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Canyoneering Route Description

Russell Gulch - 3B III or IV (depending on exit route)
Zion National Park, Utah.

Pictures 09-11-11

Quick Facts

09-11-11, 4 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 5 hours) - exiting up standard Subway approach

Down Russell Gulch then back "UP" the standard Subway Approach
Time Required - 4-6 hours
Distance - 6.4 miles Total, 1.0 miles Technical
Rappels - 3 Rappels, Longest Rappel 90 feet.
Elevation Range - 6970 - 5590 Feet
Shuttle Required -No Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - Yes

Down Russell Gulch then Continue down the Subway Route
Time Required - 7 to 9 hours
Distance - 7.7 miles Total, 2.3 miles Technical
Rappels - 7 Rappels, Longest Rappel 90 feet.
Elevation Range - 6970 - 4670 Feet
Shuttle Required -Yes 7.6 Miles Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - Yes

See the Canyoneer Trip Report Explanation Notes page for an explanation of how the technical mileage or the gear used list is determined.

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up to 90 feet and 40 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.  When the canyon is full of water you will have a few spots where you will need to wade through waist deep water.  If you expect water in the canyon wet suit pants would be a nice addition for comfort, especially in cooler months.

General Comments

Russell Gulch offers a great scenic alternate entry to The Subway or makes for a fun scenic short day out by returning back up the approach route.  Adding Russell Gulch as an alternate start to The Subway comes with the price of hauling a little extra rope through the Subway since the longest rap is about 90 feet which is much longer than anything in The Subway.

Getting to the Trailhead and Exit Vehicle (Escape Pod) Parking

To get to the Trailhead

From the South Gate of Zion National Park, drive about 14 miles west on highway 9 to the turn off for Kolob Reservoir (Kolob Reservoir Road).  Drive about 15.6 miles to the Wildcat Canyon trailhead.  Park your car and start your route.

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

If traveling back “up” the standard Subway Approach there is no need to leave an exit vehicle.  You will return to the Wildcat Canyon Trailhead.

If continuing “down” the Subway route you will exit at the Left Fork of North Creek trailhead.  From the South Gate of Zion National Park, drive about 14 miles west on highway 9 to the turn off for Kolob Reservoir (Kolob Reservoir Road).  Drive about 8.2 miles to the Left Fork of North Creek trailhead.  Park the exit vehicle here then continue up to the Wildcat Canyon trailhead to begin the route.  Leave a vehicle here as the escape pod.

Maps

Map showing entire route.

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Map showing mostly the approach

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Map showing mostly the technical sections of Das Boot and Russell Gulch

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Map showing mostly the technical sections of Subway and part of the Subway Exit

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GPS Waypoint Information

Details

The Approach:
From the Wildcat Canyon trailhead (tWildCatCyn) follow the trail about 1 mile to the Northgate peaks trail junction (you will pass the Hop Valley connector trail junction shortly before the Northgate junction).  Turn right (south) at the junction (jNorthGatePks) and follow the Northgate Peaks trail.  

400 or 500 feet after turning onto the Northgate Peaks trail will be a signed junction for the Subway route (jSubwayRte).  Turn left (southeast) and follow the trail leading to a wide open slope of white slick rock.    line below. 

Continue southeast at an angle down the slick rock slope.  There should be a few cairns along the way to mark the route to a trail that starts east through the trees (wSubWayRP-01).  This trail into the trees is about 0.2 miles from the Subway junction on a bearing of 142°.

From here follow the trail through alternating sections of trail and slick rock.  Route points wSubWayRP-02 through wSubWayRP-05 are points where the trail starts back up after a slick rock section.  From where the trail started into the trees it follows a generally southeast direction as it winds through the landscape.  There are multiple use trails cut into this area so you may find a slightly different route upon subsequent visits.

About 1 mile from the Subway junction the trails and cairns should lead you to a long steep drop (wSubWayRP-06) to the shelf below.

After dropping down to the shelf below, continue southeast about 600 feet to where the trail crosses a large wash (yRussellGlchTp).  The wash is Russell Gulch.

