Friday,
June 21, 2013
Todays
hike was to The Hidden Valley. The trailhead is only a couple of miles from
home and we hit the dirt around 9:00am.
The
trial was 7 miles round trip and very unforeseen. The first mile and ½ is complex.
You have to navigate on and across rocks along with unstable sand, while
climbing just over 680 feet. Throughout our ascension we sauntered through a
series of switchbacks. Lots of hairpins.
We
stopped numerous times to catch up with our breathing. It was warm and there
was no breeze. Once we reached the plateau the entire scenery transformed.
Instead of rocky, sandy, steep hiking we were starring at a beautiful broad
shelf between the top of the Moab Rim and Spanish Valley.
The
vista in front of us was unexpected and surprising. The view below us was most
all of Spanish Valley. Just beautiful! This Valley is truly hidden from
everything. We had a tricky time trying to find the route yet to be in front of
us, all morning long. It appeared as if we were mountaineering on a big horn
sheep trail. It was very narrow and very very rock-strewn.
We
trekked through the 2-mile valley and reinvigorated beneath an outcropping for
lunch. We did not take a lot of pictures today because it is so incredibly arduous
to encapsulate the authenticity of the red rocks with the sun directly
above. Equally, I’m sure to you they are
all beginning to look identical. They are not alike at all - but with no deepness in the pictures you
simply cannot tell.
The
images of the trail in this blog are gazing downhill. They appear to be just masses
of rocks, but it is in actuality going down and turning left and right
constantly.
If
we choose we could have continued on from our lunch spot but that would have
put us out on the trail until at least 5 pm. The trail continues onto the Moab
Rim Trail, which is a jeep trail. It ends at the Colorado River, and was
another 7 miles to complete. We chose not follow that trail and proceeded back
home.
We
stopped at Walker Drug on the way back and purchased some moleskin for
tomorrows hike. Moleskin is a hikers godsend. It is for blisters on your feet, and works wonderfully.
Tonight
we are going to try and take Sire out for a bit and see how he does. Happy
Summer, and thanks for reading.
From
what we have been told this snake has only been witnessed/found by less than
100 people. The GPS coordinates are a ‘secret’. A couple of weeks earlier
Gloria and Ivan endeavored 6 (SIX) times to conquer this quest. Finally on
their 7th try they discovered it.
The
legend behind this mysterious snake is that it was etched many hundreds of
years ago and during a period of the summer solstice, for the first few days of
the solstice. The sunlight projects an arrow head diametrically on the snakes
head. As if the Indian who carved - it conquered it.
We
had scarcely one more day to see this phenomenon. Tommy led us, and after 5
miles and 2 ½ hours, we were starting to question his wisdom. We at no time let
on though; we just shadowed like little goslings. He kept promising; double our money back if dissatisfied. LOL!
The
hike was intense. The toughest and most challenging thus far for us. We scaled
boulders as massive as cars. One after the other. We walked in scorching, sugar
sand that was 6-8 inches deep. It was over 100 degrees and every time we sensed
a breeze we were appreciative.
We
eventually hit a point where it was primarily shale and loose rock so Judy and
I found some shade and ate our apples along with power bars, while the boys
continued on and upward to see if we were advancing in the right direction. 
Judy
and I packed up what we were eating and begun our trek up to the secret spot.
We had no pathway and just scrambled up rock after rock. It was so problematic
at one point Tommy had to come downhill to assist.
FINALLY,
when we made it to the apex, the timing could not have been more perfect. Low
and behold, the 17-foot serpent with 13 curvatures in its body had the arrowhead
precisely on its head. It was spectacular. We all experienced an enormous intensity
of satisfaction.
The
arrowhead only lasted 10-15 minutes and we couldn’t have planned it any better.
We took heaps of pictures (for verification of making it there), and sat almost
an hour finishing our lunches. 
On
the descent from the snake we guided each other to negotiate the boulders. There in front of us, we
came across a trail. It was there the entire time. Apparently, we walked just below it on the way up, not knowing it existed. We followed it for the rest of our journey out of the
canyons. 
We
hiked through two ravines today to reach our goal. The first is called Pritchett
Canyon, which has a jeep trail on it. The jeep trail is rated 5 out of 5! It is
beyond demanding! The BLM (bureau of land management) has installed permanent
wench anchors for the jeeps to pull themselves up the ‘stairs’. Stairs are
rocks that step up continually. There is
one step that is called Chewy. It is appropriately named because it can chew up
your jeep horrifically. You either have to have a brass set, or ALOT of money to attempt these stairs.
Once
through the jeep trail we followed the arid riverbed into the second canyon. We
do not know the name of the second canyon but designated it ‘Snake Canyon’.
Today we will take it leisurely and let our muscles recuperate. Thursday or Friday,
we are not sure yet which one, we are going with Gloria and Ivan to Arches
National Park to hike the Devils Kitchen. This is another challenging trail but
one of our favorites. It will push us to limits we have not seen in a long
while, and we are excited for it. Thanks for reading. 
