So here goes....
When I first stepped into The Subway, I pictured God molding clay into these beautiful shapes, adding a splash of color here and a splash of color there - stepping back, looking at His creation, nodding and saying "Yes, they will enjoy this".
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." - James 1:17
God has been amazingly good to us. There are so many moments I am overwhelmed by His grace, His talent, and His love. The day of this hike was no exception.
The day began with the hour drive to Zion. We got to the trail head just before 9:00, put our packs on, and went on our way. To begin it's quite nice, you take a well groomed path through a field of Juniper trees, and down a few slopes. One of the websites we read mentioned the trail was steep going down. Well I thought the "few slopes" was the steep part - boy was I wrong! You should know that I am not a huge fan of heights, am very clumsy, and am NOT well-balanced. If the "trail" had been any steeper, ropes and harnesses would have been required. So we very slowly made our way down the side of the canyon. "One step at a time" is what I kept telling myself. We made it to the bottom! Hallelujah! That was a miracle!
Now the next part - making our way up the river. A different website mentioned "some scrambling required", which basically means there is no trail you have a climb over and around rocks. No big deal, I can climb over a few rocks. Ha ha. I never meant I could "scramble" for hours. Never the less, that's what we did. We jumped from boulder to boulder, walked through the river, climbed, climbed, and climbed some more.
Finally we reached the cascade waterfalls, this meant The Subway was right around the corner - Yes we made it!!! But not before we carefully walked over the very slippery waterfalls. Most people at least get a busted knee or elbow during this section. But we made it through, injury free.
The entrance to The Subway is ominous. It looks like a dark cave that could have any number of creepy things living in it. But once you're in, the scenery changes. The Subway is a canyon that has concave curves on both sides which creates a cylindrical tunnel. Water slow trickles through the sides of the rock, which means it's always wet. The light shines in from the top, making the walls of the canyon glisten with colors of blue, green, red, orange… colors that only God himself could create. There are pools of water that reflect these beautiful colors, there are cascading waterfalls, then in the back the canyon gets even narrower. You could reach your arms out and touch both sides. If you step into frigid water 4 feet deep (in the spring the water is deep enough you have to swim) and make your way to the very back, a waterfall awaits. What a way to finish the trail.
So that was amazing. Incredible. Once in a lifetime experience. Thank you God for giving us the ability, resources, and energy to see it.
Now the problem. We have to make our way back the 5 miles we just came. That means jumping and climbing over boulders, walking through the river, and oh no - making our way UP the canyon. This is the part I dreaded most. I thought about faking a broken ankle and having a helicopter come get me, but that seemed a bit melodramatic. When we got to the point of going up, we took a break, changed our shoes, I cried (not going to lie), and I prayed. I prayed God would give me courage and strength. I kept repeating in my head "I can do all things through Christ who give me strength". And He did just that. We reached the top, Brad looked at me and said "I can not believe you went up that so fast". God is good. It's a good thing He pushed me to go fast, because the sun was setting. We made it to the car at 8:00, just as it got dark.
See below... the Subway, Brad's Perspective.
WOW. I mean there aren't really even words... what a once in a lifetime experience! Incredible.
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