Conditions:The Subway-20231011045842

Latest:	7 Oct 2023 (1 yr, 7 mos ago)

Reported by:	Rpatt-kstew (12 reports)
Quality:	Great
Waterflow:	Very Low
Wetsuit:	None
Water temperature:	50F deg C
Difficulty:	Easy
Time:	7 hours

Team: 4 people with experience level Beginner

Trip report URL:

Comments: Wayfinding was easy with downloaded AllTrails map. Google Earth didn't work so well. Water was cold but short swims, so wetsuits were not needed. All rappels were simple and short (10-30') and could be doubled, so no extra cord was needed to retrieve ropes. The first rappel has a bolt that is solid but the hanger is spinning due to erosion of the sandstone. Last rappel has a lot of wear in the sandstone where the rope has rubbed over many rappels.

The area is beautiful--I would say this is a very simple canyon to navigate and can be easily done by beginners with a little experience.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
23 Oct 2024	Good	Deep pools	Thin wetsuit	Easy	5 hours	2 people Intermediate to Advanced	Ameister (43 reports),Dirk (8 reports)
Comment: That was a canyon, I guess? We intended to combine with Das Boot but got a late start due having a harder time than expected hitching to the top.
1 Jul 2024	Great	Deep pools	Thin wetsuit	Normal	9 hours	2 people Beginner to Intermediate	BryceM777 (14 reports)
Comment: A very fun beginner friendly canyon with great views and very scenic, clear blue pools this time of year. We wore 3/2 wetsuits at the start of the swimmer section just after R1 since we tend to get colder more easily. While wetsuits potentially make the canyon more comfortable, they were not required for this time of year. Since the canyon starts at a higher elevation, the hiking temps in July were also more pleasant along Wildcat canyon trail in the morning. We started just after 8 am and ended just before 6 pm totaling approximately 9 hours. Unless all members of the group are strong hikers/down climbers prepare for this canyon to last at least 8 hours as the hike out is pretty brutal with lots of scrambling and a long walk uphill. As other posts have hinted at, be sure not to fall into the trap of walking into Russell gulch as we almost made that mistake. It might be good to take extra rope to handle the longer rappels just in case the group falls victim to this route. We almost went this way, however tracking our position on AllTrails allowed us to get out of the gulch and back on the Subway route. Overall, minus a few sections, the Subway is actually pretty easy to follow as the washes going down to the canyon were well marked with footprints this time of year and was very helpful for route finding, especially since this was our first time descending this canyon.
27 Jun 2024	Amazing	Deep pools	None	Easy	6 hours	7 people Beginner to Expert	Ingalls (28 reports)
Comment: Awesome scenic canyon with a bit of a slog back to the lower parking lot
24 May 2024	Great	Very Low	Rain jacket	Normal	8 hours	5 people Beginner to Advanced	Johnbcaves (158 reports)
Comment: I think we ended up at R3 of Russell Gulch by accident, which took our longest rope and all our slings to fiddle. Oops. No real issues on-route. Enjoyed one good short wet slide just past the iconic log and one bumpy slide below the Subway. The Subway was very pretty, and the hallway above the last rap was probably better than the round Subway proper. Lots of hiking- scenic above the canyon, and somewhat tiresome creeking on the exit, followed by a steeper wake-up exit climb. Nice day for a hike.
12 Nov 2023	Great	Moderate	Thick wetsuit	Special challenges	8 hours	3 people Advanced to Intermediate	MRickerd (37 reports)
Comment: Procured permits the day prior, so we set off from the upper parking area after staging a car below at 8 am. Was ~29 degrees out as we started approach. Beautiful scenery during the approach. We went over to Russell Gulch to check out the first rappel, as one member had done it previously years ago. Ice was present in the water, so we backtracked and did the regular approach down into the canyon. At the first rappel off of the big boulder a large family caught up to us, with (3) very young kids. The water was a frigid 35 degrees (used Garmin watch with temp function to check) for the first several swims, got slightly warmer after the rocky section where additional water enters the flow. (2) of us in full 7mm (no booties or gloves) and (1) in a 5mm without sleeves. He loves the cold and was fine, but one swim felt like I was pushing my hands through knives. Purchased neoprene gloves and socks/booties after this canyon. That would have made a big difference. Managed to keep all bags dry. The section at the second rappel is beautiful. Played around in the shower room for a few minutes. The hike out was long, and the final climb was tiring after a long day in the canyon. Canyon is stunning, but you have to work for it for sure.