The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
Leave the trail and start south down the large wash.  A few feet from the trail is the first of a few pour offs.  By pass the pour offs by route finding your way along the RDC (west) side of the canyon.  As you find your way around the first of these pour offs follow a gentle slope back down to the canyon floor about 275 feet from the trail.

After by passing the first pour offs RDC, start up onto the LDC (east) side to bypass a few more pools dropping back down to the canyon floor about 200 feet farther down canyon (wRussellRP-01).

Once in the wash continue south down Russell Gulch and enjoy the scenery.  If the canyon is full you may need to walk in shin deep water in a few places but most if not all water should be avoidable.

Rap 1 (dRussell-R1) is about 0.45 miles down canyon after leaving the trail, is anchored from 2 bolted hangers RDC at foot level and drops about 70 feet a vertical wall that has a hanging pothole on a shelf half way down.  At the bottom of rap 1 is a pool that will be about waist deep if the canyon is full.

Continue down canyon avoiding any pools and dropping over on short down climb of about 5 feet along the way.  The deepest water will be about waist deep and would likely be avoidable if it is present.

Rap 2 (dRussell-R2) is about 0.4 miles down canyon of rap 1, is anchored from two bolted hangers LDC about head high and drops about 90 feet down a vertical wall to a pool that will be about waist deep if full.  Rap 2 is the longest rap on the route and drops into a very scenic corridor.

About 600 feet down canyon is another drop in the canyon.  The first part of the drop is about 20 feet that can be bypassed LDC down a series of small ledges or an optional 20 foot rappel can be set up from a ponderosa tree RDC to drop down to the top of rap 3. 

 Rap 3 (dRussell-R3) is about 600 feet down canyon of rap 2.  Rap 3 anchored from two bolted hangers RDC and drops about 65 feet mostly free hanging to a pool about waist deep if the canyon is full.

About 350 feet down canyon of rap 3 is another drop of about 70 feet down to a pool.  The pool at the bottom of the drop is the pool that you come to when dropping down to the canyon floor using the standard Subway approach (sRuslGlchGroto).  This drop does not need to be rappelled.  Instead climb up and over the RDC side and scramble down to the canyon floor then a walk of about 300 feet to the top of the Subway route (bottom of the Das Boot route) in the Left Fork of North Creek.

The Exit:
From the junction of Russell Gulch and the Left Fork of North Creek (ySubWayTp), the exit route has one of 2 options.

The first option is to continue down the Subway Route and exit at the Left Fork of North Creek trailhead.  For the down Subway option, look at the route description for The Subway route.  Use the beta there to guide you down The Subway then up to the exit vehicle at the Left Fork of North Creek trailhead.

The second option is to exit "up" the standard Subway approach and go back to the Wildcat Canyon trailhead.  For a description of the route "UP" the standard Subway approach, keep reading.

To exit "up" the standard Subway approach, start going up (north) Russell Gulch.  About 250 feet up canyon will be a large grotto area with a pool at the bottom of it (sRuslGlchGroto).  To the right of the pool is a steep climb up out of Russell Gulch.  Part way up, the climb out will turn right (east) and continue to the top out.  Along the way is lots of loose dirt and rock with a couple scrambles mixed in.  

Once at the top of the climb out (wSubWayRP-10), look for a trail heading north.  Follow the trail about 0.3 miles to where it crosses a patch of slick rock (wSubWayRP-9) and continues north on the other side of the slick rock.  About 600 feet later the trail will cross another patch of slick rock (wSubWayRP-8) and will be heading slightly east of north.  Another 400 feet or so and the trail crosses a wash (wSubWayRP-07).  After crossing the wash you will soon have a good view of Sea Gull Slope from the bottom.  Climb to the top of Sea Gull Slope then retrace your route back to Wildcat Canyon trail head. 

There are a few use trails that all go basically the same place.  Follow the trail mostly northwest about 1.3 miles back to the junction where the Subway route leaves the Northgate Peaks trail.  From there follow the Northgate Peaks trail, then the Wildcat Canyon trail back to the trailhead.

GPS Waypoint Information

Back to the Canyoneering Trip Report List page.

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