Day 4: Thinkin' About Speedway Jesus
May 19, 2023
Watson Tank to Russell Tank
15.5 miles
Last night's rain kept our tent damp through to the morning so we woke up to condensation on the walls of our tent and moisture on the feet of our sleeping bags as the rubbed up against the tent. We'll have to explode our packs again at breakfast to dry the tent and sleeping bags out in the sun. There's rain forecasted each afternoon the next few days, but after that it should be clear and sunny for the last bit of our trip
This morning was by far the coldest we've had so far. My phone said 6°C, but it was possibly colder as the weather stations tend to be closer to urban areas. I put my gloves on for the first time this trip as we packed up our camp.
Today's hike has been much more undulating than yesterday. I think our map app that we use (Far Out, formerly known as Guthook) said it would be about 1000 feet of ascent and descent today. We'll follow along an escarpment so we'll be up and down a ridge all day.
As the sun rose and illuminated the moistened flora in the beginning miles of the day and the birds chirped their morning songs, my mind started to wonder. I've said this before, but it's this state of mind that I love most about backpacking. You really need to be out here for a few days, but time starts to become irrelevant. Even the distance itself seems irrelevant at times. My mind has the space to wander in ways it can't otherwise in normal life. It also thinks so much clearer; my thoughts are so sharp when on the trail.
You also have these random thoughts that pop up; your mind has the freedom to do so. Today is Fast Friday, which for those who don't know is the final practice session before Indianapolis 500 qualifying. Qualifying at Indy is in many ways a race in and of itself. It's the fastest the cars go all year and the prestige of qualifying on pole at Indy is unparalleled in any other form of motorsport. So Fast Friday brings big speeds previously unseen in other practice sessions where teams are working on their race day setups. Anyway while thinking about Fast Friday and wondering what results there may be at the end of the day, JR Hildebrand's nickname "Speedway Jesus" (he has long black hair) popped into my head and made me chuckle. I love all the random—sometimes out of the blue thoughts you have out here. Fully formed ideas have been developed while out on the trail. Few other environments can be so conducive to thought, serious, random, or otherwise.
We stopped at a lookout tower for breakfast where we got out our wet gear to dry. I checked up on Fast Friday timing & scoring and posted some blogs while the service was good. Before we headed out we climbed the tower which included views of the Grand Canyon.
The environment today while similar to yesterday has brought a slightly different landscape. Beyond the terrain, there's less scrubby bushes like sage brush and otherwise and more grasses and Gambel Oak to accompany the ever present Ponderosa Pine.
We paused at a water tank (an actual tank with trough) to get some water that will take us to camp. This water is way clearer and cold, unlike the cow pond we got water from yesterday. I noticed the buzzing of a ton of flies and could see them swarming around something. I walked over to their little fly mosh pit to see what they were fussing over and found a partially decayed bobcat! Most of the fur and bone structure was still in tact. I've never seen a bobcat in the wild and despite this being a dead one, was such a cool (albeit weird) experience.
A storm cloud came looming in from the northeast as we approached noon. Afternoon thunderstorms have been the regular here but we haven't yet been affected too badly by them at least while hiking. The cloud was moving slowly as we approached it from the North so we decided to take an earlier than expected lunch break to wait it out while we were in a low area.
While we were able to wait out that storm we weren't so lucky later in the day. Sprinkles turned to rain turned to pea sized hail in a matter of minutes and while the hail eventually subsided, the rain persisted for another hour or so, totally delfating our spirits.
We did, however, get to see a small herd of six elk running across the trail a ways ahead of us. They were likely scared of us approaching as were a group of cows and their babies we saw earlier in the morning.
Nothing makes being in the backcountry more miserable than being wet. Everything gets wet. It sucks. We set up camp next to Russell Tank which is actually a lake. Not convinced on this "tank" nomenclature. The area has a small gravel parking lot and a privy which is a luxyfor us. We grabbed some water from the lake while swallows swooped over the water's now still surface now that the rain has passed.
The next couple days still call for afternoon rain. I honestly didn't think we'd get so much rain in the fucking desert. Shit, Halifax is probably having better weather than we're getting. The long range forecast says drier days are ahead so I'll proceed with that hope in mind. For now, I'm going to snuggle myself up in my down sleeping bag and pretend I'm next to the fireplace.
