Hiking the Subway

It was supposed to be a beautiful 6 hour hike in Zion National Park.  The Subway  is a popular slot canyon that Mike was hiking with some coworkers and friends this past Wednesday. They left early in the morning.

Mike loved the beautiful scenery and rock formations they hiked through, as they headed towards the canyon.

Below is the entrance to the Subway. It took them two hours of hiking to get to this point. Let the fun begin!!!

When Mike reached this point of the hike, the "FIRST OBSTACLE," he had a choice to make: Go down the front of the rock and jump (10 +  feet) or use a rope to descend through a crevice around the side.

Mike chose the quick route, to jump, and found that the sand below was much harder than expected. He ended up with a broken foot!  

Those he was with took great care of him as they waited four hours for the rescue team to arrive. It took three more hours of waiting for the helicopter to arrive from the Grand Canyon to lift him out. Mike was attached to the cable 150 feet below the helicopter and was lifted out of the canyon in a harness. It was a ride he'll never forget! 



An ambulance met him (and one of the rescuers) at the landing area and he was transported to the hospital around 6 p.m. On the ride to the hospital, Mike called home and told Trevon to break the news to me when I got home. It was after 7pm when I heard about the accident and headed to the hospital.

An X ray and a cat-scan revealed that Mike had broken his heel as well as other bones in the left foot. He also had a puncture wound that was bleeding from his foot. It is estimated that his recovery will take three months. He is scheduled to have surgery this next week and then will have to stay off of his foot completely for it to heal. He is optimistic for a speedy recovery and would like to someday attempt the Subway again, this time without jumping!

Mike will be writing down his experience during the next couple of days, in which he saw many little miracles and blessings happen. I will post some of his words later.