Big Horn View & Rim Trail

4/3/09

I woke in the morning excited about hiking along the rim of Dead Horse Point. Clouds drifted through but there was enough sucker-holes to make me want to get on with it. So I grabbed my pack and the dog to explore the rim views and formations - hoping to see potholes and maybe a few animals.

We first went north from the campground to Big Horn View to see the potholes and at least get a couple of miles in just in case the weather turned yucky as it was predicted to do. Hiking in the desert is a lot different than hiking here in the northwest. The trail isn't always obvious and is often marked with little stone cairns which are easy to miss if you're not paying attention. I got side-tracked several ties where needed to stop take stock of the "trail" and turnaround for the real one. Even though the country is so open, I could easily see how I could get lost.

I let Olympia's leash drop so she could explore a little wider scope. But I held her close as we approached the cliff walls. I could also quickly grab it when people came by to both give the others a sense of security that my dog wouldn't jump all over them and give them kisses, plus the added sense that we were following the rules of the park. I'm sorry if this offends anyone, but come-on - it's Olympia, you know, Ole-Gimpy? All she wants to do is get belly rubs from anyone willing. And wildlife? chasing them is out of the question. She couldn't even chase her own tail with the legs she's got right now. So if letting her drag her lash behind her in the sand is evil, then I am sorry for you poor state of judgement.

We got back to camp for lunch and I downloaded the images I had so far taken on my trip. Then the sky cleared and Olympia jumped on the trail heading southward to the point. I figured we could hike that and be back in camp in time for dinner, relax a bit, get up early for sunrise then mosey on home. Yeah, I noticed that, I was already stretching beyond the day in my plans. Remember I mentioned the weather report? That the weather would take a turn for the worse? Well, what we had was the largest sucker-hole I'd seen in a long time. We were out for 2 hours enjoying the warmth and the views when the wind kicked up. Followed by rain, which in turn was followed by snow. and wee weren't even o the point yet.

The image above illustrates the drama a storm has as it slowly moves across the canyonlands. By the time wee made the point, both Olympia & I had had about enough but we still had a couple of miles to go before it was over. We hurried through the second half of the hike. I kept note of some of the views I wanted to see again but mostly wee just walked as fast as we could through the wind and snow.

Olympia went straight into the tent as I quickly heated up a can of chili and we ate in the pseudo-comfort of the tent. Winter was not quite over in the canyonlands.