Finding color in the grays

8/4

Sunny weather is, for me, critically important towards keeping up a good mood. I like to joke that I'm a more or less "solar-powered human", because I spend so much of my life trying to get outdoors to soak up the sun. Give me a couple days of clouds and gray weather and I'll give you a grumpy person who just wants to lay on the couch and... well, be grumpy. Something about an overcast day just saps my energy, making it difficult to get up and move. Most of the time I'd prefer a blazing sun over a temperate cloudy day.

That said, I have to admit - it has been very nice hanging out in the partially overcast weather, enjoying the much cooler temperatures and the whisper of rain, the cool breeze and the scent of the damp earth. It is nice, considering that I know that my alternative is days of searing heat with temperatures soaring above 100*F. So I can't say that I was terribly disappointed when I woke up this morning and found more drizzle and more gray. I mean, I was definitely disappointed - after all, yesterday turned out so wonderfully with perfect weather contributing to an amazing view of Colorado NM - but I wasn't THAT disappointed.

I had planned to hike Rattlesnake Arch at McInnis Canyon to the north of Colorado NM, but opted to bail out of that hike and replace it with a few others from Colorado NM. The Rattlesnake Arch hike, while very cool, is also known for its poorly marked paths, false trails, abrupt flash floods, and grueling terrain. I figured that I had no business being out there by myself, alone, with an unknown amount of rain on the way. So I'll save that one for another time.

Instead, I began my morning on the eastern side of the park, seeking vibrant colors that would stand out even on a gray day. I started with a hike on the eastern side of the park known as No Throughfare Canyon. The hike advertises a number of pools and even a waterfall, both of which I found pretty unlikely given the time of year. But I had to check anyways, you know.

Color a bit muted because of the weather, but still pretty awesome stripes of red and yellow

Most of the hike proceeds up a gravelly wash, which isn't that interesting unless you're a geologist. Fortunately, I am! So I was very interested.

The majority of the rocks in the wash were very rounded chunks of sandstone and boulders of igneous rock of some sort (don't really remember how to classify that type of rock). Here's my favorite of the rocks I passed - notice the giant chunks of granite and whatever else reincorporated into the rest of the rock!

I was really fascinated by the two majorly different lithologies found in this area. This hill and the hill behind it, for example:

In the end, the geology was really the best part of this trail. I reached the "First Pool" and found only a pit of deep mud. Unsurprising, given the heat, though I figured that the late rains maybe would have kept the pool full for a bit longer. Oh well. I didn't bother going up to the waterfall and instead turned around to go hop on another trail. A couple cool lizards kept an eye on me as I tromped my way back down the wash, admiring various chunks of sandstone along the way.

Just liked the colors and swirls in this one, and also the tree growing right out of the side.

The next track I hopped onto was called Old Gordon's Trail. It promised sweeping views of some of the more interesting hills in the area - namely, a few hills of Morrison Formation, a geologic formation that is well known for its vibrant striped purples, yellows, and reds. It's also well known for being a major hotspot for dinosaur discoveries elsewhere in the States!

Some more lizards gave me the hairy eyeball as I climbed up, and up, and up this trail.

At some point, I realized I had been going uphill for just about forever. A good workout, for sure, but I was walking away from the views! Hmm. I began to wonder how committed I was to the trail, given that it didn't come highly recommended from any rangers and I had already seen the viewpoints that were highlighted in the guidebook.

About another half mile of climbing, and I decided that I really wasn't very committed at all. So, back down I went!

At least I got to look at this cool hill the whole way down.

The only trail that remained to me in the area was the Echo Canyon Trail. By this point the clouds had really come in and it was drizzling a bit. Kind of blah, but at least it did ensure that I was the only hiker on the trail.

The trail wound down into Echo Canyon, which turned into a kind of slot canyon at points. Rather than containing a concentrated ovenlike heat and barren rocks, this canyon instead held surprisingly lush vegetation and seemed to be teeming with life! The trail was nearly overgrown with a lot of strange reedlike plants I've never seen before, and thick bushes and cottonwood trees added to the greenery along the sides of the canyon.

Some more awesome cross bedding!

Hiking further into the canyon revealed the source of the vegetation: a small spring bubbled up in places, turning into a creek that ran along the surface for a while before disappearing back underground. The muted burbling of that elusive spring mixed with the calls of dozens of birds and the rustling of animals in the underbrush, all drawn to that essential water. I found myself really enjoying the trail, even if I was a little wet. Contemplating the origin of the creek occupied me for a while as I walked. It was curious, the way it came and went - maybe it wasn't truly spring-sourced, but water running along the wash just under the surface, happening to pop out in some lower elevation spots? Who knows. I guess it's a little nerdy, to think about stuff like this in a place like this, but sometimes I just like to ask questions, even if I know I won't find the answer. To me, it's important to consider the myriad of processes and conditions that go into making a place unique. And Echo Canyon definitely stood out as a unique environment within Colorado National Monument - a pocket of abundance in a place that is otherwise for the most part hot, dry, and desertlike, unforgiving and harsh.

The end of the trail culminated in an alcove filled with cottonwood trees and rimmed by overhanging rock. A beautiful little spot for a nice lunch!

That divot in the rim of the canyon probably makes a spectacular waterfall when it rains!

Found a big ole chunk of travertine in the wash - wonder where it came from.

As I explored, I heard a loud rumbling growling sound coming from the rim of the alcove that I confess scared the hell out of me. I looked up, looking for some kind of coyote or... well, who knows what I expected to find... and instead saw a guy setting his stuff down on the rim. I have no idea why or how he made that noise but I was relieved to see a guy rather than some kind of monster. He sat down, legs dangling over the side - and then it was my turn to scare him! I waved from the bottom of the canyon and saw him jump as he noticed me. Funny, that both of us could be on totally remote trails with no other hikers, then end up within 50 feet of one another by happenstance.

I didn't stick around long after my late lunch, as the drizzle had intensified enough to count as rain. As I hiked back, I noticed that a lot of of the rocks lower on the walls of the canyon had neat little pockets and alcoves in them, carved by wind and rain taking advantage of weaknesses in the rock over thousands of years.

Note that these holes start long bedding planes

A more extreme example of the eroded bits

I figured that three trails was a pretty reasonable accomplishment for the day - even though I didn't get to see Rattlesnake Arch, I can't say that I was too bummed out about it. I get pretty skittish around poorly marked trails that are lightly trafficked. Well-marked trails that are lightly trafficked, on the other hand, are just my cup of tea! All in all, a lovely day of hiking even though the weather wasn't amazing. At least it wasn't a thousand degrees out.

Tomorrow, I'll be moving on - I plan to visit Goblin Valley! No real plans beyond that, so we'll see what I come up with between now and then. That's how I like to keep my road trips - a few concrete destinations, but otherwise totally flexible. You can't overplan a road trip, you know. If you ruin all of the spontaneity, then it just becomes a checklist of exotic destinations with a lot of driving in between.

Anyways... until then, Kelly signing out!