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NAXJA Member #135
- Location
- Albuquerque, NM
It really started out as the usual midsummer San Juan Mountains trip because there is no more pleasant and wildflower-rich location to spend a 4 day weekend in August. Adam (Gokracer1) and I had the trip planned for a month or so but neither of us could get excited about another trip to the mountains. We tossed about ideas, all of which involved cool, high mountain explorations. None of which kept us awake at night in anticipation. Finally the suggestion of Hole in the Rock Trail came up.
“You know how HOT it is going to be out on that slickrock in the middle of August?”
“Who cares, lets go!”
I had met Jared (xjblue) on our first Hole in the Rock trip back in 2004, hit that trail with him again in 2008 and joined him on several other great Canyon Country explorations in the years between. With only a little arm twisting via email we talked him into joining us on this trip as it just wouldn’t be the same without him. With Adam and my s.o.’s that made a good, small group of 5 people and 3 jeeps.
I have always avoided camping in the desert in the middle of the summer as there are much more comfortable places (like my air conditioned house or the mountains!) to escape the high desert summer heat of Albuquerque. This made packing a little different as the emphasis became staying cool, not keeping warm. We left the big sleeping bags at home. Adam found that he could fit an ARB refrigerator in the space vacated by his two 20 degree bags. I packed 3 reflectorized space blanket-type tarps as well as a whole bag full of bungees and straps to rig then up as portable shade. Then there was finding someplace to store 10 gallons of water per vehicle. The adaptation from alpine camping to slickrock desert travel hopefully complete, we pointed the jeeps northwest early on a Friday afternoon.
Typical New Mexico summers involve daily afternoon thunderstorms. For the past month or so we have had a high pressure system parked overhead that kept our skies an unusually monotonous blue. Running along the spine of the Continental Divide through the Checkerboard Reservation we enjoyed what is called “widely scattered showers and thundershowers” in the sterile vernacular of the weather service. This colorful roadside outcropping of the Chinle Formation has always begged to be photographed and I have made several lame attempts through bug-spattered windshields on previous journeys. Since a late afternoon rainbow appearing over said striped butte while I drive by would probably never happen again, I begged to pull over to capture this moment. The short pause on the side of the road was just the transition needed to put the stresses of an unauthorized early flight from work behind me and to get into the traveler’s state of mind. We took it as a sign that this was going to be a GREAT trip.
Adam and his girlfriend had never seen Lake Powell before so we continued through the night all of the way to the Halls Crossing campground on the bluff overlooking Bullfrog Bay. It is always a spectacular sight to wake up to outside the tent door. Containing a full 80 more feet more of water than my first trip here 5 years ago it was worth getting up early for… especially since the sun’s first rays brought along a significant increase in temperature, making sleeping in difficult.
Daylight made a some initial observations possible. While the mirror of the lake’s surface was rapidly shattered by multiple boat wakes, we shared our terrestrial accommodations with more hummingbirds than humans. The campground was virtually deserted. One of the few vehicles in sight was Jared’s familiar blue Cherokee. It wasn’t there when we bedded down around midnight. It doesn’t matter how remote our meeting place is or how many rough miles of road it takes for him to reach it, he quietly appears out of the darkness without fail.
We packed up our outfits and headed over the little convenience store/gas station across the street. I filled my tank next to a trailered boat set up in the Lake Powell style: red plastic fuel jugs lined up across the stern, 4 sunburned dudes unloading an incredible number of full but surprisingly light trash bags that gave out hollow clanks when dropped to the ground.
Most Hole in the Rock trips are 2 or 3 days long. The appeal of spending 4 days on the trail was the opportunity to take side trips and do some hiking along the way. Since the new trail routing takes a long detour up Nokai Dome to get around Lake Canyon’s washout we continued past the signed Hole in the Rock turnoff to follow the road to its very end on Nokai Dome. This gave is a hazy look at Navajo Mountain and the San Juan Arm of Lake Powell.
