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| Hiking | 6.75 Miles |
1,089 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.75 Miles | 5 Hrs 48 Mns | | 1.88 mph |
| 1,089 ft AEG | 2 Hrs 12 Mns Break | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | I had no idea that I was in for one of the best weekends I've had in a long time. (Which is ironic as I have a great time nearly every weekend...) And it all started with this hike!
Yes, it's pretty darn hot to be hiking this low. However, if you plan to start early and plan to play in water most of the day it really isn't too hot!
We took the terrible (at least in my opinion) road to the trailhead again in Mark's Land Cruiser. It cuts a lot of time off the hike which in this weather is needed. We also had two other Toyota trucks.
Seven of us hiked up the Italian Springs trail until we hit where we know is the best place to enter the canyon. It requires a bushwhack through a long hill of shindaggers. But we all know that pretty places are worth all the pain.
We hit the canyon right above the beautiful tinajas and the big waterfall. Unfortunately, the water had only just rinsed out the pools, it had not actually reach the stage in which the flow would create a wonderful waterfall.
A couple of us hit the jacuzzi! OK it wasn't a jacuzzi but it was a nice tinaja filled with water that wasn't too cold. It was just right  We also spent time peering over the edge down the 200 ft cliff!
From there we started down canyon. We did notice the clouds in the sky were dark but we hoped the weather would hold until we were done with our hike. We boulder hopped and worked our way around the small pools and stream. Then we hit an area with a great pool to have our lunch. A few of us got in and enjoyed the water. It had a small waterfall to keep it fresh. We noted that the water in the fall was actually warmer than the pool. We also found a dead Ferocious Water Bug - talk about scary. I was glad he was dead. Their bite is supposedly very painful...
After our lunch break, we again headed downstream. This time we encountered the medium sized waterfall just a little way past our lunch spot. We paused for pictures and to enjoy the scene.
We started to notice that the clouds we had been watching were getting worse. By the time we hit the small waterfall it started to rain and thunder. We decided it was best to get out of the canyon so we headed up a ridge and then back to the cars.
At the cars, we saw a black wall of rain coming towards us. It gave us just enough time to finish our post hike refreshments before getting in the trucks.
The wall of rain was incredible! We had to open three gates and I opted to take my turn and close one of the gates. I was soaked by the time I got back in the truck even though I had used my trusty Solar Dome.
We decided to take a slightly different way back to Redington Road. This wasn't the best idea for some of us. We were stopped by a drainage that had another drainage feeding it right at the place we were to cross. The truck in front had a lift plus a very experienced and perhaps crazy driver in it so he decided to proceed. In case you're wondering what happened, you can watch the video I took: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIGyYWH7E0g
The rest of us turned around as we knew that one of the trucks couldn't make it across. We headed back via the normal route. Many places had a lot of water streaming down - but nothing like you see in the video. We all met up and then proceeded back to town.
We were all on a big high from the adventures of the day so we decided to have an impromptu BBQ at our house. We stopped at the Safeway and picked up provisions. We had a great meal to finish off our day.
I went to bed wondering if Sunday was going to be a disappointment after such an awesome day! |
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