“The Subway” is a famous and highly coveted slot canyon in Zion National Park, but this story is about Debra Plant as much as it is about doing the canyon. Deb is married to my good friend Graeme, and while Graeme has come along on my adventures from the first time I flew a plane, Deb has not. Why not? Partly the fear of flying, but mostly just the objective decision that both her and Graeme shouldn’t be on the same small plane while their kids were young. I understand. Fifteen years of flying places with Graeme has passed without Deb getting in the plane.
Well, now their kids are not that young, we entered the lottery and won slots for The Subway, the weather held out, and the only excuse remaining was the fear of flying. She showed up at the airport, and fortunately we only hit a two hard bumps and the rest of the flight out was pretty smooth.
We hiked Angel’s Landing the first day, which is one of my favorite hikes of all time. In fact, I think it has to be one of the top ten hikes in the US if not the world.
The second day we did the Subway. The surprise was the first part of the hike into the canyon, which was expected to be hot and dry. The pine trees against the red cliffs was spectacular and we lucked out with temps in the 80s at that point. The swims, rappels and downclimbing was easy and fun.
I have to admit the actual “Subway” was a little anti-climatic. If you look at my classic Subway photo below (or Google it for more photos), you get the sense that is a deep, almost subterranean slot. Really it is quite open and there are trees not far above. It was still beautiful and I like the photos I was able to get, but it just wasn’t what I expected.
Deb (at least she says) enjoyed the flight, and she definitely enjoyed the hike – we all did.
West Coast Flying Adventures 
Wow, I really enjoy your reading about your adventures, in particular this one. We are headed up to do the Zion Narrows next weekend. I am very interested in Angels Landing also. Have you done a post on it?
P.S Your photography is great. That first shot of the Subway is fantastic.
Thank you for the comments. I did a post that included Angel’s Landing here:
https://westcoastflyingadventures.com/2010/09/29/boys-to-zion-a-weekend-in-one-of-my-favorite-places/
It is easy to find (the shuttle bus will describe it and show the stop). The hike itself is only a couple of miles long, but it rises about 2,000 feet which is pretty substantial. A good time to do it is later afternoon or even the evening when it has cooled and the crowds are gone.
Of course the Narrows is great too – but do it early before the crowds!!
Have fun!
Ney