This part was 2.1 miles, 500’ ascent, 167’ descent, 1:43 elapsed time.
I still didn’t really have a plan or a goal from this point on. My feet advised me to find a campsite. Low on water, I promised myself that I would walk only until I found water, and then decide what to do. I was climbing gradually out of Boulder Canyon, with Palomino Mountain on my right (west) and Black Top Mesa on my left (east). I stepped off the trail as I was climbing up the canyon wall, as I met 6 horseback riders coming down. I am guessing that the lead and last men were the wranglers, and the 3 men and one woman in the middle were the “dudes.” One guy was riding in Bermuda shorts, and his legs were all scratched up. The woman did not look at all happy. Later on, I would be climbing steeply, over boulders covered in scrapes caused by sliding horseshoes, and I could guess why she wasn’t thrilled.
Quite an unanticipated climb
I kept getting closer to these monoliths…
But I never seemed to reach them
Once or twice I walked by an acceptable camp site, and then walked over to the creek bed, but found no water. I needed to find water before sleeping, because I would need water to hike out in the morning. I could get through the night without eating or drinking, but I would need some in the morning. Every time I found a camp spot, there was no water nearby.
When I got to the beginning of the steep climb, it was just after a sharp left hand turn (on the map above) to cross the (dry) creek and just after passing the Peralta Trail intersection. That really was the point of no return. The turn was the first of several switchbacks, but the scale was so large I couldn’t see that from the bottom. As I went up and up, the view kept getting better, and the land, drier.
Although my sore feet argued, I started pressing a little bit, to get to the top. Still with the intention of deciding what to do when I found water.