8-17-06
Start: Westwater, UT
Destinaation: The only tree for miles near Cisco, UT
Elevation: 4,278 ft.
Miles: 16.6
Weather: Hot and Dry
It's so nice to not have to deal with rain for a little while. In the mountains, at least the grass got greener and the wildflowers popped out. That rain we got here a couple of days ago seems to have done nothing but dry back into cracked dirt, or left thick, wet clay spots for us to step in.
Our walk this morning was a little bit mentally challenging. It was very desolate with not much scenery. Just some sage brush and a rock pile every now and then. We did walk by a string of railroad cars... After a few long hours we saw the Colorado River off to our left. That was pretty. The day was already hot at 8am, so we were dreaming of swimming.
We got to a junction that turned us to the right, but the Cisco Boat Ramp was to the left .3 miles. So we went to the ramp. We found a spot in the shade, waded in the water up to our waist, then laid down for a siesta. It was just too hot to hike.
When we woke up we got to watch a raft full of boys offload and pack up, then another raft came in. Then some kayaks and another raft. It looked like they were all having a really good time. I'd love to try that some day, too!
We packed up and hiked on. We hit our water drop and decided to hike another half mile to a tree we saw way off in the distance. Last night we woke up 3 times to a huge pack of yelping, screeching, yipping coyotes. And each time they sounded closer. There was no place to hang our food, so we had it in the tent and became paranoid. After the wolf thing... So tonight we aimed for the tree. We just sleep better when that food isn't in with us. I think we'll have a good night.
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