{"id":17757,"date":"2022-10-10T14:16:57","date_gmt":"2022-10-10T20:16:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/?p=17757"},"modified":"2022-10-20T10:11:53","modified_gmt":"2022-10-20T16:11:53","slug":"endless-monsoon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/?p=17757","title":{"rendered":"Endless Monsoon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

This year’s exceptional Southwest monsoon, which started early, in June, slacked off a little in mid-September. But then it resumed with a vengeance \u2013 the heaviest deluge in our local mountains occurred in late September, and in early October, with the onset of cool weather, we’ve turned into the Pacific Northwest.<\/p>\n

Not that the Pacific Northwest doesn’t have its beauties, but that’s not what I moved to southwest New Mexico for! What a gloomy week. It started as I was in the midst of repairs on the outside of my house. Most of the work I’d planned for October would’ve occurred outdoors, and now all I wanted to do was lower the window blinds, collapse on the sofa, and read a book.<\/p>\n

Sunday, my big hiking day, was forecast to be mostly cloudy but hopefully rain-free across the region. And I’d already decided to drive over to the range of canyons in Arizona, where I guessed it wouldn’t be quite so chilly, with even less chance of rain.<\/p>\n

Hah!<\/p>\n

Approaching the range from the northeast, I could see only light clouds. But once I entered the valley of the main creek, and started crossing bridges, I discovered it was in full flood, higher than I’d ever seen it. This range had been getting at least as much rain as we had, and it was plenty chilly here.<\/p>\n

\"Possibly <\/a>
Possibly a dry day for a change? <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Creek <\/a>
Creek is often dry here… <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

The part of the range accessible to me, this northeast basin, really only offers four choices of big hikes, and only two of those are interesting to me. I was tentatively planning to redo a version of my favorite, which involves driving a mile and a half up a really gnarly high-clearance 4wd track consisting almost entirely of big loose rocks. Fine, except there’s a creek crossing, and I wouldn’t know if it was too deep for my vehicle until I got there. And I didn’t think there was room to turn around at that crossing, which was at the end of the worst part of the road.<\/p>\n

So I checked my maps and pinpointed the spot downstream where that creek met the graded spur road and emptied into the main creek, and slowed at that point to take a look. It was coming down pretty heavy, but I didn’t think it would stop me, so I continued.<\/p>\n

Heavy rain had washed more dirt out from under and around the rocks in the road, so it was even rougher than usual. At the start of the really bad part, I parked and scouted on foot. It turned out the creek crossing had been widened, smoothed, and dammed at its downstream end with flat rocks by the original road builders, so even now, the flow was just shallow enough for my vehicle \u2013 no more than 8 inches deep. So I made it all the way to the trailhead.<\/p>\n

Because the approach is so daunting, and impassable for most vehicles, this trail sees little use. I’d last hiked it in mid-July, and concluded nobody had been up it since at least May. But it does offer a popular short version, to the waterfall overlook, that is well-known enough to attract even novice hikers.<\/p>\n

I made my way up the forested side valley, accompanied by the clamor of its little creek, collecting heavy dew from the chest-high overgrowth on my waterproof boots and canvas pants. But after crossing the creek, changing into my waterproof hunting pants, and starting up the switchbacks on the opposite slope, I got lost.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t that I’d lost the trail \u2013 somebody had lost it before me, and spent a lot of effort thrashing about, trampling vegetation and creating spurious trails that got me so confused I couldn’t relocate myself in the heavy overgrowth of annuals on that steep, shrubby hillside.<\/p>\n

Unlike my predecessor, I knew where the trail was supposed to be, so eventually, I just cut straight up the slope, and reached one of the switchbacks before going too far.<\/p>\n

Like most of the trails in this range, it’s well graded for hiking, which means it has a narrow tread but generally neutral camber cut through the slopes it crosses. But with this kind of overgrowth, you often can’t see it and have to just keep pushing through the vegetation to reveal the tread ahead. My precessor apparently lacked the experience to do that, and immediately ventured off-trail when he or she couldn’t see the trail ahead.<\/p>\n

