Subway

Warning: Long post with lots of pictures.

5 dollar......5 dollar footloooooooong.................whoops, sorry, wrong Subway. This post is about the Subway located in Zion National Park. While on our mini St. George vacation we ventured over to the Subway, a hike in Zion canyon backcountry, with Brandon and Meredith. Back country means there are no rangers, fewer tourists and very few signs telling you where to go. Speaking of which.....in some of our other posts we can given travel tips.......well, let me give you this hiking tip: do NOT hike the Subway unless you have clear, specific directions.

The Subway is a slot canyon with freezing water, even in the middle of summer. We rented wetsuits to combat the cold and headed out into oblivion around noon. We ended up finishing at 9 p.m. (yes, 9 hours later) with about 5 minutes to spare before it was too dark to see. Another 20 minutes and we would have had to stay the night in the canyon. Let's just say that as the "leader", it would have been a LONG drive back the next morning had we been forced to stay the night.

In our adventures we got lost for a bit, scaled down the face of a cliff, and later back up another, repelled without any experience, swam through freezing water, Lesley's feet almost fell off due to her wearing water socks (another hiking tip: don't wear water socks....we didn't realize how much of the hike is not in the water), and almost ended up with a "we spent the night on a cliff, but the Lord protected us" story for the Ensign . Despite all that, it was a great, great hike that I would recommend to someone who wants a serious hiking experience. It is hard and long, but you will see some of the coolest terrain you've seen in your life.

You start out walking over this slickrock which is cool in its own right

This is us hiking down to the bottom of this picture on the left. We scrambled down rocks and tree roots and found a way down. It was a lot steeper than the pictures on the right depict.

We look pretty dang good in our wetsuits.

So even with a wetsuit, the water was freezing. Here's a part where you had to get all the way in and swim. Check out Meredeith's video too to get an idea of how shockingly cold it was.

Entering the parts that give the hike its name......Subway

The longest repel of the day. Much longer and scarier than any of us were prepared for. But thanks to Eagle Scout Brandon we were able to make it through.



More parts of the Subway section. These little pools were so cool. Again, one of the most unique places I have ever seen.


One our way out of the Subway section as the canyon opens up. From here to scenery changed as did our attitudes. And then about 4 hours later we finally finished the hike.

So if you're ever down in that neck of the woods and want an amazing hike, check this one out. Just learn from our mistakes and make sure you get yourself some directions.

Trevor & Lesley's Travel Tips: SoCal

It's been quite a while since the last installment of our Travel Tips segment, but we're back in action. Lesley had a work trip back in March so being the devoted husband I am, I tagged along as we headed to the land of celebrities, sun, and silicone. That's right..........Southern California. We had a great time visiting Jason & Megan, Brett, Darla, and the Moorheads and enjoyed a weekend away from the snow. We learned a few things along the way and are passing our tips along to you, our faithful, loving readers...... If you have any tips of your own, pass them along in the comments section.

#1. Get free stuff by calling your friends/family
You can get free stuff, or discounted stuff, in southern California with a little bit of planning. Many times there are promotions for southern California residents where you can get half price into Magic Mountain, discounts with a pop can at other parks, or other deals. You just need to plan ahead. Call your friend or relative in SoCal before you go and ask them if they know of anything. The hip people in LA-LA-land always seem to have some hook up. On our trip we scored free admission to Universal Studios, free tickets to a Clippers game, and could have gone to Dancing With the Stars if Lesley's work schedule had allowed (I was heartbroken). Just plan ahead and see if anyone knows of anything.......you might be surprised. And thanks to all those who hooked us up.

#2. Priceline.com's Name Your Price
This is a real dream. I discovered this on our honeymoon and we used it again in SoCal. Basically, at priceline.com you can say how much you want to pay for a rental car. You can't pick the rental company, or the make and model of the car, but you do specify what size car you'd like (compact, mid-size, SUV, convertible, luxury, mini-van, etc.). You just make your bid and see if one of the companies accepts it. Don't be afraid to bid a steeper discount than the site suggests. We paid $14 a day for a car that normally rents for over $30 and got a Mustang convertible for a similar discount on our honeymoon. I felt kind of like a tool driving this little sports car around the souther California freeways, but still, a deal's a deal. I recommend using this whenever you need to rent a car.

#3. Knott's Berry Farm
This place is by far the most underrated amusement park in souther California, and consequently, it's the best bang for your buck. They have great rides, good funnel cake, and the lines are SHORT. We didn't wait longer than 10 minutes for any single ride. If you go after 4 p.m. it's only $25 to get in. That's half the normal cost and half the cost of the other parks. We got their around 4:30, did all the rides at least once, watched some Indian firedance thing, and still left around 8:30. If you've never been to Disneyland before, you gotta go there. But if you've already been and want a good amusement park without the long lines and steep prices, Knott's is your place. Here's a video of Lesley enjoying life on the Supreme Scream.

Well that's pretty much it for our suggestions this time around. We welcome any comments with other helpful tips. We hope you've enjoyed them and will find them useful next time you head down to the City of Angels.



Below are a few more photos of our time in LA-LA-land.

Universal Studios

Knott's Berry Farm

Clippers Game ................................................. Jason, Megan, Les, Me

We had to sit behind the nappy hair or Curtis Terry, from UNLV. I saw him out in the concourse before the game started and almost said something rude to him but decided against it. He ended up sitting right in front of us. I should have punched him in the head. Freaking UNLV.