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Here is a
map of of our trip. Once again we started in the Chisos Basin, at
the lodge. We again placed some water at the Blue Creek Ranch where
it would be available on our last evening of the hike. |
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We
rested fairly often. Once, actually taking off our boots and taking a
nap. Unlike the first trip, however, we got a much earlier start and
did not have to stop short. We made it all the way to our intended
campsite at the top of the Juniper Canyon trail that leads down into
the desert.
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Up,
up, up, up... Jeez I got tired.
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We made it to the campsite and went to get
water at the Boot Canyon spring. It is pretty much a dribble, but with
patience we got what we needed. We carried up a lot of water, but it
was good to get some more before going down into the desert.
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Once
again we used our hammocks set up on the ground. They are light,
keep out the bugs, and let you sleep on top of your sleeping bag if
it is hot. |
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Any
questions about why they call this Boot Canyon? On the second day we
repeated our tactic of day hiking to Emery Peak and then rapidly
down to the basin for lunch. This makes for a strenuous day of
thirteen fast miles, but it allowed us to hike all but about 1/4
mile of all the trails in the Chisos. I'm afraid though, that it
sets us up too much for being exhausted when starting the tough
desert portion of the trip. We may have to stop doing either that
much day hiking or the Outer Loop. One or the other. |
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A
little down from the Boot Canyon spring this is what the creek looks
like. Once again we had a wet year, so there was more water than
usual.
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Our day hikes included the South Rim which
overlooks the desert and into Mexico. This is a very spectacular hike.
If we forgo the desert hike next time, I think we'll camp at one of
the South Rim campsites.
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Ahhh!
On top of Emery Peak again. Nathaniel had an easier time this
time. |
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Everyone
in the party gets their picture taken on top of Emery Peak. |
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And
now down Juniper Canyon and into the desert. This was the most
grueling part of the trip last time, because Nathaniel was too
little to negotiate the steep downhill very easily. This time it was
not that big a deal. |
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Look
at the size of the pack Nathaniel is carrying. Last time at this
point I had most of his stuff on my back. |
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It
is always good to take a little rest. Some how we managed to miss
the Juniper Canyon spring that we should have passed. Actually, on
the way back from Arizona after Nathaniel's graduation from college
in 2004, we drove his Jeep up to the bottom of Juniper Canyon and
hiked up to find the spring. We never did. I don't know why it is so
hard to find now. We found it on the first trip. |
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We're
finally down in the desert, time for a rest. Sometimes we put the
tarp up for shade, sometimes not. We walked a few miles down the Dodson Trail and then pitched camp and spent the night. |
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A
very healthy Ocotillo cactus. In this and the rest of the pictures
below, look at how clear the trail is. Every step of our 1991 trip
on the Dodson was breaking through scratchy bushes. Although this
was a wet year and had plenty of growth, the Park workers had been
keeping the trail up the last couple of years as opposed to our last
trip when they had gotten overgrown. |
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Resting
in the desert... again. |
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It
feels so good to get those boots off. No blister problem this time,
our boots never got wet. |
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We
just want to make it to Fresno creek. There is usually water there
and it is a good place to spend the night. Hiking in the desert
though takes frequent stops and lots of water. I found out I have a
real hard time swallowing hot water. All our water is very hot from
the desert temperature. Nathaniel can just guzzle it. Most of the
time it makes me retch. |
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The
wandering road stretches on ahead. That sounds a little like
something out of Tolkien. It is about 20 miles across the Dodson. |
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There
are some pretty plants in the desert, especially if there has been
some rain that year. |
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The
intrepid explorer poses before the craggy landscape. |
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Here
is the tarp as a sunshade during a rest stop. |
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You
are out in the sun all day long. Note that Nathaniel has on long
pants and a long sleeve shirt. We learned that on our last trip too.
As hard as it is to believe. dressing like this is much more
comfortable than shorts and a tee-shirt. |
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We
camped just before Fresno Creek and then walked down to get
water. I'm smiling because I actually made it to the water. I was
really beat.
I had to take the water filter apart
and clean it out because it was getting too hard to pump. It worked
though, and we got much needed water. This is near where they pulled
a dead guy out in May. He just couldn't go any further. |
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Just
as we got to Fresno Creek there was a brief rainstorm. We got out
the ponchos, but it did not last long. |
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We
were just hiking along, me in front, Nathaniel close behind, when I
came right up on a really big rattler. He rose up and I jumped back,
almost knocking over Nathaniel. From a safe distance we took this
picture. Then we went well around him. He never did move off his
rock at all. |
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The
end of the Dodson trail stretches out before us. Now it turns north
to the Blue Creek Ranch where we are going to spend the night. That
is where our water stash is, so we'll have plenty to drink. It will
still be hot water though. |
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And
here we are... The Blue Creek Ranch. We got here a little after
noon. The water was stashed off to the left in this picture. We laid
around the ranch house and read for most of the afternoon. It is
totally dilapidated, but there is a concrete porch and that is where
we sat. There were plenty of bugs and lizards. We camped well away
from the house, a historical property. As we had planned, we left
our packs hidden near the ranch and hiked up into the Chisos without
them. I don't think I could have made it with a pack. I was beat. |
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After
we got back to the lodge, we decided to cross the Rio Grande and
have a Mexican meal in the little village on the other side. We went
down to the landing, got rowed across and were offered burros to
ride into town. Very nice, although one looks a little silly with
feet almost touching the ground. Of course there is the usual
bargaining about the price, but it worked out fine.
You can no longer do this. Crossing
into Mexico inside the Park is forbidden.
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Cold
Corona. Can't beat that. |
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