HAYDUKE Trail Journal -- Day 32: 10/30/2009

Lindy drove us down Hole-in-the-rock Road after breakfast. His Buick made it almost as far as the dry fork of Coyote Gulch. Rather than rewalk the road to Hurricane Wash, we decided to walk down the dry fork and pick up where Hurricane meets the drainage.

A few parting hugs and handshakes later, we were on our way once more. Today’s walking was ever more spectacular. We started with a dull walk through cows and devil bushes, but we soon came to a series of slot canyons, beautiful striped walls, tall, narrow, and sensuous. They slowed us more due to their beauty rather than their difficulty. They had only a few obstacles. Eventually, the slots opened to a wide slickrock canyon with a few cottonwoods and some tamarisks that foreshadowed the small cascading creek that joined us soon after. A brief segment of thick bushwhacking brought us to a lush desert oasis, more reminiscent of an Appalachian stream than a desert one. Most of the cottonwoods were green and they were accompanied with Oaks, now—willow, bright green grass, and (horror) poison oak. Few plants can cause me more disdain than the devil bush, but a FEAR poison oak. Although I must admit that the poison oak rash that indirectly led to my cancer diagnosis was a blessing in disguise. We (carefully) wound our way through this verdant paradise, each bend bringing us to a magnificent alcove bigger and more beautiful than the previous one. Sharon and I couldn’t help it. At each one we stood transfixed absorbing its splendid curves and colors. Some of them were so beautiful they were almost hypnotizing, especially when the sun caused them to glow with a surreal pumpkin orange that seemed to radiate from the rock. This is my cathedral. This is where I worship my god. This is my GOD. I’m an unapologetic naturalist. I revere nature—not the warm, fuzzy, neutered version where everything is soft and pretty and friendly (thought it’s certainly included), but the entire cycle, the WORLD: lion and tiger, deer and camel, worm and vulture, flower and fungus, mountain and sea, etc. I can’t think of the universe being created by god. The universe is God. We are but small pawns bending to the will of the world.

Okay, enough of that. The point is the steadily increasing beauty and magnitude of this place left Sharon and I feeling insignificant and small, but simultaneously full of wonder and awe. The words wonderful and awesome, now robbed of their power through overuse, were once possibly capable of describing such places. Toward the end of the days we made it to massive, incomparable Jacob Hamblin Arch. Being who we are, we scrambled up the steep loose builders under the arch, which is in a massive fin that the creek goes around. It may soon be a bridge. We walked through the wall and climbed down the other side. Spectacular but terrifying too bad it’s not already Halloween.

It’s a gorgeous night tonight. The canyon walls are lit up by the full moon above. What a great end to an amazing day.