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I took my time
eating breakfast and drinking several cups of coffee. I
expected to be at Lower Jumpup Spring to meet them in late morning.
Their route would probably take at least 2 hours longer to get there
than my route.
I started out
with a quart of water, lunch, and some emergency items (flashlight,
lighter, space-blanket, and small first aid kit). The hike up
Jumpup Canyon was pretty, with intermittent water all the way.
I got to the "Jump" (a 20-ft waterfall) around 9:30. There is
a makeshift ladder which allows one to get up the Jump. The
ladder is made from old driftwood tied together with cord, webbing,
and rope. It is remarkably sturdy, although I am always
concerned about how "rotten" the ropes have become.
Others have had that concern as well, because additional rope has
been tied on over the years. The climb
is just technical enough that I wasn't very comfortable climbing
with my day-pack, so I attached some cord to my pack, which I left
at the bottom of the ladder, and climbed to the top carrying the
other end of the cord. It was then easy to pull up my
day-pack.
Update:
The ladder was removed in 2020 and has been replaced by a rope
handline with loops. It is now much more difficult.
The rest of my
group arrived around 10:30. They took a long break, collected
water and took some photos, then headed up Jumpup Canyon, looking
for a shortcut to the Ranger Trail. I continued up Jumpup to
the Jumpup-Nail Trail. I had already climbed about 600 feet
and had only another 400 to go before dropping down into Sowats
Canyon. Gaining altitude at this slow rate is easy and almost
not noticeable. I took my time, enjoying the solitude and scenery.
But by the time I was dropping steeply down into Sowats, my back
started aching again. And I still had about 2-1/2 miles yet to
go. When I got down Sowats I realized that I needed to pick up
the pace if I didn't want to be hiking in the dark. I stopped
at Mountain Sheep Spring for more water, then hustled on, arriving
back at camp at 5:45, about 15 minutes before total darkness.
By then my back was excruciating. I quickly cooked dinner and
got horizontal in my sleeping bag. And I listened to more of
Tegmark's book.
Because my back
was hurting so much, I decided, even before morning, that I was
going to hang around camp for another day and forgo the hike over to
Kanab Creek via the Redwall. So I slept in late, drank lots of
coffee, and listened to more of Max Tegmark's book on artificial
intelligence (AI). Although much of his book is speculation,
it is sobering. If you have any interest in how AI will affect
our lives, you should read this book.
In late
afternoon, a group of students from Prescott college passed through
camp. They said they were going to head up Indian Hollow in a
few days. I told them about the easier way into Indian Hollow
via the Redwall. They were first heading down to Kanab Creek.
I gave them my map showing some of the water sources in the area.
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