This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Zion National Park • Hikers love the narrow canyons and towering rock walls of the popular hike known as the Subway in Zion National Park. But those same features, complemented by a torrent of icy cold water, are what caused several adventurers to become briefly stranded.

Park officials began searching Sunday for Evgenia Buzulukova, 25, of Roy, and her friend Jonathan Wilson, 28, of Portland, Ore., after they failed to return from the hike they had planned to complete on Saturday.

Andrew Fitzgerald, a Zion ranger who coordinated the investigation, said Wednesday that the pair stalled at an area of the hike known as the Keyhole, along with seven other hikers.

Fitzgerald said Buzulukova and Wilson initially planned to enter the canyon by hiking and rappeling into the Subway from an area known as Russell Gulch. He described the route as "technical" and said it involved at least three rappels of up to 95 feet.

Fitzgerald said the pair changed course when their original plan appeared too difficult and took the traditional route down Wildcat Canyon. But they lost valuable time as the Left Fork of North Creek, which runs through the Subway, kept rising due to melting snowpack in surrounding mountains.

The couple built a fire for the night, even though park rules forbid backcountry fires, and hoped to finish their adventure on Sunday.

Fitzgerald said they had little food but were well equipped, including wetsuits. "They did have plenty of water and iodine pills to purify it," he said.

On Sunday, the two reached the Keyhole, a narrow part of the canyon that forces the water higher up the walls and required a rappel in the middle of the stream, which was rushing so fast it blocked their way.

"They wisely decided that they could not go through safely," said Fitzgerald. "They figured it would have been suicidal to go on, so they stopped to wait for the water to go down."

Fitzgerald said that once hikers begin their descent, which requires a series of rappels, there is no going back.

While waiting, the two hikers trekked up the side of the canyon about 100 feet, unsuccessfully looking for a way out.

"There's no getting out at that spot but down the canyon," Fitzgerald said.

Attempts to reach the pair on Wednesday were not immediately successful.

Buzulukova and Wilson spent another unplanned night in the park and on Monday were joined by about seven other hikers whose progress was also halted by high, swift water.

Fitzgerald said one of the hikers was an experienced guide and was able to set up a "high wire" rope that the hikers used to cross the fast moving water and continue hiking.

"It [high wire] allowed them to get through the most treacherous portions," he said.

Two of the hikers went out ahead of the others and contacted authorities at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Fitzgerald said a military helicopter from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada had just begun looking for the hikers using infrared technology and spotted them less than a mile from the trailhead.

Two paramedics were lowered from the helicopter to examine the hikers, but none required medical help and all were able to hike the rest of the way out on their own.

Park spokesman David Eaker said Wednesday that the search involved 25 park rangers, workers and volunteers. Dog teams were also used.

Searches are generally uncommon in the park because of limitations on where people can go, according to Eaker. He said rescues are more frequent when people have accidents. He said the couple did the right thing by getting the necessary backcountry permits for the Subway hike, so popular they are distributed through a lottery.

He said Buzulukova and Wilson also demonstrated good judgment. "They made the right choice when they realized they were in a situation beyond their capabilities," said Eaker. "It's always good when they turn out like this."