|
| | | |
| |
|
| Hiking | 7.78 Miles |
521 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.78 Miles | 4 Hrs 17 Mns | | 1.97 mph |
| 521 ft AEG | 20 Mns Break | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
[ show ]
| partners | | The highlight of our itinerary would be on Day Two. We had to drive to the VC and hope a permit would be allocated (only 3 are issued per week). Luckily, we were the first of the week so I did a little jump for joy. When I went to fill in Tonto's info I noticed Todd had signed in a few days prior. We were quite surprised and so were the people checking us in. Tried to find Kelly a new T-shirt and we actually found the perfect one with a Collared Lizard on it but Kelly didn't like the style, so off we went for our drive to the TH.
With Kelly as co-pilot, we made it safely to the top of the hill at the TH. We hiked down the hill and across the very wide Lithodendron Wash. We headed over to the windmill that is still in use. Interesting little operation. From there we followed a path that we eventually used to get back in the wash which we walked in for a while before finding another trail to follow. The cliff sides were covered in amazing rocks and boulders, which was standard fare for the day. There was also limited flora that I had to document. We did have to keep an eye out for the carsonites to make sure we were going the right way and we eventually ended up on the old road to take us up and onto the mesa. One area where the road was broken, Kelly got to leap, I had to scramble.
We crossed the grassy mesa, spotted Todd's footsteps several times. There were still carsonites that guided us on our way. We had quite the distant views from here including toward Lithodendron Wash where we saw two white pickups. You could also see a lot of the cliffs and the plateau as well as other mesas. After we passed through the fence, I could see a boulder that had its eyes on us so we checked that out before heading into the playground, about an hour from the TH. We had to hike through a bit of a maze of boulders to get through the passageway and then, there it was  .
As you turn east through a drainage area, there are colorful chinle mounds on both sides. I found the ground to be soft in many areas when I was walking. And before I knew it, Kelly was out of sight. This would happen a few times, but no big deal as you can't really get lost in a Playground. What was continually interesting was how the rocks/boulders landed or were standing. Sometimes you felt if you blew on them, they would fall over or slide down the soft dirt mound. And then, of course, there's those hoodoos of all sizes, some tight against the mounds, some atop the mounds and some on the ground.
There were occasional pieces of petrified wood and logs too. Off in the distance, we spotted an old building. We thought of going over to it but decided to pass as we weren't sure if it was on private property. Once I got home, I could see in the zoomed photo that it was an old rock shop and gallery. We eventually made our way counter-clockwise around the large middle mound area. Even the ground entertained me with its changes in topography and feeling. There were little areas smothered in pretty pebbles mixed with petrified wood. We got in closer to this center mound/mountain and saw a possible opening to climb through and up the boulders for a higher look-see. Well that was short-lived, but we did get some fun pictures.
We continued to wander about and around this center of attraction. It seemed we were continually saying, "look at this, look at that" especially the Chinle colors and odd rocks and boulders. People set little rocks or petrified wood on top of big boulders which we both enjoyed looking at. When we veered north we came upon an area of even more weird rocks and some of the formations they created. I saw fish and animals. But the piece de resistance (practicing some French for my trip in Oct), were the striped boulders  . It's like they rubbed up against the Chinle.
From there we went toward one of the Chinle mounds near the entrance of the Playground and of course, Kelly had to climb up it. From there we went west to a new area for Kelly to investigate. We wandered here and there. We came upon an area that Todd had been there too, as evidenced by his footsteps. This was another neat area that had windows with reasonably easy access. As we left the area, you hike down into the main Playground area. And just when you think you've seen it all, we came upon some miniature sand dunes that were pretty cool; hard to photograph. As we made our way back to the entrance we also came across an area of cracked mud leftover from standing water.
We walked across the Devil's plains and veered south to the entrance area bypassing some more rock formations and pebble covered areas. We crossed a colorful drainage area, up and over to depart the Playground. Once we got through the entranceway we tried to find shade for lunch but it was the wrong time of day for full coverage so we found a couple big boulders. Twenty minutes later we headed back to the TH. I thot it was a great hike back; still trying to recover from all the fun we had at the Playground. And now, a lot of the wildflowers had decided to bloom so I was constantly getting distracted.
I lost sight of Kelly and came to the end of the top of a mesa where it was cliffed out. I soon realized I needed to veer right and I was back at the top of the old road headed down into the plain we would take to the southwest. The light had changed so this area was even prettier than before. And once we got back to Lithodendron Wash, it seemed even bigger than ever. The ripples in the dirt and sand were so fascinating. It could be a place a person could hang out for quite a while and be enthralled with this wash. I almost didn't want the wash to end, even though I knew there was a Huck It waiting for me.
We had quite a view from the mesa while we drank our beer. The funny part of this hike is Kelly would say look here, look there and I'd have to take a picture... so it's not really my fault it took a little longer in the Playground. I felt like we saw the animal kingdom of rocks and much of our solar system in outer space, all within that Playground  . Needless to say, it's worthy of the long approach. Kelly, thank you. And we weren't done yet.
Oh, there was another fellow that drove up in a fancy jeep and was wearing very nice hiking clothes and had a nice camera. Then he threw on a big overnite backpack. We gave him some info and then he left. He would really only have a problem getting across that deep cut out across the old road going up to the mesa.
The Playground Videos (I haven't watched them yet - it takes a lot out of me to make them these days):
Part 1 the approach [ youtube video ]
Part 2 the playground [ youtube video ]
Part 3 [ youtube video ] |
|
Wildflowers Observation Light
Indian Ricegrass, Scorpionweed, Prickly Pear Cactus, Flowering Mormon Tea, Paintbrush, Dusty Maidens, Broom Snakeweed, Sand Sagebrush, Narrowleaf Globemallow |
|
| _____________________
For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
| | |
|
|
|
Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
