend. I did it a couple years ago when the flow was over 1,500 CFS out of North Fork. Here are some pictures and our TR.

http://canyonwiki.com/wiki/index.php/The_Subway

Here's a picture and video of keyhole when we did it.

http://canyonwiki.com/wiki/index.php/Keyhole_Falls

can you tell me if there was just as much water when you did it?

pictures would be helpful.

Thanks