48 Attachment(s)
Rained out of the Subway: She said YES!!!!!!!!!
Four years ago on my first attempt to get a Subway permit in the lottery, I succeeded and had a great trip through. During the summers of 2010 and 2011, I tried for multiple permits and got skunked every time. Finally success was reached again and I drew a permit for 4 for Saturday, July 14th! Of the group of 4, I was the only one to have gone through previously. The group consisted of my girlfriend Carrie, and our friends Andy and Bella. Excitement was high in the group as the weeks went by. Fires raged across the state with no rain in sight for the better part of 3 months. Temps soared in Zion to the 100s and high 90s in SLC. We needed rain, but this was perfect weather for a trip through the Subway without wetsuits.
It just wasn't meant to be :cry1:. As the weekend approached, the forecast called for the first big storm of the summer...and the prediction kept getting worse and worse. We kept a positive vibe and decided that we would hit the trail head at 6am and hope that the storms wouldn't build until late afternoon as is typical. At the least, we could get a bit of a hike in away from the crowds of the main canyon and turn around before dropping down into the subway. On the drive from St. George we hit a little bit of sprinkling rain, but at the trail head things looked OK, with the clouds breaking up. By the time we split off of the Northgate peaks trail, the sun was shining on us and no threatening clouds were in view. Maybe...just maybe.
Just out onto the slickrock
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Clouds are breaking up!
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Beautiful view and blue sky poking through
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We continued down the slickrock bowl, following the new route. As we proceeded, dark clouds began building right over the far ridge of the Subway. Boy was this going to ruin my plans. As we were approaching the crossing of Russel Gulch, I looked up and noticed the clouds were becoming closer, lower, and more threatening. I made the statement, "hey guys...I think we are about to be engulfed by that cloud..." Immediately, everyone raced to drop their pack and dig out the rain gear. No sooner than packs were on the ground, the sky let loose an unbelievable fury of rain. After finally getting the rain gear on, we stood and watched as our plans got literally washed away...and with them, my plans as well :angryfire: Well, now to figure out plan B.
It's raining? Carrie decides it is time to have a snack
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After standing around for a bit and watching the ridge across go in and out of the clouds, it was time to turn back. Just as we all started the about face, Carrie says, "hey, I think I hear water running" to which Andy agreed. We decided to investigate. As we reached the gully off to the side of the high point we were on, we witnessed the beginnings of a flash flood! I had said the night before that if we got rained out, I wanted to at least go see a flash flood from a safe spot as I had never witnessed one. Well, guess we didn't have to look far! As we watched, the waterfall forming right in front of us kept growing. After a quick assessment of our location, I noted that we were on safe ground and if the need arose, a few feet away was easily accessible ground 15 feet higher. As we looked around, we could see more and more waterfalls! While in awe of our surroundings and the power of water being witnessed, I started contemplating how to alter my plans.
First sight of the flash flood beginning
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Check out the waterfall!
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And the others as well!
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Well, hell, were watching a flash flood above Russel Gulch and the Subway, why not. I dropped my pack, dug through my dry bag and stuck it in my pocket. Andy asked if Carrie and I wanted our picture taken in front of the newly formed waterfall. Of course! A picture was taken and Carrie started to step away. I pulled her back, and as she turned around she found me down on one knee with a ring box open in my hand and I asked her to marry me. She was caught off guard. I succeeded in that aspect! She said "Yes! Of course!" :party:and gave me a huge kiss! I am officially the luckiest guy in the world! I don't think many girls (if any) can say they got engaged in a flash flood :mrgreen:. I guess it was fitting since in the summer of 2011 I had also taken Carrie hiking in the gorges of central New York during hurricane Irene. She puts up with a lot! :crazycobasa::2thumbs: At least there was one hell of a consolation prize to the day!
Photo in front of the newly formed waterfall
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Will you marry me? "Holy crap! I can't believe it! Did you guys know?"
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The happy engaged couple
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Flooding
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More flooding
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Yet more flooding
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After a few "engagement photos", Andy and I took a look to see if we could cross up onto the next ridge to see down into Russel Gulch. We could, and were treated to a crazy view of at least 7 or 8 large waterfalls pouring into the drainage. From our vantage point, we could see a point where Russel Gulch narrows and water was shooting off what appeared to be some sort of drop! After taking in the view, we headed back to his wife and my new fiance(!) and began the trek back out.
A cool waterfall
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The girls between the two flows
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Andy on the ridge with many falls just beyond
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The view into Russel Gulch
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Crazy waterfall!
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A zoomed in view of the flooding in Russel Gulch
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Time to head back
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Beautiful views as the storm clears
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Back at the trail head, the skies had cleared and beers were had in the parking lot. After some discussion, it was decided to stay away from the crowds and head to cave valley. Carrie and I had previously found two of the caves, but Andy and Bella had never been there. We showed them the caves and in the process continued scouting for Mother of Earth cave with no luck. After exploring for awhile, we headed to Oscars for burgers and beers. As we made the turn off the Kolob Reservoir Road, we noticed the storm was building once again.
The mummy marking the entrance to Cave Valley
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Pictographs in the first cave
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More pictos from the first cave
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Green guys
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Photo with the monster looking pictograph
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Love the view!
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Pictos in the ceremonial cave
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Altar and bones
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View of the whole cave
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And here comes the rain again
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The plans for Sunday were to have a leisurely breakfast and then start heading north, stopping in Leeds to do Yankee Doodle and maybe Boltergeist. We left St. George with blue skies. As we headed north, the Silver Reef came into view and the mountains were enshrouded in threatening clouds. With that, Andy and Bella decided it was time to head home to their 2 year old. We said our goodbyes, and Carrie and l looked longingly at the mountains as another day of canyons was getting washed out discussing what to do. Neither of us were in a rush to get back to Salt Lake. We drove through the huge houses in Silver Reef and checked out the museum. The decision was made to head to the Parowan Gap on the way home since we had been once before in very strong light which bleached out many of the petroglyphs. Now we had our new DSLR and it looked like with the storms we may get some nice lighting! Sure enough, we arrive to extremely dark clouds on the other side of the gap. We took some photos and as we reached the end of the gap a stiff wind picked up and the temps dropped 20 degrees. Here we go again! A few more quick photos, and we hurried back to the car. We drove a couple miles down the road, snapped one more photo of the storm approaching and headed back to I-15. Within minutes we found ourselves driving through pounding rain.
Zipper-glyph
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Large snake
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Nice panel
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Threatening skies
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Threatening skies w/ boulder full of petroglyphs
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Close up of the boulder
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Storm building on the other side of the gap
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Different view of a panel
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One last engagement weekend photo in front of the snake panel
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Here comes the storm!
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Cool lighting across I-15
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An overdone HDR version that looked fun
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View further north
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Cool clouds
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Black and White version
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Back to Salt Lake we headed with a car ride full of wedding talk. Mainly trying to decide if we can logistically pull off our wedding in the Zion area :mrgreen:
Cheers to a great weekend, monsoon and all!
