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| Hiking | 5.75 Miles |
1,300 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.75 Miles | 5 Hrs 30 Mns | | 1.15 mph |
| 1,300 ft AEG | 30 Mns Break | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | I first did this hike back in October of last year. Trish picked this one to be my first Official HAZ Hike. I remember when I hiked it, that I actually wanted to come back and do it in April when there would be some runoff, because on the upper, steeper part of the Trail, the Creekbed was dry in October, but would be a sight to see with water running....I also did not make it to the top of the Canyon in October, so wanted to try for it again.
Well, I'm 0 for 2 in trying to get to the top, but my wish for water came true and was more than I could have hoped for.  The Photo opportunities on this Hike were absolutely phenomenal. Some were subtle and could have easily been missed, but others screamed for a picture to be taken. Mother Nature tried to show me her finest today and succeeded on the entire trip, even when I got back to the car. This may well be my best Photoset to date as a HAZer.... 
Ok, the Hike. Got tied up at home and didn't even get on the Trail until 12:30.  First obstacle was encountered almost right away, but it was a nice one. Christopher Creek was flowing fast and high, and crossing it turned out to be a challenge. In hindsight, it wouldn't have taken nearly as long to just shed the shoes and wade across, but I hate that, and spent too much time finally finding a place to cross and not get the feet wet. And it was quite the stretch to even cross where I did. Finally across and start booking up the Trail. The first mile went pretty fast and then I arrived at the junction of See Canyon and See Canyon Spring. I decided to try to find Herman Spring, which according to the mapping, was close. So I bushwacked a little bit and found it. Got it documented and jumped back on the Trail. The Creek is still flowing really well at this point.
Suddenly the Trail conditions changed drastically. In the first mile, the Trail was pretty clean, defined and easy to travel. I know last fall, we ran into a little bit of deadfall on the Trail further up, but I was way not prepared for what I was going to have to Hike this time. Sometime in the last few years, there was a Fire up here, some of the trees were completely burned, but alot of them were only burned on one side, and only about 10 feet up. Alot more of those trees must have died and fallen over during the winter, because the Forest and the Trail looked liked a Tornado hit it. There were downed trees, limbs, and stumps everywhere, including on the Trail. It appeared as though some work had been started, but just barely. There were areas where it looked like a Trail had been hastily cut, just to get around some particularly heavy deadfall areas, but again, the Detours were just barely there. It appeared as though alot of the Wildlife was also using the Trail, as the Forest areas were just a thick, dense, obstacle course, and there were alot of prints and scat on the Trail. I took a few pictures of the Forest areas and the Trail, just to give you an idea....Trish and I encountered a little deadfall in October, but now it was 10 times worse. And, of course, since I wore shorts in October without a problem....By the time I got done with this Hike, not only my arms, but my legs, were ground hamburger.... 
It also didn't help that I fell three times...The first, I stepped on a big rock to step down and since I probably outweighed it by a whole 10 pounds, it decided to try and flip over, throwing me off balance and I hit the rocks below. Ok, pounded the right knee and took the skin off my left shinbone, and the rock, which had to weigh over 100 lbs, was still rocking and threatened to fall on top of me to boot. I guess it decided it had punished me enough and quit moving...  Second fall, couldn't tell you which was worse. There's some kind of plant or vine up there that doesn't have leaves yet, but is one thorny pumpkin. Reminded me of Bouganvilla. ( I know that's not spelled right). Anyway, lost my balance trying to find a better Creek crossing for the second time and fell right into this plant...Pumpkin!!! More blood loss and away I go.
Found the lower part of See Spring flowing, crossed the Creek yet again, and then it's very quiet. No more sounds of Water....Now I'm thinking that I've struck out as far as the upper Creek having water. So now I just start pressing to get to the top. I've already taken quite a few pictures, been fighting with the Trail and time's awasting.
I'm 3/4 of the way up and now I hear a roar of water....Turns out, not only is the upper creek flowing, but so are a few drainages flowing into that. Including a couple that cross the Trail. So now, we not only have deadfall issues on the Trail, but also waterfalls.... I also found Nappa Spring and possibly another Spring. This other, unnamed Spring, was just off Trail and with the Creekbed quite a bit below the Trail at this point, the water from this Spring used the Trail as it's runway....
I can now see a Cascade of water in the main Creekbed, so I make the decision to negotiate the steep slope down and start taking some serious pictures and try to follow the Creek up a little ways. This is my third fall, but it was very graceful. As I'm going down the slope, there is a big downed tree in front of me and when I get there, I'm either going to have to go over it or under it. Well, it turns out, the choice was made for me. Lost my grip on the slope and ended up sliding under the tree, a little sooner than expected. 
Got down to the Creek and start snapping away. Followed it up for about an 1/8 of a mile, and then come to the realization that time is up and not only am I not going to make the top, but I need to turn around and start back. There is no way I want to negotiate this Trail in the dark. So reluctantly, I start back. Pretty uneventful on the way back, took a few more pictures. Get to one of the Creek crossings, and since I screwed up and stepped in some deep water in the upper Creek and got the foot wet, decided WTH and just waded across. Good thing at this point that I had shorts on, because the water was high enough to even get the bottom of my shorts wet. Did the same thing at the next two crossings. Feet never got cold, just sloshy.
Got my bruised, bloody, sloshy body back to the car. Remarkably, it's barely dusk, must be a new record for me.... As I walk up to the car, I just had to take another picture. It was amazing, the opportunities that were shown to me on this trip. Cleaned up, dry socks, shoes, and drove down the mountain, looking at a great sunset. I felt like I had one remarkable Trip and look forward to doing it again. I'm probably going to wait until Fall and give the crews a chance to maybe clean that Canyon up a little. It really needs alot of work now. Even without the deadfall and the water, it's actually starting to get overgrown in places as well. Hopefully this fall, I'll be able to shoot some color and maybe, who knows, I might just make the top on my third attempt....
The entire Photoset, now posted, will show you how remarkable this Trip was.....  |
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See Spring |
Quart per minute |
Quart per minute |
| | | This location was where See Spring surfaces closer to the Trail. It is not at the Spring Source. This was also running quite well last October. | | _____________________
| Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty & well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out & proclaiming, "Wow What a Ride!" |
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