Canyoneering

I spent the weekend in Zion National Park in Utah with friends Daniel and Katie, and Aaron and Torrey and Alethia. Daniel, Aaron and I started hiking "The Subway" route bright and early at 6:30 am. Because all three of us are photography-obsessed, we stopped every few feet to capture the canyon views all around us, and it took us until 7:45 pm to do the short 8 miles!

We trekked through fall-decorated forest trails, wide open canyon valleys, and narrow crevices. We had to rappel down some obstacles, and swim through ice-cold water to pass through parts of the route. We documented the whole day in hundreds of photos between us, and I've put some of them up here.

It was a great day and a fun weekend spent with friends. Thanks Daniel for the invite!

A view of the surrounding canyon from our campsite.
Daniel the packs ready for the trip tomorrow, while Katie makes our lunches.
Consolidating our camera gear into the waterproof backpack.
Tim tries to figure out how to use his new camera.
Katie went along with us at 5:30 am to drop us off at the trailhead.
The three of us photo-nerds at the beginning of the hike. We look cold now, but we'll be a lot colder later in the day.
Aaron pins a ''kick me'' sign onto Daniel's back.
Daniel studies the map intently and up close.
Hiking at 6:30 am.
Wildcat hill?
Luckily, we're within the group limit.
Tim taking a picture of Daniel taking a picture.
Daniel takes a picture of Tim taking pictures of a cairn (a trail marker).
Tim takes a picture of Daniel taking pictures of a cairn.
We got great views of the sun coming up over the ridges.
Aaron and Daniel assuming the photographer poses.
Aaron likes the extreme angles.
So does Daniel.
A quick group shot only a couple hours into the hike.
A cairn.
You must wear shoes past this point.
Hiking through ferns.
This part of the trail looks paved.
Tim closely examines this particular bush for a minute or two.
Daniel ruins this shot.
Daniel is so happy about the beautiful views!
Daniel checks the GPS to check how little progress we have made.
Aaron photographs low.
Aaron photographs high.
Water break.
The first part of the hike varied from narrow trails through forest to wide-open rock valleys like this. It was pretty spectacular.
The patterns in the stone made some interesting photos.
Daniel and Aaron get up close and personal with a cactus.
Aaron is on a ledge that has huge drops on either side, but it was a great place to take pictures from.
We eventually came to the part of the hike down where we started descending into the canyon.
It's hard to tell, but this is pretty steep.
Aaron chimneys up between these two rocks.
It's a better photo from up there.
We didn't have to rappel to get down into the canyon floor, but we took the opportunity to practice....since we were making good time.
Once Daniel made it down, it was my turn.
I attempted to throw my hat down so I could put on the helmet, but my hat landed in some branches partway down. (Aaron got it down eventually)
This is what I would look like if I fell.
Aaron setup some flashes on the gorilla pods.
''We should be 2 miles that way.''
Daniel does a short rappel.
We stop briefly at noon for lunch.
It was an all-Canon outing!
We begin to see more water that we have to walk, hop, and jump around or over. We knew we were getting close to having to put on the wetsuits.
This was the last part that we could get away with staying dry.
Hmmmm, yup, we'll have to swim this one.
Our first swim!
Aaron was eager to be refreshed with a cold, invigorating swim.
Tim is impressed.
Daniel didn't quite make it to his spot before the timer went off. Good picture though.
Sexy wetsuit time!
Keyhole falls, a very narrow part where we have to rappel into the water.
It was very narrow at times, but a very cool place to experience.
A floating boulder.
Daniel, the adventurer guy.
Daniel and Tim. The first time together in wetsuits in a long time.
Another short rappel into a pool. By now we are pretty cold.
We finally come to the beginning of ''The Subway'' section.
Being photogs.
We spent a long time here taking pictures.
The famously photographed log in The Subway.
Even the ground we walked on was beautiful.
Annother portion we had to rappel down.
Daniel jumps over a treacherous crevice.
Daniel is showing signs of hypothermia.
We came across other photographers who had come up to The Subway from the Left Fork trailhead (the end of our route).
Looking back at the exit of The Subway section.
The Subway exit.
We came to a quiet waterfall where we stopped for a break.
Daniel consults the map.
Aaron pumps us some new drinking fresh water.
Daniel is amazed that we have only gone 6 miles.
A beautiful section of the hike with small waterfalls.
Aaron works the polarizer.
Daniel was trying to take a picture of this waterfall when Tim walked into the frame. Daniel took the picture anyway.
Dinosaur tracks!
Small dinosaur.
Aaron shot this beautiful silhouette as we made our way back up the canyon to the cars.
A shot of the whole group back at the campsite the follow day, just before we said our goodbyes and left Zion.

Recent photo comments View all 71 photo comments

Lem: One of the most awesome collection of photos on this site! Looked like such an awesome trip.

Daniel, the adventurer guy.

Sher Takahashi: Daniel - send this picture to Body Glove - see if they'll use it.

Lem: That's actually not a bad idea.

Sher Takahashi: Way to go, Daniel. Wish I was there!

The three of us photo-nerds at the beginning of the hike. We look cold now, but we'll be a lot colder later in the day.

Sher Takahashi: Daniel, where's your camera?

Sexy wetsuit time!

Joe: umm.....

Andy: I might have turned around and climbed back out of the canyon if I ran into you guys just now...

Tim: Andy, you know you would have joined us in the picture.

I have two of my wetsuit--I should've brought it along so Daniel and I could've matched!

Joe: Love the slower shutter speed!

Andy: cool shot!

Andy: Hey, that looks like a full size rope, like the one I gave you. Also looks like you got the ATC-XP. How'd your rappel system work for this trip?

Luke: I like the color shifts here.