Sagebrush Trails – Page 77 – Sagebrush personal hiking blog

Paradise?

HDT 2022 Day 20, April 20, Wednesday
Start along Last Chance Creek S7 mile 44.4
End along dirt road near Dog Flat S7 mile 69.2
Miles walked: 24.8

Last Chance Creek was crossed by a dirt road, Smokey Mountain Road, where a mountain biker was camped last night. We talked a while– it has been a few days since I saw a human being.

Last Chance Creek became intermittent well before my notes suggested it would. I had to backtrack a quarter of a mile to return to a good pool of water– a good call, since any pools ahead were torn up by cattle.

Last Chance?

HDT 2022 Day 19, April 19, Tuesday
Start entrance to Navajo Canyon S7 mile 22.7
End along Last Chance Creek S7 mile 44.4
Miles walked: 21.7

Navajo Canyon tended to have steep earthen walls with purplish hues, and a flat walkable drainage of crusted sand.

Up close, the dirt seemed to include a mixture of fine small pieces of slate, stuck together like dried mud. This is beyond my ken. What is rock, what is soil, what is in-between?

Monday?

HDT 2022 Day 18, April 18, Monday
Start top of Fifty Mile  Bench S7 mile 6.9
End start of Navajo Canyon S7 mile 22.7
Miles walked: 15.8

With Fifty Mile Bench we leave the brilliant red rocks of yesterday, and move to more muted colors, tans and grays, like my own state. Continuing to follow the pack trail, we get to Mudhole Springs, a line shack with fenced off springs, and the next sure cattle-free water is many miles away, so it is time to fill all water containers and drink as much as possible, as hikers would say,¨camel up¨.