11:15 - Out of the mine

It's after we get out of the mine that we discover Mark's planning error. The route he has us taking looks good on the map, but now that we're standing on the mountain we see the mistake. The next leg of our stroll is going to require we scale the face of a rock 80 feet up. Once on the top, the route flattens out, but we cannot climb this. It's not really Mark's fault. The map, at the scale we have, does not show clearly how the terrain is layed out. A higher resolution map would have shown the cliff. Jeremy and I started scouting a new route.

It probably took us half an hour of discussion (and glorious resting) to plot out the new route we were going to take. The most direct, reasonably passable route was rocky, and perilous, by my eye. Jeremy thought it was easy looking. In the end, we ended up splitting up and meeting at a point on the other side. I took the path back, down the mine tailings - badly twisting an ankle - to the hill, then returning to climb up the ridge of the hill. We ended up meeting at our destination point at about the same time, even though my route was a much greater distance. And considering that I was carrying a full pack, unlike Jeremy's small, light backpack, I think I made the right choice. It went fine for him. I would not have survived to tell this great story.

While we ventured on our new route, we heard bomb testing on the airforce range in the distance. I stopped to catch my breath while Jeremy tested out the echo.

The going to the next stopping point was difficult climbing, but the soil was soft from the rain, and the traction was excellent. It was easy to get solid footing, without any slipping. My ankle was killing me. We were prodding along, heading for the Geocache that Jeremy was after. I was ready to turn around, and roll myself down the mountain to get back, and suddenly....I found my paradise.

The hill flattened out into a clearing. The ground was smooth, and not too rocky. There was no ground foliage. In particular, no cacti. Gaps in the trees provided panoramic views to the east and west. It is the perfect campsite. Big enough to sit 4 or 5 tents, well set away from each other. With no plant life in the center, a perfect place for a fire ring. Jeremy marked a waypoint on the GPS, and I marked the approximate area on my map. I knew I'd be spending many trips at this spot in the future.


12:15 - Lunch

Jeremy decides to stop on the side of the mountain, 480 feet from the final destination. He breaks out the cheese and crackers kit, I peel open the beef jerky. Dropping the pack feels great. It's actually hot, now. I brought cold weather clothing. I was sweating in my jeans and t-shirt. I would have preferred shorts, if not for the violent underbrush. Jeremy tries to call Mark on his cellphone, but cannot get a signal. Surprisingly, mine actually works. As expected, Mark is asleep* and doesn't answer his phone, so I leave him a voicemail message.

*Mark is actually awake. The dogs wouldn't let him sleep. But the phone isn't getting a signal down in the canyon.

The last 480 feet went quickly. Having a little food in my stomach, and having rested my legs a bit, I'm now moving well again. We climb to the arch that is our final destination. Inside, the view is awesome. You can see forever in almost every direction. We search around inside the arch for the Geocache, but can't find it. The GPS Unit says we are in the right spot. Then, Jeremy has a revelation. "I bet that sadistic bastard put it on top."

He climbed up on top of the arch and found the cache. He was enjoying the view from the peak, and playing the echo game again. I was starting to feel the height. Ok, I was starting to wig out. I picked up my pack and began heading down to a place that felt a little more like solid Earth. When Jeremy finally came back down out of the stratosphere, I had him take a picture, so I could provide the world with evidence that I had conquered the New Land.


The Trip Down

The trip back was much easier, of course. Except for the pounding my sprained ankle took. But knowing I'd be off the mountain soon, the shakes, the pain in the ankle, the aching toes from banging on the front of the boot for hours...all seemed inconsequential. I just wanted a hot shower, and a soft bed. I hurt.

On the way up, I had found an alternate route on the map, down a wash that would set up just south of the spot where Mark had parked and was still waiting. We could see the truck from the arch, but were too high up to see him or the dogs. My down-the-wash route was no good. Jeremy suggested that the problem with such routes was there was usually a waterfall, and a horrible drop off. Jeremy was right. So we ended up climbing back up to the trail, and followed it most of the way down, with a couple of shortcuts along the way. We discovered that our trail started in a spot other than where we originally came up, further down the 4x4 road.


The Day After

ow.

There's nothing more to say. Just...

ow.