Day 4

April 23, 2014

Lower Jumpup Spring to Esplanade Below Jumpup Point


 


Click on photos to see larger image.

Today's route stats: 

    Distance: 8.0 miles

    Elevation Gain:  300 feet

    Elevation Loss:  300 feet

We got a pretty early start today, and we began by carrying 3 to 4 quarts of water each.  The hikers we met yesterday told us where they had found potholes, but we didn't want to bet our lives on finding it.  We had hiked this section of the Ranger Trail last year, but in the opposite direction, and after recent rains. 

The morning started out cloudy, but cleared up by noon.
Rob on the Ranger Trail. Looking for Potholes in Shallow Side Canyon. Still Looking for Water.

 

Around noon we reached the shallow drainage where the hikers we met yesterday said that they had found water.  We dropped our packs and hiked down the drainage.  It didn't take long before we found a couple of shallow potholes.  The water didn't look great so we continued down canyon looking for something better.  No luck.   And since it was too early to stop for the night, we collected a couple of liters each and continued on, hoping we could find something better.  If we couldn't, we would hike back here and collect more water. 

We found some rock art in the area of the potholes, so they were undoubtedly well known by the ancients.

 
We Found Potholes per Other Hikers. Rock Art Near Potholes. Ben on Day Hike Looking for More Water.

 

We continued along the Ranger Trail for another mile.  We found a nice campsite and decided to stop there for the night.  We figured we had gone far enough since if we could not find water around our campsite, we would have to hike back a mile to get water from the first potholes we encountered. 

 
Good Quality Pothole Water. Exploring Farther Down Side Canyon. Ben Relaxing at Our Campsite.

 

We stopped here for the night because there was water, but we neglected to figure out exactly how far we would have to go in the next few days.  As it would turn out, we would have a couple of very long days ahead of us. 

 
Decker and Bert in Camp. Sunset at Camp. Sunset View From Camp.

 

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