By morning clouds had replaced the clear skies of the night before. Overnight the patch on the equipment raft had hardened and we were ready again for the water. We all decided, after our coffe and breakfast that it would be better to get on the water early and to our next campsite while there was a decent amount of day left. There was only one stretch of whitewater to contend with today, although there were several stages to it, with big rolling waves. With the water as high as it was there was not much to maneuver around. We crashed on through and avoided the canyon walls. At points throughout the day we came across large colonies of cave swallows that had made nests in the muddy river banks. We floated under one that was teeming with hundreds of birds coming and going from their nests honeycombed in the mud. The smell was awful, but it was quite a sight.
After some fishing that produced no results we reached a spot called horshoe bend. As we neared the apex of the bend, we realized it was a natural amphitheatre of sorts, surrounding a peninsula of broad sloping prairie. We noticed several stands of juniper trees near the riverbank and without discussing it we all paddled hard to shore. It was obvious this was one of the best campsites on the river.
After pulling the boats out of the water we quickly set up shop, opened some beers and got a game of bocce ball under way. A little later in the afternoon, when the clouds began to break into intermittent sun, Mark, Nick and I decided to go for a hike. We chose the peak behind us in this last photo.
It was quite the climb. We took the raft across the river and scrambled up a loose slope of scree to a high ridge. Then it was straight up; a little scrambling a little leg lifting climbing. At one point I was stuck and Mark had to navigate my route to the top. From that height, I believe on the map it was a 1400 foot climb, the view was incredible. We could see the perfect horseshoe of the bend, the rolling buttes in all directions. One landmark that stood out was what we termed unoriginally the sleeping giant. I can't recall the name it went by but it was the best representation of a person I've ever seen in a mountain.
I'm going to post a bunch of pics here that can show the scenery better than I can I tell it. I'll just say that almost all of the rock in these canyons is lava that flowed over this whole area, in some spots rapidly cooling, giving the vertical column look.
By the way, since we were rafting on a river that sees a moderate share of groups, and being that this trip takes on average two to three days, and the fact that campsites are used again and again, we are required by law to take a portable toilet. I'm sorry, "backcountry toilet," consisting of a five gallon bucket with a special blue lid, a bag fitting the same way a plastic bag fits around a trash can, and a comfortable carrying handle. Regretfully I don't have any pictures on this topic. But catching someone stalking off with the bucket was cause for some hollering.
The official start to the summer came to a close the afternoon of the day thes pics were taken. A few of us stayed at the boat launch, unpacking gear, firing up our camping stoves for a meal before the long ride home. There was sleep, there were milkshakes, and then of course more sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment