DESTINATION Generic 291 Photosets
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| Backpack | 16.87 Miles |
5,955 AEG |
| | Backpack | 16.87 Miles | 1 Day 9 Hrs 6 Mns | | |
| 5,955 ft AEG | | 40 LBS Pack | | |
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| Partners |
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[ show ]
| partners | | A few years ago I had spotted the Valley of the Moon on the map and I had been interested in finding out why it was named such. Then few weeks ago we stood on top of Wrong Mountain in the Rincons and looked at the Valley of the Moon and I knew we needed to go there and spend the night. I got out my computer started plotting routes. Finally, since weal ready knew about the ridge between Shaw and Posta Quemada we decided we should go that way on our adventure. While planning I also started Googling, Google revealed that no one goes there! I did find that the cliffs off the backside of the Valley were rarely used for rock climbing. All of this really was intriguing so I scheduled the trip.
I wrote up the backpack as strenuous. 9 miles each day with the first day having 4000 feet of elevation gain. Since it hadn't rained or snowed in weeks, we couldn't count on any water in the Valley so we carried about 8-9 liters of water each. On top of all that, over half the trip would be off trail.
We ended up with one other person who was willing to take on the challenge. Others had signed up but they didn't make the cut. Only those with a strong will and excellent fitness could be trusted! We were heading out into the great unknown and we needed a team of survivors! Or at least a group of people who like pain and are stubborn enough to keep going when the going gets tough!
Joel, Josh, and I headed out early Saturday morning. We took the Papago Spring trail (a rough 4x4 road to the spring). Then we got on the Aliso Springs trail/route. We took our first break after about 1/3 of our mileage was completed for the day. It was unusually cloudy and we got a little nervous about rain. We hadn't packed the right gear for that...
We continued on the route and then followed what seemed like a pretty well defined route that headed to Shaw canyon. I normally check my planned route with my GPS but for some reason it wouldn't show the log on the map even though it did when we were driving in. We got down into Shaw and discovered that while it was beautiful, it was also rugged and full of several trickling waterfalls that had to be avoided. We ended up wasting over an hour traveling barely a half mile!
Finally we got to the area near Aliso Springs. We spotted the dry cement catchment. There was a small amount of water flowing in the drainage. We followed a cow trail out of the area and further up canyon towards where the actual Aliso Spring was marked on the map. Before leaving the canyon, we had a break in the canyon as we were all feeling the extracurricular adventure in Shaw.
I consulted my GPS a bit but found it more useful to look at the map I had printed with my suggested route. I tried a few times to pull up the log i had drew and upload to the GPS and it kept going to Brazil. WTF! At least it would show me where we actually were which helped with navigating...
After leaving Shaw Canyon, we ended up in a burn area next to a rocky area. We scrambled across the rocks until some cliffs forced us into the burn area. From there we traversed. At one point I ended up a bit higher than the guys in some trees where I found a good route to follow. I'm assuming that the burn was from the Distillery fire since we were looking down into Distillary Canyon.
Often we'd end up on a cow trail, which would help us for a while. I kept worrying that we'd get to the Valley of the Moon and find a herd of cows. Soon after one of our last breaks, we left the cow pies behind.
On our last good break of the day, we sat looking at what we needed to travel through. Little did we know that each of us were thinking that if someone else would suggest it we'd just camp there! However, no one wanted to say those words aloud.
After a while, we understood the lack of cow chips... We started the hardest section of our trip into the Valley. Several times we stopped to check the map and the terrain ahead and debate the best route while all the choices were terrible. Joel took the lead and found us the best route he could. We were stabbed by shin daggers, agave, catclaw, and the like. We plowed through live/dead brush and tree limbs so thick we couldn't really see what was on the other side. We rock scrambled to the point it was close to more of a free climb. But on we went!
Finally we made it! In the middle of the valley, surrounded by dense trees, was a slick rock drainage with a bit of water. After having carried in water for our two day trek we learned it was unnecessary. However, we knew that if we hadn't bought the water we may have found a dry bed since there are no known springs in the area.
We scouted up creek a bit, mentally noting good spots for the three of us to sleep. We came to what seemed like the beginning of the slick rock and Joel and Josh collapsed for a short break. I had visions of there being more so I attempted to go upstream a bit further. Quickly, my path was blocked and I couldn't imagine fighting through anything more that day. I accepted defeat and wandered back to the guys.
We headed downstream to find the primo site. I saw Josh longingly look at any small patch of ground as Joel kept moving past. Finally, we stopped right above the mouth of the Valley.
Josh said that as soon as it was dark he was going to bed. However, he helped gather some juniper for a small fire for later. We decided to eat and watch the sunset right above the first waterfall. As we ate, life was poured back into us and we felt much better. Darkness came and we built our small fire. We enjoyed our juniper scented evening while making our plans for the next day. We decided on an 8 AM departure to explore the area.
Joel and I were testing out our new bivy sacks. A few hours into the night I pulled my 10 degree sleeping bag out as I was starting to feel clammy. Then I didn't sleep too much as I was sliding around on the nylon material with my Neoair. Finally around 5 AM I crashed hard and didn't even wake up to Joel's alarm nor his cracking Neoair as he rolled it up. At 7 AM he managed to wake me up.
Off we went exploring. Joel with his coffee cup. I had some water, camera, and GPS. Josh had a platypus shoved into his pocket. Again, we found ourselves pushing through brush, mainly manzanita. We would look for areas of dead ones that we could easily snap our way through. Josh would plow through like a tank! We hit a spot that the only option was to climb up. He muscled his way up on top this huge rock while Joel and I investigated our options. I finally resorted to climbing up the inside of a live manzanita. Woohoo the first person to c limb a manzanita bush! Joel followed.
We ended up on a high point where we could see Rincon peak and the two Wrongs. We thought we could find the edge of the cliff but we quickly gave up instead of fighting the ever present vegetation. On the way back to camp we found a somewhat easier route which saved some time. However, our little mile adventure took an hour and a half!
Leaving the Valley we took a different route. We started in the drainage but quickly had to leave it because of waterfalls. We were up on the opposite side and had to descend down a very steep slope the up another that was slightly less steep. After that we closely followed our obstacle course route back to the cow pies. From there we tried everything we could to decrease the time and mileage. We did almost cut a mile off our route out. We also managed to get to the car by 4 PM.
We finally talked about our thoughts regarding the route in. How we kept thinking that each section was harder than the last. We were all amazed that we probably had met our match with this trip! This is probably the toughest backpack we've done (well maybe tied with the day we decided to go with heavy from Douglas Springs TH to Spud Rock CG in one day). The three of us our now ready to take on Nankoweap in May!
Back to Valley of the Moon, I can only think that it would be called such by the contrast between the rocky within the forested valley. I did have another thought that without the vegetation it may have looked a bit lunar. Anyway, one does have to be a bit looney to think of backpacking there! |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
Mainly on the lower slopes |
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Papago Spring |
Quart per minute |
Quart per minute |
| | | Tank was full but the creek bed nearby was dry. | | _____________________
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