Dinner last night was NY strip steak, mashed potatoes, salad and a hot cookie for dessert. Afterwards, Rob gave us a rundown on the big upcoming Crystal Rapids. It used to be a barely mentionable rapid, but in the 60’s there was a localized rainstorm that caused a debris flow to come down from a side canyon. That debris, and some later flooding years later turned Crystal into a 7-10 category rapid.
Later last night Rob talked to us about the silence in the Canyon (“us” meaning the people that were quiet enough to listen). Our campsite last night was underneath a flight corridor called Dragon Alley. It’s situated between two no-fly zones, and consequently gets a lot of traffic. The flights have a curfew at 6PM and it was quite damatic how much more quiet and peaceful it was. Rob encouraged us to write letters to the superintendent of the Canyon if we thought the helicopter sounds were annoying. I’ll have to get the mailing address because I think I’d like to write.
I didn’t sleep well last night; I’m not sure why. I tossed and turned a lot and kept sliding off my sleeping pad. This morning I repacked my bags, putting the least likely to be used items on the bottom. I have several things that they told us to bring, but I don’t actually need: warm hat and gloves, fleece, base layer… I wish they would have put things on the list like camp chair, more alcohol…
Today was a fairly long and hot day. We stopped late morning at Shinumo Creek to hike up to a waterfall. It was a short hike (~10 minutes) and I get the impression that this is what some people the hiking would be like on a “hiker’s special” trip. About an hour after that we stopped for a quick lunch before hiking up to Elves Chasm. This is another one of the places that I remember from my previous trip, but it seemed so much better this time.
Shinumo Creek Falls
After a short rock-hop up a stream we came upon the waterfall at the chasm. It plunges 10-15 feet off a rock ledge into an impossibly deep pool. (I don’t know how deep because I never actually got to the bottom.) What made this trip better was that I climbed to ledge at the midway point of the falls and jumped into the pool. I climbed up a second time onto a ledge further out and had my dad take a picture as I lept. What fun!
Me jumping off the falls at Elves Chasm
The rest of the day was a scorcher. We just kept cruising along, making miles (so they say). We did spot quite a number of big horn sheep though. Normally I’m not a fan, but the second group was the largest Rob had seen in the Canyon.
Once we got to camp there was the usual rush of people getting off the boat to find “the perfect campsite”. I’ve decided not to participate in the annoying rush any more, so just picked a nice spot after everyone else had staked their claim. Then I got some soap and shampoo and took a nice bath. I must be getting used to the cold water because I can actually stay in the water for a while without feeling like I’m getting hypothermia.
Now, while everyone is fumbling around at their campsites, I’m sitting at a beautiful waterfall about 10 minutes from away. I have the whole place to myself and I couldn’t be more pleased. My notebook is getting a little damp from the spray, but I really don’t care. I think I’ll sit here for a while and enjoy the peacefulness.
Stone Creek Falls
I love reading these.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I was afraid they'd be pretty boring to anybody but me, so it's great to hear people are enjoying them.
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