9:05a - Marion Point

It really didn't get as cold as I expected it too last night and I don't think it went below freezing. I got up at one point, just after midnight, and went outside and it didn't feel bad. There was quite a bit of wind though and at times it was gusting very strongly, perhaps 20-30 mph but I have no way of knowing for sure.

I decided against the Marion-Seiber route. I stood there at the head of the Nankoweap Trail listening to the water... it was definitely water not wind, and it sounded like a lot of it. I could not see anything because it was way down in the gorge and it would take too long to get down there just to check the situation out. I did see one small waterfall of snow melt later on, draining into the gorge, and I imagine there are lots of those further up canyon feeding this where there is more snow. I know that route requires navigation of some small dry falls and if they are covered with gushing brown water it does not sound like fun and could actually be rather terrifying. So I don't know if it was fear, or common sense, or some combination of both that finally won out but I knew I definitely did not want to be down there. I saw Chuck's truck parked at the trailhead yesterday and I wonder which way he went.

So the plan for today is to go all the way to Nankoweap Creek on this trail. I am taking a short rest here at Marion Point and then will push on for Tilted Mesa. I am hoping to be there by noon or 1 pm at the latest. I will take an extended rest break there and then push on down to the creek.

It's very peaceful here. I am sitting in some shade behind Marion Point listening to all of the birds. It did not get as cold as I thought it would last night, perhaps mid 40s. It is probably already in the 60s here and could easily hit 80 by noon. It is going to be a long, hot and tiring day.

7:50p - Nankoweap camp

I arrived here a little after 3... made pretty good time. The lower portion of the Nankoweap Trail, below Tilted Mesa, is not very user-friendly though, and I could not wait for that part to be over.

I stopped for one short break between Marion Point and Tilted Mesa and then took an extended break for lunch on Tilted Mesa. I arrived there just a few minutes after noon, found a small Pinyon pine with some shade, ate lunch and then rested until 1. I actually lay down and closed my eyes for about a half hour and it felt awesome to be there.

When I got to the creek I thought briefly about heading up creek a little but I was exhausted and just wanted to crash. It would have been nice if I could have gone to visit with the guys camped up there but that wasn't going to happen. After setting up camp I used the satellite phone to call Robin and inform her of the change in my plans.

As I was getting ready for dinner my ranger friend, Chuck, showed up in camp... with 3 other rangers in tow. They came down the Marion-Seiber route yesterday and he said there was lots of water but it was not that bad. He said he talked with the guys up creek and they were going that way. After picking his brain a little further it seems that what might have been "not bad" for a party of 4 might well have been "very bad" for a solo hiker. They had to use ropes to pass packs around waterfalls in a couple of places and I could not have been able to do that alone.

I am going to try and stick with the original plan of Mystic Falls for tomorrow and Kolb Bridge the next day but I am leaving my camp here so these day hikes will take a lot longer than originally planned.

Chuck is going out on Monday through Little Nankoweap and I may just head out a day early to have someone to do it with. He was originally planning to use the Boy Scout/49.5 mile route but he sounds intrigued about this new route that goes straight up to the point and would like to try it. The Nankoweap Mesa hike is probably going to get bumped.

It is absolutely amazing how much water is coming down Nankoweap Creek. The other 2 times I have been here (both in the autumn) it has been a very small flow that you could easily just step across. Now it requires looking for 3 or 4 rocks in just the right place to form a rock hopping pattern to the other side. My estimate would be about two or three times the normal flow rate for Clear Creek... several hundred, perhaps even a couple of thousand, gallons per minute. There are four major drainages that come together down here and feed into this creek and they are all running when normally only the main drainage would be. Amazing. Unplanned.