Zion Bakefest: Das Boot and the Subway Canyons
We had a little Tom's Canyon Festival down in Zions (ha ha), which, due to normal July temps, was known as the Bake Fest. It was somewhat hot, which calls for early starts and wet canyons. Thankfully, the Narrows had just opened, so many options were available. I planned on doing Oak 1 (Kelsey or North Fork) on Thursday, then Das Boot on Friday - but a Subway permit was not to be had for Friday, so we switched to Plan B - Das Boot on Thursday, Oak on Friday.
Sunrise in Zion Canyon
Permit line at 6:30.
Permit line at 7:00, when the windows open.
The Gang for Das Boot: Denise Manweiler, Eric Godfrey, Jim Schnepel
Descending slabs to get to the Boot.
Denise seems rather un-perturbed by the sketchy traverse to get to the walk-in point.
And finally, into the water. The Boot was full of nice, clean water.
Much wading, a couple of swims. Nice.
I had forgotten just how wonderful Das Boot is. Wet, dark, but at this time of year, the light shines down in there, and it is green and beautiful. Das Boot is very conditions-dependent. If the pools are full it is great fun. If the pools are dry or stinky, it becomes 'Das Hike".
Eric on a short rappel in Das Boot
Thankfully, Shane had cued us in to the possibility of a jump at the end. So we sent Denise down on the rope to check the depth and probe for rocks. Usually, there is not much of a pool here, but today…
Jim doing Das Jump
Eric doing Das Jump. Fun! About a 15′ jump into 8 feet of water.
Then we had the ‘chore’ of descending The Subway.
The lower bowling ball disappeared over the winter. Still a nice swim.
The Subway is always a hoot. Just so much fun, and really beautiful. Who cares that it has few technical difficulties.
James enjoying the hike down the Subway.
A sweet little watery corridor.
Jim rapping Das Keyhole Falls
Jim and Denise – through the Keyhole.
Keyhole Falls.
At the end, we rapped off a log at the Deteriorating Log Waterfall, rather than go around. Then we got to hang in the Waterfall Room. Nice.
NOW it becomes Das Slog. Pretty hot out, and the day was getting late, so we pushed the pace. Ugh.
But first...
Hanging out in ‘the hot tub’
Denise thinks we should slide these things, with a little help from the rope…
The Red Slot (art shot, I hope I didn’t have to tell you).
Hiking down the Red Slabs
And Finally (two hours later) – The Exit, just a couple hundred feet up a south-facing black lava gully and…
Flower of the Day, seen in the final Pinon-Juniper forest near the trailhead:
Sulpher Flower (Eriogonum umbellatum) (or something similar – there are many closely-related species). Buckwheat Family (Polygonaceae)
