1149 September 30, 2024 Hardscrabble
Overnight it was so silent and we slept well. We got up once during the night. The stars were out and brilliant.
We had our morning coffee on the edge of the canyon. We watched as the sun came up.
A cottontail rabbit hopped by.
The ravens came to check if we were making breakfast and quickly left when they saw we were not cooking.
During the night, Tim had left his water bottle on the table outside the tent. This morning, he saw some small pieces of turquoise rubber laying on the table. A small rodent had come to visit and apparently took a taste or two of the rubber. He must not have cared for it because he left his little nibbles there!
We were ready to ride the rollercoaster shortly after 8am. Our first downhill was another series of switchbacks back down to the White Rim Trail.
We had breakfast in the canyon, still in awe of our surroundings.
This area looks rocky and tough but the ecosystem here is surprisingly fragile. Tamarisk trees were brought here from the Middle East in the 1920’s. Since then, this invasive species has grown at a rate of about 12 miles a year. The trees choke off the river channel, narrowing it. The brush is so thick and dense that animals have a difficult time getting through to drink water.
The desert produces a protective barrier or layer called cryptobiotic soil crust. This crunchy crust reduces erosion by wind and water. When this crust is damaged by vehicle or foot traffic, it takes 50-250 years to heal. For this reason, the National Park Service really does not want people to leave the marked trails. If I make my own footprints and someone follows my path, the path becomes a gully. In a rainstorm, water rushes in the path of least resistance and deeper gullies and ditches form, washing away soil and seeds and vegetation.
In addition, the depressions in the rock harbor tiny critters that come to life when it rains. If people traipse through the potholes, the miniature life is destroyed.
This land has been occupied by Native Americans for about 5,000 years. There is lots of evidence of the civilization and culture of those people. Petroglyphs, pictographs, pottery shards, and ruins exist here in the canyon. The trend in archaeology is to leave artifacts in situ so that people can see them as they are. The National Park Service doesn’t publish a list of these sites because of our propensity to destroy precious relics.
My Aunt Jeanne had read and posted an article about the Black Crack. We looked for that as we traveled but it was also unmarked and we must have passed by. It is a 65-foot-deep chasm along a fault line. This must be another place that the Park Service doesn’t want us to find!
There are limited permits available each day to help to minimize the environmental impact that humans cause.
The trail meandered along the Green River.
Candlestick Tower.
It took us 1 ¾ hours in the Jeep to go 10 miles. We were thinking of those 2 female bikers we met and we wondered how they had fared!
There were tons of small grey birds bursting out of the scruffy vegetation as we approached with the Jeep.
There was deep sand and there were wide ruts at Potato Bottom. This area used to be called Tater Butt but some people took offense resulting in the more formal name!
There was one large cottonwood tree that provided some nice shade. It was about 90 degrees and it felt nice there under the tree.
Seeing all of the other campgrounds, we knew that we had really been lucky to stay at Murphy A!
We knew that there was one last difficult climb. Hardscrabble Hill was a very challenging and intense climb through more Moenkopi formations. Tim stopped to put the lockers on so that the jeep could help to pull us up the hill! I was sweating and I was only taking the video!
We were tired and passed by the hiking trail leading to ancestral Puebloan ruins.
I didn’t take as many pictures today, content to sit back and enjoy the ride. I spent more time in my own head, thinking about this place, this time, and this experience here. We met people running, hiking, biking, Jeeping and we saw people out on the river. What an amazing place for an adventure!
We drove out of the park and we were on a more improved road. The mineral Bottom Road, lead past 4 miles of mining claims. We still had one last steep hill to climb back to the Lone Mesa. Another series of steep switchbacks took us up and out. Tim counted the remains of three cars lying on the steep downhill bank…yikes!
We met two trucks going down as we were climbing. We backed up and pulled over as far as we could to allow them to pass…what a place to meet!
I drove once we were on the gravel road…all the way back to pavement and then to Moab. We got back around 3pm.
We spent the rest of the day cleaning gear and doing laundry. This adventure was sometimes intense. It was sometimes hot. It was sometimes tiring…it was ABSOLUTELY worth it! We are so glad that we made the effort to be here.