It got worse, higher up the switchbacks. On the steepest traverses, instead of pushing through the overgrowth which leans across the trail from above, this earlier hiker crossed below, punching postholes in the wet slope, increasing erosion that undercut the original trail. At one point, they even created a new bypass above the original trail that was actually more difficult and further increased erosion.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/a>
The little, unnamed side creek I drove across to reach the trailhead, now rushing down <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Pretty <\/a>
Pretty dark ahead <\/div> <\/div>
\"First <\/a>
First creek crossing <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"My <\/a>
My favorite canvas hiking pants soaking up the dew, need to be changed <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Switchbacks <\/a>
Switchbacks up to the hanging valley are heavily overgrown, you need to know what you’re doing here! <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Small <\/a>
Small quadruped died here \u2013\u00a0what do you think it was? <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Waterfall <\/a>
Waterfall overlook in late morning, clouds closing in <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"View <\/a>
View back over the big northeast basin <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Same <\/a>
Same view, a few minutes later <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Same <\/a>
Same view, just before crossing into the hanging valley <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Clouds had been closing in as I climbed above the waterfall toward the entrance to the hanging valley, the next phase of the hike. In the valley, there were still glimpses of blue sky and rays of sunlight that lit the aspen seedlings, now turning gold. I could hear the creek raging below me \u2013 the next question would be how passable it would be. The trail traverses down to the creek, where it follows the narrow bottom, crossing back and forth, for roughly a mile.<\/p>\n

The canyon bottom was beautiful with this much water, and there are enough rocks that I was able to cross \u2013 8 or 10 times \u2013 fairly easily. But it’s slow going. I keep wondering why this trail is so damn slow. It always takes more than 3 hours to complete the slightly less than 4 miles to the crest \u2013 a distance I can normally cover in less than 2 hours on other trails. On today’s hike I paid more attention, and settled on two factors: the mile following the creek, which is like an obstacle course, and the fact that much of this trail involves crossing small talus slopes which have been heavily colonized by shrubs, often thorny locust. There’s no way you can go fast across talus.<\/p>\n

I finally made it past the creek section and began the traverse to the head of the canyon and the crest of the range. That’s when I was hit with my first hailstorm of the day \u2013 a fairly light and short one, but it brought with it colder temperatures.<\/p>\n

I stopped at the cabin to take off my rain poncho and pull on a sweater, then I proceeded up to the crest, which is normally a wind tunnel. It was calm today, and the cloud ceiling was a few hundred feet above, leaving me a view across the plains to the southwest \u2013 one of the main payoffs of this hike.<\/p>\n

\"Left <\/a>
Left along the trail by previous hiker \u2013 really, you need a seat cushion when you go backpacking? <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Something's <\/a>
Something’s wrong with these ponderosa pines <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_9438\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Aspens <\/a>
Aspens turning gold along the crest <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Creek <\/a>
Creek trail goes right up here <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"And <\/a>
And through here <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Finally, <\/a>
Finally, leaving the creek trail <\/div> <\/div>
\"Hail <\/a>
Hail falling in the upper canyon <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_9454\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Backpacker <\/a>
Backpacker kindly left more trash at the cabin <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

In the saddle, at the junction with the crest trail, you can go left or right. I’d gone right in July, so it made sense to go left today, especially since the left choice offered more options. I’d arrived at the trailhead late today, so my time was shorter than usual.<\/p>\n

The first, one-mile stretch of the crest trail is a continuous traverse, blessed by that amazing view. The aspen seedlings had turned gold all across the slopes, but the heavy cloud cover muted their beauty. And all along that traverse I could hear thunder from a storm far to my right, over the range’s western foothills. I could also see a storm forming directly ahead of me, and wondered what it had in mind.<\/p>\n

At the next milestone, a junction saddle, I had a really hard time deciding where to go next. The most reasonable choice would be to climb the peak of the range, directly ahead \u2013 less than a half mile and a few hundred vertical feet. It was a dead end, so my return hike would be shorter and I’d have plenty of time to negotiate the obstacle course on the return to my vehicle.<\/p>\n

But that peak is completely forested and offers no views \u2013 a total anti-climax \u2013 so I ended up taking the other option, and risked returning to the vehicle too late for dinner at the cafe and a room at the lodge.<\/p>\n

