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On Our Way Home
After tackling the urbanized maze of Oro Valley between Oracle and Tucson to resupply, we headed west to the edge of Arizona. We’ve visited Kofa National Wildlife Refuge several times and enjoy spending time sleuthing out more of its secrets. It’s a sure thing for us when considering a stopover spot for on the way home, especially when taking in weather trends along other possible routes.
Our timing was perfect finding a high dispersed campsite along Kofa Queen Canyon Road. We much prefer wide open places to camp with expansive views. And views that, as much as possible, do not include neighbors. Perfect was the name of the game this late afternoon as we easily completed camp set up chores and settled in.
“What do you think we should do tomorrow?” the Lady asked as she snuggled close after we climbed into our bed for the night.
“The weather reports are talking storms at home. We should wait for a break before making a move to get across the passes and deal with snow clearing at home,” I expressed my thoughts out loud. “I think staying put here at this spot for three nights and hiking and exploring from here will do nicely.” I concluded.
“Perfect! We can leave everything set up then. I love not having to pack up and returning at the end of the day with everything ready,” the Lady said as she quickly slid into peaceful sleep.
The next morning was dreary with overcast skies. On the bright side, the wind was not too bad.
On our early morning walk with our mugs of coffee, we took note of the flowering and fruit bearing plants in the desert.
After returning to camp, breakfast chores completed, and gathering our gear together, it was time to come up with a plan. Where should we hike today? One of the best questions to ask every morning. Walking the length of Kofa Queen Canyon was a good answer for today. A rough 4x4 road leads part way up the canyon.
A couple of miles up is Skull Rock.
Patches of blue began to show in the sky as the clouds broke apart.
The predominant rock is welded volcanic ash. It was fun to watch for dry chutes and falls created by past major rain events.
Wind and water are the architects here that have shaped the landscape. We’ve explored out here before and know the location of water sources. That translates into knowing where to watch for bighorn sheep.
The day warmed into the high 60’s and the clouds cleared. Perfect.
The road ended at the remains of the small Kofa Queen Mine. We continued up the canyon.
We topped out on the saddle and took in the view on the other side, to the east.
Our time of blue skies above passed and high clouds took over. We paid no attention to time as we wandered back down the canyon.
We sat out in the night. The overnight lows were in the mid to low 50’s. Perfect. The quiet enveloped us until, maybe 20 yards to the south, a lone coyote howled. It was loud. We had heard no sound of its approach. The coyote did a single howl 5 more times with a long pause between; perhaps testing to figure out who/what we were and how we would react. And, maybe, to see if any coyote buddies would join in. None did.
It remained overcast the next morning. For our morning wander with coffee mugs, the Lady was determined to make it over to the highpoint to the north.
“So, you want to find out how many deep gullies there are between us and the highpoint?” I asked.
“Yes, that will be fun!”
It took a lot of work with all the climbing up and down, but we made it without spilling a drop of our Peet's Coffee. Life’s little pleasures are the best.
Clouds built as we returned to camp for breakfast. It could
rain today.
We consulted our USGS topo maps to answer this day’s question, “Where should we hike today?” Four Palms Canyon to the southeast looked rugged and interesting. We chose Four Palms Canyon.
“And I want to find the four palms! It’s named Four Palms, there has to be four palms.” the Lady enthusiastically added. We had our mission.
We both were surprised how rugged and nasty this canyon turned out to be. There were very few sections of open wash to follow.
Most was vegetation choked boulder fields and cobble that only intensified as we ascended.
An intriguing slot canyon caught our attention and we worked out a route that would take us inside.
Several soaring dry falls lined the walls of the slot. Note: we had no concern that the day’s weather would bring any flooding.
The narrow canyon was a nightmare of boulders and vegetation.
We crawled over boulders and under and through brush in the hope that we would hit scoured bedrock clear of vegetation. We are tough but we finally recognized defeat and turned around. At one point on the descent, as I struggled like a snake to get through, my pack snagged. The Lady moved in behind me to help. I did not realize that. The catclaw – you do remember catclaw, right? – broke loose from my pack. I instantly heard the Lady sharply break one of the ten commandments. The one about taking the lord’s name in vain. Good thing we are non-believers.
