Subway - May 8, 2010 (plus some tips on Subway in the spring)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3104/...3935aa87_b.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1158/...181dd33c_b.jpg
Teaser image - our group in the Subway, May 2010
A bit of history
In 2005, a group of four of us went down the Subway on May 4th. We met this:
http://www.canyonwiki.com/wiki/image...allsMay4th.jpg
Historical image - Keyhole Falls 2005
Long story short, we ended up bivying with hopes the snowmelt-driven flow would decrease overnight and the falls would become passable in the morning. This was not the case, and we ended up having to do some hairy climbing up the sides of the canyon to get back out of it. (The water was chest deep at some sections and it was impossible to walk or swim back out the watercourse, so we had to go up and over and in some cases very high over - in short... it sucked)
2005-2010, Many Spring Subway Trips
Ever since we had to retreat that section, its memory taunted us. It was the one canyon that has defeated us, and we weren't about to let it get away with it. When May 2006 rolls around we book our trip again for the first weekend of May, this time armed with a years worth of consideration for that one crux.
It was not to be. 2006 was a weak year, as was 2007, and 2008. We skipped 2009 because, quite frankly, you can only do the subway so many times in mediocre spring conditions until you get sick of it... Until...
2010 - PRIME CONDITIONS
Whenever I see snow fly in late April, I get hopeful for a big fat spring runoff to hit the Subway. I'm crazy, yes, but that's one of the first things I think about... You see, It's been almost 5 years and we've been waiting for our rematch ever since.
This year, we came armed with a pretty intimate knowledge of what the canyon looks like naked - so when it's covered with a few feet of murky swirling water we are better able to judge what was lying below the water.
Good signs - people telling you that you are crazy
In 2005, we encountered a random old guy hiking back towards the trailhead when we were hiking down. He told us that the Subway was a "raging torrent" and that we were crazy for considering it. No year since then have we been told we were crazy until this year, when we were told by several people that we were crazy. So - that's a good sign that the water is high.
Good sign #2 - Creeks and big pools early on the trail
In mediocre water years, there may be a slight trickle you can jump across, but this year and in 2005 there were nice streams that you had to actually think about how to get across without getting your feet wet.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3328/...473a8787bf.jpg
If you see this after hiking less than 10 minutes or so, you are likely in for decent water (based on past experience)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/...283f2bf21f.jpg
Most years there are not big pools of water early in the hike, so this is also a good sign
Good sign #3 - A big waterfall and big pool at bottom of Russel's Gulch
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3008/...edb67ec86f.jpg
In years when the waterflow has been worthwhile, this has always had a waterfall. In years when the waterflow has been awesome - this pool has been pretty big and actually been flowing into the canyon. (In normal conditions this is just a puddle with no waterfall.)
If you are looking for a thrill and you get down here and don't see the waterfall flowing, maybe consider hiking back up and going to do Das Boot (of course, you have to have a permit for that, so assume you have already gotten one in advance.)
Enough with the tips, here are some of the images of the fun
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4036/...b576fc75_b.jpg
:clap:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1284/...679f44b0_b.jpg
Fun also comes at a price
At one of the many "waterslides", Chris banged up his leg pretty bad and that put a damper on our fun and greatly slowed down our progress on the exit. (We come to find out later on that he actually BROKE HIS LEG - and then managed to
carry himself out the rest of the canyon [including all the technical parts] and go through the entire exit carryin his pack and just grunting occasionally... So yes... if there was ever any doubt Chris Raver is more hardcore than you - and you need to be very careful on the waterslides to keep your legs loose and in front of you and angled away from walls. Only 33% of our group broke their legs... so it's not that bad.
