Memories from October 5, 2018
I woke up to may alarm at 5:00am but didn’t manage to actually get in the trail until 5:45am. Things got tough fast.
That water is mid-thigh and opaque.
Don’t let the evidence of trail work fool you, this was some solid bushwhacking until about the time the sky started tuning light and things began to open up.
The wash pushes you west and if I’d actually looked at the map instead of thinking “get to the road” I would have been carried along the proper route. Instead I punched through some reeds and a water filled ditch to make it to the road. At that point I pulled out the map and realized I should have just stayed in the wash.
A brief road walk west and I was back in Courthouse Wash which has an intermittent trail. Unfortunately, the tail will try to kill you if you don’t outsmart it by crossing to the trail on the other side of the wash at the lowest point of the water. Otherwise, you get trapped against the canyon wall and try crossing neck deep stagnant water.
After getting the hang of it Lower Courthouse Wash was something of a fun obstacle course with the feel of a Tough Mudder.
I made it to the road into Moab around 11am and walked into town. A peach seller recommended Gearheads as a place to replace my bent pole and the compass I lost, probably during the neck-September adventure. The place is a gem. Very helpful and will refill you water.
After a burger at the Moab Brewery, I’m on my way out of town to see if I can get across Kane Creek before the rain as was recommended by Bill at Gearheads. He actually recommended I stay in town and wait out the rain but I’m from the Pacific Northwest so I wasn’t having it.
I’ll finish this post when I have service again.
Isaac Takes A Hike 