It was another gloomy day. There sure have been a lot of those lately. I don't like the way the pictures look. There's a lot of them, too. I tried taking at least one picture every 100 paces or so. I didn't stick to that when I was struggling through washes, though.
A few days ago (maybe it was 2), I identified a canyon as the one I was going to try to hike up to get to the top of the mountains. Turns out I was wrong. You can't really see into the canyon I used because it curves. I didn't even get to the curve, though.
The beginning of that canyon has very steep sides. I don't know if I could walk on them, but I do know that I will not try. Too steep, too dangerous. So I had to go up the center of the canyon. There are large (minivan to dump truck size) boulders there. I did go up the canyon wall a little in a couple of places to get around some of those. When I wasn't climbing over or around boulders, I was pushing my way through or climbing around trees and bushes. I can only think of three species of trees or bushes in the desert that don't have thorns. There were a few of one of those in the canyon. Everything else had thorns. There was a lot of catclaw acacia. It grabs you and won't let go. I was pulling out catclaw thorns for most of the drive home (If you keep going when they grab you, the thorns break off in your skin. They don't hurt like rose thorns, though (which is why I didn't pull them out as soon as I got them; I didn't know they had stayed with me), and they come out very easily.) I'm not trying to say that I didn't enjoy my hike. I did enjoy it. I'm just explaining why I didn't reach my goal. I'm already looking at the map for another route, though. I've been trying to find a way up there for about 5 years. I'm not about to give up.
Click here for the EveryTrail map or below for the pictures.
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| BC_2009_12_30 |
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2 comments:
Funny. If you don't like getting packed and prepared to go somewhere, only to find that the weather sucks when you get there, then you should not move to Alaska.
I knew the weather was bad before I left the house, but if you wait for better weather it often gets worse.
I've heard some stories about exciting Alaska weather, and read your blog about the melting ice on your street. I think living in Alaska would be a real challenge for me. I complain about the heat in the summer here, but I can't think of anyplace I'd rather be.
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