There was also a nice overlook of Castle Creek’s canyons along the way
After several years worth of rumors that Lake Powell was drying up it was nice to see blue water where previously there had been mudflats.
That night camp was made off the trail. On the morning drive Adam’s girlfriend spotted an arch which we all checked out.
Interesting rock formations along the way. The space blanket bungeed to the roof rack was my low tech approach to staying cool. Shade followed me everywhere in this treeless land.
Just on the other side of the Chute we break for lunch in the only shade around.
That spot was the jumping off point for our hike to Old Settler Natural Bridge. I had spotted it on a map and mentioned its location as “somewhere down the canyon at the bottom of the Chute” to Jared on our last trip. With instincts for all things geographical he located and photographed it, but I missed out on that hike. Seeing the bridge was one of my goals for this trip.
The hike was short but fun, with pools and potholes to dodge and cottonwood shaded pocket gardens where sand was trapped. Several of the potholes held water and a lively population of frogs despite being the middle of summer.
It seemed as if we were the first ones to ever see the bridge. There were no cairns marking the way, nor any graffiti scratched into the sandstone telling us who had come before. Its graceful arc was the product of a pothole and an alcove that had eroded together.
It was impossible for us to get on top of or below the bridge but it was well worth the time spent to reach it. Coming during or after a rain would involve wading or swimming as all of the pools would be full, but it sure would be cool to see the water cascading beneath the span!
After viewing the bridge we continued on to the end of the trail where we all lounged in the shade of Adam’s jeep and enjoyed the scenery. Everyone was kind of pooped and punchy from a couple of days of nonstop motion. I will forever think of the location as Camel Rock Camp due to an incident that occurred there. Sitting in the late afternoon shade our view was dominated by this rock formation that bore a resemblance to a dromedary at rest. Somehow I found myself donning a makeshift turban, then clambering up the rock to affect a Lawrence of Arabia pose.
That night’s camp was simple, as were every other camp on this trip: an air mattress plopped down on the warm slickrock. It was quick, easy, cool and best of all it gave an unobstructed view of the night sky.
Moonrise came after 3am, allowing us to enjoy a clear view of everything in the sky, including the Milky Way, a few tardy Persieds and Jupiter with 4 moons.
“You know how HOT it is going to be out on that slickrock in the middle of August?”
“Who cares, lets go!”
I had met Jared (xjblue) on our first Hole in the Rock trip back in 2004, hit that trail with him again in 2008 and joined him on several other great Canyon Country explorations in the years between. With only a little arm twisting via email we talked him into joining us on this trip as it just wouldn’t be the same without him. With Adam and my s.o.’s that made a good, small group of 5 people and 3 jeeps.
I have always avoided camping in the desert in the middle of the summer as there are much more comfortable places (like my air conditioned house or the mountains!) to escape the high desert summer heat of Albuquerque. This made packing a little different as the emphasis became staying cool, not keeping warm. We left the big sleeping bags at home. Adam found that he could fit an ARB refrigerator in the space vacated by his two 20 degree bags. I packed 3 reflectorized space blanket-type tarps as well as a whole bag full of bungees and straps to rig then up as portable shade. Then there was finding someplace to store 10 gallons of water per vehicle. The adaptation from alpine camping to slickrock desert travel hopefully complete, we pointed the jeeps northwest early on a Friday afternoon.
Typical New Mexico summers involve daily afternoon thunderstorms. For the past month or so we have had a high pressure system parked overhead that kept our skies an unusually monotonous blue. Running along the spine of the Continental Divide through the Checkerboard Reservation we enjoyed what is called “widely scattered showers and thundershowers” in the sterile vernacular of the weather service. This colorful roadside outcropping of the Chinle Formation has always begged to be photographed and I have made several lame attempts through bug-spattered windshields on previous journeys. Since a late afternoon rainbow appearing over said striped butte while I drive by would probably never happen again, I begged to pull over to capture this moment. The short pause on the side of the road was just the transition needed to put the stresses of an unauthorized early flight from work behind me and to get into the traveler’s state of mind. We took it as a sign that this was going to be a GREAT trip.
