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| Hiking | 10.30 Miles |
1,969 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.30 Miles | 6 Hrs 17 Mns | | 2.15 mph |
| 1,969 ft AEG | 1 Hour 30 Mns Break | 27 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Last time I attempted this hike was 2 days short of exactly a year ago. Unfortunately the vehicle I had back then was not able to get past the slick rock shelves at the beginning of the road to the Tortilla TH so the hike to the TH turned out to be longer than the distance I hiked on Peter's Trail. But this year with my Samurai being more than capable we easily climbed even the worst of the shelves and took a leisurely drive out to the TH.
With a few minutes to load up my pack with all the things we may need so Tracey could hike with just a fanny pack we were off and hiking shortly after 8 am. With the temp at 46 degrees we started the hike wearing long sleeves but once into the climb a few miles out they were no longer needed. After a few miles, although the terrain was relatively open there were plenty of various thorn bushes that made things a bit unpleasant. Once over the pass and heading down into the canyon the heavy, thorny brush got downright nasty and for a 2 mile stretch I spent almost as much time clipping a path through the thorns as I did hiking. As we turned left to climb up to Peter's Mesa it wasn't quite as bad so we made a bit better time. Almost exactly at noon (halfway through our intended available daylight hiking time) we arrived at the eastern-most point I reached last year when hiking from First Water and back. We hoped to go another mile+ to check out a water/Gatorade cache I left last year but it would have been quite some distance downhill and back up for well over an hour so we turned around and headed back.
When we got back tot he area where the brush had been bad, we decided to try sticking to the wash as far as possible instead. It worked out quite well, well enough to the point we made it back to the TH almost an hour earlier than expected. But once back, the more I thought about it, we probably could have cruised through the brush just as fast if not faster since I had spent so much time trimming on the way out. No matter, by staying in the wash 95% of the trip through the lower canyon we saw things from a different perspective.
Oh yes, in the wash Tracey spotted a fox and with just a dead-pan will you look at that? she barely caught my attention to point it out, so although we both got a chance to see it I had no time to take a picture and Tracey was enthralled enough that it was enough to see it and no need to take a picture. While we will always have that memory, it's kind of hard to share it with others that way. Oh well, at least we have the memory. And that was the full extent of wildlife encountered on the hike.
Overall another hike with great views but the experience would be vastly improved with a healthy dose of trail maintenance. |
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