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| no partners | | How I love the storms! After a morning of CPR re certification, I bolted north to car camp at the reservation boundary. I had secured permission to hike, and thought someone would be by to check on me but no one came. I walked about from camp in the evening, the sunset was nice, saw a very mellow rattlesnake, had a tarantula crawl over my sandaled foot while I froze and tried not to squirm, saw an empty desert tortoise shell.
The night saw wonderful stars and I wondered, where is the storm? I dozed and by coffee time wind and clouds surrounded me. I got ready to hike, and the wonderful colors of the clouds as the sun struggled to make itself known presented themselves. As I walked the grays and black gave way to blues, reds, pink tones in the clouds. Light made for white bright clouds against the dark hues. I traced out my route on TOPO later and it said 13 miles, I think BS more like 8 if I shrink the track. Part of the road is gone with flooding in the shallow canyon bottom. I walk an old mining road the miners had the sense to put it out of the canyon bottom where you drive now. Some old building remains. On up the main road another wash out, you would have to work on it unless you have 40 inch tires. An old trestle crossing looks like set up for track or maybe a wagon.
Cross country to some tailings, deep shaft, lots of ore about. Remains of a track in the canyon bottom. Surprisingly deep gullies in the rolling hills. It starts to rain in earnest and I don my gear, and choose poorly descending a gully with some nice drop offs I must downclimb or skirt, the wet and crumbly rock not making it easy. In the tight watercourse with the rain I am wanting out of here. Get to the main canyon and walk it, the rain steady and making the pools of water dance with the force. I hike back to the boring road, but a good choice in the downpour. Abruptly stops, and the sun comes out, making the droplets glow on the cactii and Palo Verde. Dark and light clouds swirl about. My pants dry, and my rain coat is now stifling.
I get back to the Jeep and shift into 4wd, I have some washes to drive that are now wet. I make it to pavement without issue, and happy for my time in the nature drama. |
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