Option two is a mile-long descending traverse around the western flank of the peak, leading to a small saddle with the potential to continue less than a mile for a view into the big southern canyon. Three different spectacular views in one hike \u2013 how could I pass that up?<\/p>\n

It’s not the easiest traverse, crossing a broad, forested talus slope with big sharp rocks. But I made the saddle in good time, checked my watch again, and decided to continue to the viewpoint into the big canyon.<\/p>\n

\"Peak <\/a>
Peak of the range shrouded <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Low <\/a>
Low ceiling over the southwest <\/div> <\/div>
\"Really <\/a>
Really big bird, I was sure it was an eagle <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"But <\/a>
But maybe it was a zone-tailed hawk? <\/div> <\/div>
\"Narrow <\/a>
Narrow view west from the traverse below the peak <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Amazing <\/a>
Amazing how much this fungus can look like a human nose – in this case dripping dew <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_9468\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Getting <\/a>
Getting pretty dark up ahead <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Saddle <\/a>
Saddle in the mist <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

I was only a short distance below the saddle when lightning struck in the cloud directly above me, I was near-deafened by thunder and lashed by gale-force wind, and more hail started crashing down. After quickly pulling my poncho back on, I was barely able to snap some pictures across the head of the canyon, before rushing back up into the partial shelter of the conifer forest.<\/p>\n

\"Lighting <\/a>
Lighting struck just as I was passing these rock formations <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Brief <\/a>
Brief view down the big southern canyon <\/div> <\/div>
\"South <\/a>
South side of the peak <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Today's <\/a>
Today’s route, across three major watersheds <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

The storm followed me up to the junction saddle, and most of the way across the traverse to the head of the first canyon, lasting longer than most of our monsoon storms. But what a view!<\/p>\n

\"That <\/a>
That big storm in the western foothills has spread across the western basin <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Do <\/a>
Do I see smoke from a little lightning fire down there? <\/div> <\/div>
\"Yep\" <\/a>
Yep <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Full <\/a>
Full panorama southwest from the traverse – with a raindrop blown on my lens at left <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

I made good time on the crest traverse and the upper part of the canyon trail, running down smooth stretches, so that by the time I reached the creek, I began to think I might actually get dinner and a room tonight. And the clouds began parting, lighting up the aspens in the hanging canyon.<\/p>\n

\"Cascade <\/a>
Cascade where the trail meets the creek <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Slime <\/a>
Slime mold on deadfall <\/div> <\/div>
\"IMG_9498\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Rays <\/a>
Rays of light in narrow, congested hanging canyon <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Bark <\/a>
Bark lichen <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Approaching <\/a>
Approaching the saddle at the low end of the hanging canyon, sky dark ahead <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

I’d been up this trail several times in the snow, and at this point, I could envision this once-in-a-lifetime monsoon simply transitioning seamlessly into a winter of heavy snow, with no break in between. We’ll see, but that would be something to remember, here in the arid Southwest.<\/p>\n

I did reach the vehicle with plenty of time, although I used up the surplus time at the trailhead changing into dry clothes and footwear, so I had to literally bounce my little Sidekick down that rocky track.<\/p>\n

Since so few people use this trail, later, when I had wifi, I checked trail reports on the popular Arizona hiking website, and found a report from early September. His story clearly suggested that he was the one who’d messed up the trail, and if so, likely left the trash I found in the hanging canyon. Not everyone who hikes is either skilled or conscientious.<\/p>\n

\"Rushing <\/a>
Rushing down the trail into the big basin, hoping to reach the vehicle in time <\/div> <\/div>
\"Algae <\/a>
Algae and fungus on bark of a burned snag <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Previous <\/a>
Previous hiker went downslope to avoid overgrowth, punching holes and increasing erosion of trail <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Vine <\/a>
Vine on deciduous tree <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"One <\/a>
One of the many late flowers of autumn <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year’s exceptional Southwest monsoon, which started early, in June, slacked off a little in mid-September. But then it resumed with a vengeance \u2013 the heaviest deluge in our local mountains occurred in late September, and in early October, with the onset of cool weather, we’ve turned into the Pacific Northwest. Not that the Pacific […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[71,114,49,59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chiricahuas","category-greenhouse","category-hikes","category-southeast-arizona"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/IMG_9486.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17757"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17817,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17757\/revisions\/17817"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}