Adam and his girlfriend had never seen Lake Powell before so we continued through the night all of the way to the Halls Crossing campground on the bluff overlooking Bullfrog Bay. It is always a spectacular sight to wake up to outside the tent door. Containing a full 80 more feet more of water than my first trip here 5 years ago it was worth getting up early for… especially since the sun’s first rays brought along a significant increase in temperature, making sleeping in difficult.
Daylight made a some initial observations possible. While the mirror of the lake’s surface was rapidly shattered by multiple boat wakes, we shared our terrestrial accommodations with more hummingbirds than humans. The campground was virtually deserted. One of the few vehicles in sight was Jared’s familiar blue Cherokee. It wasn’t there when we bedded down around midnight. It doesn’t matter how remote our meeting place is or how many rough miles of road it takes for him to reach it, he quietly appears out of the darkness without fail.
We packed up our outfits and headed over the little convenience store/gas station across the street. I filled my tank next to a trailered boat set up in the Lake Powell style: red plastic fuel jugs lined up across the stern, 4 sunburned dudes unloading an incredible number of full but surprisingly light trash bags that gave out hollow clanks when dropped to the ground.
Most Hole in the Rock trips are 2 or 3 days long. The appeal of spending 4 days on the trail was the opportunity to take side trips and do some hiking along the way. Since the new trail routing takes a long detour up Nokai Dome to get around Lake Canyon’s washout we continued past the signed Hole in the Rock turnoff to follow the road to its very end on Nokai Dome. This gave is a hazy look at Navajo Mountain and the San Juan Arm of Lake Powell.
There was also a nice overlook of Castle Creek’s canyons along the way
After several years worth of rumors that Lake Powell was drying up it was nice to see blue water where previously there had been mudflats.
That night camp was made off the trail. On the morning drive Adam’s girlfriend spotted an arch which we all checked out.
Interesting rock formations along the way. The space blanket bungeed to the roof rack was my low tech approach to staying cool. Shade followed me everywhere in this treeless land.
Just on the other side of the Chute we break for lunch in the only shade around.
That spot was the jumping off point for our hike to Old Settler Natural Bridge. I had spotted it on a map and mentioned its location as “somewhere down the canyon at the bottom of the Chute” to Jared on our last trip. With instincts for all things geographical he located and photographed it, but I missed out on that hike. Seeing the bridge was one of my goals for this trip.
The hike was short but fun, with pools and potholes to dodge and cottonwood shaded pocket gardens where sand was trapped. Several of the potholes held water and a lively population of frogs despite being the middle of summer.
It seemed as if we were the first ones to ever see the bridge. There were no cairns marking the way, nor any graffiti scratched into the sandstone telling us who had come before. Its graceful arc was the product of a pothole and an alcove that had eroded together.
It was impossible for us to get on top of or below the bridge but it was well worth the time spent to reach it. Coming during or after a rain would involve wading or swimming as all of the pools would be full, but it sure would be cool to see the water cascading beneath the span!
After viewing the bridge we continued on to the end of the trail where we all lounged in the shade of Adam’s jeep and enjoyed the scenery. Everyone was kind of pooped and punchy from a couple of days of nonstop motion. I will forever think of the location as Camel Rock Camp due to an incident that occurred there. Sitting in the late afternoon shade our view was dominated by this rock formation that bore a resemblance to a dromedary at rest. Somehow I found myself donning a makeshift turban, then clambering up the rock to affect a Lawrence of Arabia pose.
That night’s camp was simple, as were every other camp on this trip: an air mattress plopped down on the warm slickrock. It was quick, easy, cool and best of all it gave an unobstructed view of the night sky.
Moonrise came after 3am, allowing us to enjoy a clear view of everything in the sky, including the Milky Way, a few tardy Persieds and Jupiter with 4 moons.
