Day 4

April 10, 2023

Paradise Pothole to Cork Spring


 


Click on photos to see larger image.

Today's Route Stats:

   Distance:  4.2 miles

   Elevation Gain:  400 feet

   Elevation Loss:  400 feet

 

Today we needed to hike to the Scorpion Cowboy Camp, then find water and camp.  The last time I was here, we camped near the cowboy camp and then headed more directly to Cork spring via the first side-canyon we encountered.  The route was a bit sketchy, so we we returned by hiking directly up to the Esplanade from the spring, then contouring back to the cowboy camp requiring us to head a maze of side canyons.   This time we decided to head the side canyons and then drop down the canyon containing the spring.  We were hoping we would find water before getting to the spring, and we did.  But the side canyons were just as tedious as we remembered. 

 
Heading Towards Scorpion Cowboy Camp. Cowboy Camp Under Overhang. Begin Heading Cork Spring Side Canyons.

 

Once we finally got around the maze of side canyons, we dropped down into the arm that contains Cork Spring.  We soon began finding water, so we didn't need to go all the way to the spring.  We found a nice, slickrock area to camp and stopped for the night.  By the way, Cork Spring is labeled as K21w on the map above.

 
Climbing Down to Another Level. Ben at Camp. Rich at Camp.

 

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