Tuesday,
June 25, 2013
Today
Tommy, I, Ron and Judy woke up early and hit the trails by 7:30am. Tommy had it
in his head that he was going to locate the Mysterious Solstice Serpent.
 |
the sun coming up
|
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.
 |
Chewy - its about 25-30 feet tall
|
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.
 |
| easy part of the trail |
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!
 |
| which way to go? |
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.
 |
| this drop was at least 65 feet |
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.
Not
even 10 minutes passed and we heard them shouting down to us that they discovered
it. They were staring at the serpent. It did exist and they found it!
 |
| a tree growing from nothing but sandstone |
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.
 |
| more rock to climb over |
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’.
We
pushed our bodies hard today. The final 2 miles out of the canyons were
extremely long lasting. We were all exhausted and 3 out of 4 of us ran out of water.
We all wear Camelbaks that hold between 2 and 3 litters each. It was hot today!
 |
| wench anchor |
Once
back at the jeep Ronnie had a cooler filled with ice-cold Coronas. YAY!!! We
enjoyed the beverages and headed home.
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.
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. 
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