20 Oct 2023	Good	Low	Thin wetsuit	Normal	8 hours	4 people Beginner to Advanced	Rbowru (54 reports),Knotpigeon (6 reports)
Comment: What an incredible place! I'm still impressed by the beauty of subway even after a decade of canyoneering. We combined subway with a russell gulch trip, which made for a good solid day for technical canyoneering. We were one of the first people in the morning permit line, but needing to wait for the office to open + the drive time still made for a later start than we wanted. We all wore full wetsuits, and still got a bit chilly at our snack break. We ran into multiple groups with no wetsuits who were not very proficient in rappelling, including a large family with kids. We finished the exit hike at sunset. We think at least one of these large groups was still in the canyon (hope they were okay).
7 Oct 2023	Great	Very Low	None	Easy	7 hours	4 people Beginner	Rpatt-kstew (12 reports)
Comment: Wayfinding was easy with downloaded AllTrails map. Google Earth didn't work so well. Water was cold but short swims, so wetsuits were not needed. All rappels were simple and short (10-30') and could be doubled, so no extra cord was needed to retrieve ropes. The first rappel has a bolt that is solid but the hanger is spinning due to erosion of the sandstone. Last rappel has a lot of wear in the sandstone where the rope has rubbed over many rappels. The area is beautiful--I would say this is a very simple canyon to navigate and can be easily done by beginners with a little experience.
6 Nov 2022	Great	Deep pools	Drysuit	Normal	8 hours	2 people Brand new to Beginner	Clarence (2 reports)
Comment: Team of 2 (1 beginner and 1 brand new) had a pretty easy time with The Subway, but definitely wouldn't be possible if we didn't have drysuits. Water was pretty cold but otherwise swimmable. Relatively low flow and anchors / webbing were generally in good condition. One white piece webbing on rap 2 should probably be removed, though.
26 Sep 2022	Amazing	Moderate	Thin wetsuit	Easy	10 hours	5 people Brand new to Intermediate	Grapefruit (33 reports)
Comment: Beautiful. Took wetsuits off 2/3 through the canyon. A few swimmers. Exit is tiring after a long day. Time includes Das Boot. We wore wetsuits and neoprene booties but didn't really need them in the Subway.
19 Jun 2022	Great	Low	Thin wetsuit	Normal	8 hours	4 people Beginner to Advanced	Nclegg (407 reports)
Comment: Low air temps today and moderate winds made for a cool descent. Wore a 3/2 shorty and would have liked something a bit more substantial. Technical section was beautiful. Several deep wades and a couple short swims. Exit was quite long, partially exposed, and more effort than expected.
10 Jun 2022	Amazing	Deep pools	None	Easy	12 hours	5 people Intermediate to Expert	Brdn.gonzales (44 reports)
Comment: First time through The Subway and man was it STUNNING! Didn't see a single soul in the whole canyon other than the people in our group, which I hear is very rare. Water was super comfortable, you could probably do it in a shorty or normal clothes. I had my 5.5mm suit (coming out of Das Boot) but would've loved something thinner. For the few rappels we had to do, all the anchors and webbing looked great.
28 May 2022	Amazing	Deep pools	Thin wetsuit		9 hours	4 people Brand new to Advanced	Kdinger (9 reports)
1 Jul 2021	Great	Deep pools	Thin wetsuit	Normal	7 hours	4 people Beginner to Advanced	EMoorcroft (450 reports)
Comment: Scenic the whole way. All anchors in good shape. wetsuit reccomended. Exit is a lot of small up and downs and boulder hopping down the creek. This was a great way to check out the Subway.
24 Oct 2019 Trip report	Amazing						CanditionBot (2103 reports)
Comment: See the full condition report at Candition.com. Submitted by Brycen.
13 Sep 2019	Great	Deep pools	None	Normal	9 hours	7 people Beginner to Advanced	Greatshaitan (45 reports)
Comment: Another great trip down the subway. No wetsuits needed. 9 hours including Russell gultch.

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