Well, its been awhile since I posted anything about our adventures. Yesterday we had a great one! We went up to an area in the Cococino National Forest near Pine and did some hiking. We found a very remote hike into a canyon. The trail was almost undisernable. It was great.
The trail followed a stream and we crossed back and forth all along the canyon to the spring from which it originated. The spring was basically a cave where the water was pooling and then gently dropping into the canyon to form the stream. The water was so clear, it was like perfect crystal. The air coming out of the cave was cool and refreshing.
Along the way we saw big cat prints in a mud puddle from a morning shower that were about the size of my palm. We also saw Elk tracks and droppings that were as big as a wet towel wadded up on the floor! It was pretty neat.
We also saw a rock that looked like a lions face, beautiful flora, ferns, aspen, ponderosa pines, unusual bugs, birds and all kinds of things from nature. It was great, and so quiet except for the birds and the babbling brook.
Once we reached the spring and finished our lunch, we noticed some storm clouds building, so we tried to decide what to do. Mind you, we were in the canyon with no where to seek shelter… the cave was full of water. So we waited under the little bit of overhang for a few minutes while it started to sprinkle, but decided we just had to go for it and get back to the car as quickly as we could if it started to storm. Well, we barely got 20 feet away from the spring and the storm let loose.
The downpour was unbelievable, in typical monsoon fashion, the sky just opened up. There were so many lightning strikes with thunder clapping as soon as the lightning flashed - in other words, it was right on top of us! Fortunately, we carry ponchos in our backpacks so we quickly put them on. Then we put our heads down and ran for our lives!
Now, mind you, it took us nearly 2 hours to get to the spring. We do stop and take a lot of pictures. The hike information says it is about 3 miles to the spring from the trailhead. We booked back to the car in about 40 minutes! Let me tell you, we are in much better shape than we thought!
The worse part was when about half way through the canyon the monsoon thunderstorm turned into a monsoon hail storm. It hailed so hard that it stung! The hail kept getting bigger and bigger. At it’s worse the hail was about the size of marbles.
I have to tell you that I was scared $%^#less! I honestly said the Lords Prayer all the way through the canyon. The water was running in the path, the stream was rising - the temperature dropped about 30 degrees - it was something.
Well, we obviously made it back to the car, but I gotta tell you, the next time Kali Okelly says there is a chance of monsoonal storms throughout the day… we stay home!
I will post pictures so you can see how beautiful this canyon was…. Hopefully tomorrow.
