The Subway EarthCache
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This is a great hike in the Left Fork of Wildcat Canyon. Hike can be done in a round trip or one-way (will need shuttle car.) To see all of the canyon one-way is Highly recommended. The following link has great info on the Subway: http://climb-utah.com/Zion/subway.htm
It will also require a Zion Backcountry permit to hike which can be obtained at: http://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/backcountry-reservations-and-permits.htm
The One-Way hike descends the canyon from the top. It is semi-technical, can be done without rappelling, but rope may be necessary in spots depending on downclimbing abilities.
A slot canyon is a narrow canyon, formed by the wear of water rushing through rock. A slot canyon is significantly deeper than it is wide. Some slot canyons can measure less than one metre (3 ft) across at the top but drop more than 30 m (100 ft) to the floor of the canyon.
Most slot canyons are formed in sandstone and limestone rock, although slot canyons in other rock types such as granite and basalt are possible. Even in sandstone and limestone, only a very small number of creeks will form slot canyons. This is due to a combination of the particular characteristics of the rock, and regional rainfall.
Distant storms can cause dangerous flash flooding in slot canyons, and several professionals advise avoiding hiking in them if there is any sign of rain. In September 2008 a couple drowned in Utah, and in 2005 a group of students in a nearby location also drowned, despite wearing wetsuits [2]. In many slot canyons, it can be miles before a safe exit or rescue is possible. Wildcat canyon is an unusual canyon that the canyon does not cut straight all the way down but balloons at the base with mini-slots running through it that resemble tracks. As you descend to the base of the canyon you will pass several geologic layers
(from bottom to top):
Moenave & Kayenta Formations(400 to 570 feet thick)
Kayenta Formation (500 to 700 feet thick)
Navajo Sandstone (2200 feet thick)
Carmel Formations (100 feet thick)
At the first of the hike you will see some basalt lava flows. These flows date from 1.5 million years ago to about 200,000 years ago. Lava flowed into the already-formed canyons of the Left and Right Forks, damming them, forming lakes. In the Left Fork, the flow came over the edge near the current trailhead, forming a dam that backed water up as far as the Subway. The lake filled with sediment and the stream overflowed the dam, cutting a new channel in the soft sediments. Sediments from the lake can still be seen at the top of the lava when hiking out of the Subway.
Requirements to log cache.
1. Send via email your theory with the formations at the base of the canyon, what direction the canyon will erode.
2. Optional: Have photo of yourself in the "Subway Tunnel" to verify location. If you don't post a photo I will not delete your log but I will secretly believe that you are full of crap and were never there because seriously, what kind of an idiot goes to a remarkable location like this and doesn't take a camera? Really?
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