Zion NP - The Subway (Spring run-off May 2011) : Photos, Diagrams & Topos : SummitPost

Comments

dragan2 - May 12, 2011 2:05 pm - Voted 10/10

Nice photo,

Where is this beautiful canyon?
Greetings,
Dragan

Josh Lewis - May 12, 2011 8:08 pm - Voted 10/10

Welcome!

I must say certainly a good entry photo.

lcarreau - May 13, 2011 12:23 am - Voted 10/10

The dude

is coming in with a BANG!

p-mike - May 13, 2011 7:29 am - Voted 10/10

Great photo!

Welcome and congratulations for this great photo!
Ciao Paolo

ZeljkoSubotica - May 13, 2011 8:34 am - Voted 10/10

Beautiful!

It look really nice :)

Zeljko

MichaelWB - May 13, 2011 11:18 am - Hasn't voted

Thanks and Hi

Thanks for the welcome and kind comments.

[Photo now renamed]

The photo was taken last week (Nikon D90, 17-55mm/2.8, 1.5" exposure, plus polarising filter) in the Subway at Zion. The round trip hike (from the bottom up and back) took 8 hours; the heavy snow-melt made for waist-high creek crossings, about a dozen each way, and the current was strong, so a big stick (and everything in dry sacks) was mandatory. Since last winter's severe flooding there isn't much of a trail left in many parts, we didn't see anyone else all day. I did the exact same hike with my wife last October, which was a gentle walk in the countryside by comparison!

This was my third trip to Southern Utah in the past 18 months, so was trying for more off-the-beaten track stuff: overnight backpacking the Boulder-Escalante Mail Trail (incredible, if cold at night), and the Zion East Rim/Cable Mountain; driving a Jeep out to Cathedral Valley and down to the Notom-Bullfrog Road to Halls Creek; we also day hiked Coyote Dry Forks, Willis Creek, Upper Muley Twist, Lower Spring Canyon (Capitol Reef) and Fairyland Canyon (Bryce).

The last morning saw an obligatory trot up to Angels Landing, before taking the rental Grand Cherokee back to Vegas, and the night flight back to Switzerland. Overall hiking mileage was ~90 miles over 9 days, plus 3 days of goofing around on dirt roads in the GSENM (Burr Trail, Hells Backbone) and Capitol Reef.

I'll post some more photos and some reports when I get a moment... if I can take time out from planning the *next* Utah trip ;-)

Cheers,

Michael (a Utah-loving Brit in Geneva)

Matt Lemke - May 15, 2011 2:14 pm - Voted 10/10

Re: Thanks and Hi

All very excellent hikes to do. It's great to see more users uploading excellent photos. Loved all those places you mentioned a lot! Man do I love the state of Utah. Keep up the great work.

MichaelWB - May 15, 2011 5:47 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Thanks and Hi

Hi Matt,
Thanks for the encouragement. Though I live not far from some great scenery (~50 miles from Mont Blanc), there is something magical and addictive about the American South-West, and Southern Utah in particular, that makes 12hrs on a plane seem worthwhile in order to be a part of it, if only for a short while...
Best regards,
Michael.

MichaelWB - May 15, 2011 5:40 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Fantastic debut!

Hi Roberto,
Thank you for your comments. I am really very surprised and pleased that my amateur photographic efforts have been so well received. It certainly encourages me to take more on my next trips.
Italy is also one of my favourite destinations; in fact, I shall be in Orta San Giulio next weekend with my wife and friends on our motorcycles, enjoying the delights of the Italian lake and mountain scenery (and the food/wine, of course!).
All the best,
Michael.