Chris must have banked some positive karma because probably a minute after the section where he banged up his leg (we didn't know it was broken at the time - he found out this morning) Porter noticed a spring-loaded trekking pole somebody had lost in the water just sitting there. So, Chris was able to use that to assist him through the rest of the canyon. You can see his newfound pole here as he surveys keyhole falls:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1148/...965a301d_b.jpg
Keyhole falls - If you aren't expecting this, you might crap your pants
Now, Keyhole falls with this kind of flow looks VERY intimidating. However, we've spent 5 years waiting to get back at this canyon in these conditions and we had a few dozen strategies. There is a log jammed in there that you can't see because of the flow, so that made any of the through-the-waterfall strategies a bit more dangerous. Fortunately, this waterfall has a cheat section immediately to the left ldc of it. If you are skinny, there is the actual keyhole you can lower yourself down through.
We passed this section by me lowering through the hole, assisted with a handline I think to make sure I could lower myself slowly and check for any big rocks or debris down there for the other two to be aware of. We lowered the packs through the hole, and then I helped the other two swing down. I don't have any pictures of this section because I was kind of busy at the time, but I do have this picture looking back at keyhole falls:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1412/...3d27ba6a_b.jpg
Now, the pool that you access through the hole of the keyhole is pretty deep - high waist deep. It's also REALLY COLD. I was in a drysuit with two layers of pants and two layers of tops on and I was getting pretty cold sitting there waiting for whatever the other two were doing. The waterfall is loud so it's hard to communicate - so you have to have a good game plan worked out. Had I encountered a strong current or other bad conditions I did have a plan to get myself moving on out of there - but we didn't have to use those plans at all.
Depending upon who you talk to, everyone has been turning back at Keyhole falls this year. I don't fault anyone at all for making that decision. It looks very scary. I can honestly say that when we got there I felt absolutely no fear or apprehension at all about continuing on through it because we are so familiar with that canyon and what the different conditions bring to it. We also had a crapton of extra gear to deal with dozens of possible scenarios, and we had multiple game plans for this crux.
If you are not comfortable walking up the side of the canyon to get over to the part where the keyhole is, you should not attempt to do it. Practice your spiderman walking somewhere else where the consequences of losing traction are not hundreds of gallons of water pounding your face into a pointy log.
Continuing on, there are plenty of pretty sights to see:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1272/...9b3ea941_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3316/...539bca4e_b.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1328/...d8d4b715_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3112/...d63dfa73_b.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4041/...eb6dc7f1_b.jpg
What is this flower?
Bonus Comparison of Bowling Ball Section in different flows
http://www.canyonwiki.com/wiki/image...0px-Phsub2.JPG
Normal summer conditions - you can see both balls
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/...ca71dac8_b.jpg
May 8, 2010 year - you can see the second ball, but not the first one
http://www.canyonwiki.com/wiki/image...ulders2152.jpg
May 4, 2005 - higher water, you can't see the second ball at all
FINAL ADVICE - Be Prepared
We saw a lot of evidence of people having some pretty bad days in this canyon. Aside from somebody losing his trekking pole, we saw at least two shredded up cotton sweaters, one pair of smashed eyeglasses, and a big webbing sling around a tree that ended about 10 feet above the water (better pray that water is as deep as you hope it is!)
Bring extra gear for this canyon in the spring! We brought 100 feet of rope, probably an equal amount of accessory cord and at least 80 to 100 feet of webbing. We had a bunch of food and water, and in the worst case scenario we had some emergency supplies. Don't let the canyon kick your butt just because you didn't want to carry a few extra pounds of rope.
All the little things....
I just have to say I offered to carry chris's pack at least a dozen times. After getting my computer programmer's body up the exit I was damn glad he didn't accept.
Nobody thought his tib was fractured. I've heard Dr's say that if it was broke.... You'd know it and you wouldn't be walking on it under normal conditions. Some peeps have a higher tolerance for pain due to life style and other factors. This was a short canyon. Under current conditions we wouldn't have had a problem getting him out if it got worse. But walking on something like that with gear over obstacles could have made it much worse. Compound fracture and even have finished off his fib too. That could have taken a annoyance to a life threatening conditions quickly.
I'm kind of a ninny when it comes to that stuff... be smart.. be safe..
