Third time through the subway, this time from the bottom up (2nd time with this route). It’s a permitted hike, and we were fortunate enough to get a permit last November. Weather was chilly but perfect. This is perhaps one of the top 3 most physically-demanding hikes I’ve ever done. Using a single walking pole made of dowel or wood (not standard hiking poles) is by far the best piece of gear for this hike. Either Five Ten water boots (if you want more support) or mesh trail runners (like we wore) are the best footwear. Waterproof shoes are useless as most of the 9 miles R/T is IN the water itself.
It starts with an easy jaunt through some desert scrub, then a steep, rocky, and long descent into the Left Fork North Creek canyon. This is not for the faint of heart or anyone with vertigo. Many sections require holding on with both hands navigating your way down the trail slowly, slowly.
Once at the canyon floor, North Fork Creek itself is the trail. There are sometimes visible side trials, but much of it is just picking your way through the water and boulders as best as you can. It’s a full body workout that is amazing. My average backpacking speed is about 2 miles an hour with a full pack on. My speed on this hike is 1mph or less because it’s a slow but beautiful navigation through the canyon before reaching The Subway.
The Subway itself is incredible, and worth the effort to get here. It’s impossible to show the scale of it through photos. It was ridiculously slippery and wet, we saw many others slip and fall (without injury). Inside The Subway is surreal, with pools of water that look like hot tubs, and other rock formations that are out of this world. After exploring inside as far as possible without going into the water itself, we stopped and had lunch before slowly heading back down canyon.
In the canyon is a wonderful set of dinosaur prints as an added bonus.
My knees were NOT happy with me at all after this hike. I had trouble walking at all the next day. But that is a problem with my knees, not the hike itself. It is well worth a trip to do this hike if a permit is available for any able-bodied person who craves an amazing adventure.