“Jesus!” was quickly followed by “I’m bleeding.”
The catclaw’s slashing spines cut her arms but had also caught her face. The wound was an inch long cut down her left cheek. Note: eye protection saves the day. Not deep enough to require stitches, but it was time to stop and pull out the first aid kit and clean and dress the wound.
We backtracked our way out of the slot but continued the battle up the main canyon. Finally, the sight of Cyclops Gumby convinced us to end the struggle.
We stopped for lunch with Gumby. It began to rain. A mesquite tree offered enough shelter to continue our break. The Lady’s wound had not deterred her quest. “Where are the four palms?” she demanded. “We have to have truth in advertising here!”
“They must be down canyon from where we entered the canyon,” I suggested. “There are no palms anywhere up here.” We had done a visual search with the see mores.
We stopped once to pull off raingear and pack covers as we moved down canyon in search of the four palms. We stopped once, when the rain resumed, to put it all back on. Just another day in the backcountry.
We gave up the search when we reached the mouth of the canyon and this was our turn around point. Notice the dressing on the Lady’s cheek. “Truth in advertising” at least on our end.
We worked our way back to camp.
Clouds lowered as we ate dinner producing a dramatic landscape.
The sunset absolutely knocked our socks off.
With bare feet, we now really had to watch the cholla.
The lone coyote from the night before was no longer lonely. This night was filled with the chorus of song dogs.
Julie is the keeper of our smartphone. We had cell service at this camp. She checked our security cameras at home, accessible over the web. "Wow, look at it snow!” she announced. “I'll check our weather forecast for home."
She is getting quite good with maneuvering around on the device. She reported the forecast. "It says heavy snow tonight, then clearing, with a low of 15°."
"Oh look," I pointed to our small weather station. "The display says the outside temperature here is 60°. No need to rush home?"
This was Saturday night. I asked to borrow the phone.
“Here’s another ‘Wow!’” I said. “There is one open tub site at Benton for Monday night. Should I book it? Roads should be clear of snow and chain controls for a drive home on Tuesday.”
With a very early start to our drive on Sunday morning, we planned on finding a dispersed spot in the Death Valley area for Sunday night. We were thinking of the spot we like along Lake Hill Road. That did not work out. The wind was wicked as we left Pahrump. Panamint Valley was shrouded in blowing dust. Hard gusts blasted against the truck as we drove on. The sun was also dropping toward the horizon. The eastern side of Owens Lake and Keeler were also devoured by wind and dust.
“How about the ‘Bama Hills?” the Lady suggested.
“I expect far too windy there. Let’s go to the campsite we found this fall tucked up against the Sierra. Back in the canyon, even a little bit, it may be sheltered.” It was.
Dawn greeted us with a brilliant display to the east over Owens Lake.
The cloud bank topped the crest of the Sierra. To the east it was clear. This was our morning walk with coffee to start our day.
We were two hours from our tub site at Benton. Check in time was 3 pm. This allowed for ample time to find a couple of rock art sites on our ever expanding list. The first was a boulder with very faded petroglyphs.
The second site was perched on the edge of the volcanic tablelands with a tremendous view of the Owens River and Valley.
The Lady seized the high ground.
We began this adventure to celebrate my 70th birthday with soaking in magical hot spring waters. By sheer luck, we ended the adventure soaking in magical hot springs waters. It was glorious. The temps dropped well into the teens overnight. The roads were not clear on our drive home the next day. Chain controls were still in effect and it was slow going. But it was an easy drive for us. And, in the big picture, we did manage to sneak back home between storms. The tractor and snowblower have been earning their keep since.
So, this is how we celebrated my 70th birthday. What should we do for my 71st?
What do for your 71st? Stay away from catclaws and suspicious cars ...
ReplyDeleteSagebrush, that is a great suggestion!
DeleteWhat a great story! Well done, and welcome to your eighth decade.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dan! We appreciate the kind comment, especially as we ease on into a new decade.
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