Date: 2009-03-04
To: Enchanted Rock -- Day 2
Miles today: 0.0

What a beautiful night last night was. Warm!! The moon was so bright and without my rain fly on I had trouble going to sleep. It also kept me from seeing as many stars as I was hoping for, but it did help me avoid the prickly pears when I went out to water the dirt (there weren't any leaves to water). I'm telling you that avoiding the prickly pears is very important. Ha. The other thing that I noticed was that the night was so quiet. My camp sight was pretty close to a road, but I heard no traffic, but what was more odd was that I heard absolutely no wildlife or crickets or insects. None. It was so still, just gusts of wind every once in awhile. The moon was supposed to set around 1:45, I think, but by the time I woke up in the middle of the night the clouds had moved in and I never did get to see the stars like I had hoped. Oh well, I don't know if I will ever see the stars like I did when I was in the middle of no where while in Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm. I woke up around 7:00 and I heard the birds chirping. What a lovely alarm clock. I laid there just enjoying the morning when two little birds landed right next to my tent. I lay very still and watched them peck around in the dirt and chirping a little tune. I thought what a wonderful way to start the day. It was also nice to wake up to 58o instead of 28o.I was in no hurry to get the day going, but I finally got back on the trail a little after 9. The plan for the day was to head back to the ranger station to change my campsite for tonight and then head back to the top of Enchanted Rock to do the route that John had suggested to me. So, off I hiked. Part of the trail back to the ranger station goes through the creek bed and I found the perfect rock for my friend Billie. She collects rocks from different locations and if I find something I think is unique I take it home to her; however, I do find her small rocks. Took me less than five minutes to change my reservation and I headed up to the top of Enchanted Rock. Today, I took little mini-breaks as I went up, which are just little pauses to take a deep breath and then continue up. When I got to the top I explored around more than I ever had before. I went as far to the right as I felt safe going and looked over at Freshman Rock, Buzzard's Roost Rock and the area that I camped last night. Then back up and then down the far side of the rock where there was this indention in the face of the rock where there was a nice break from the wind. The wind is so strong up there that I felt like I could be blown off the top of the rock and it was nice to get out of the wind for a bit. Back to the top again and I looked west toward Little Rock. John told me that you could go down Enchanted Rock, over Little Rock and eventually to the Main Loop that I had done yesterday. This route was also confirmed by Rod, another friend of mine. There is not an actual trail and I would need to find my own way. I went a little ways down Enchanted Rock which gave me a great view of where I need to go. I marked out a path visually that I was going to try to follow and down I headed. Now I was having great fun. I was on a hike that I had never been on before, seeing new sites. What fun I had! I didn't walk very straight and went off to explore different features of the rock always returning to the path I had marked in my head at the top. Between Enchanted Rock and Little Rock there is a trail called Echo Canyon and as I stood in the middle of the trail looking for my route up Little Rock I saw what looked like a very big black squirrel (it was not a squirrel but I don't know what it was exactly) watching me. I'd move and it would run a little further up the hill then turn around and look at me. We played this game for a few minutes before he got tired of the game and disappeared in a crack of the rock. I found my route and headed up Little Rock. When I got part way up the side of Little Rock I turned around to take a gander at Enchanted Rock and what do I see put three groups of two people each following me. This must be a more popular route than I thought. I took a couple of pictures and continued up. I tried to find challenging terrain and not always the easiest path. Places that required large steps up or places that required me to squat down before going down. In other words, I tried to find obstacles that needed to be negotiated. It made the trip that much more fun. There was a lot more vegetation on Little Rock which means more prickly pears to avoid. I got to the top and took a break and watched those behind me navigate down enchanted rock. Then I faced west and looked at the next hill (it has no name on the map) I had to climb over and found the next route I wanted to follow. I've got to tell you I'm having the time of my life right now. So, I head down and I see another barrel cactus in bloom and I want a picture (I like taking pictures of flowers), but it is on a very steep slope. I finally got the picture and walked on. It took me no time to get down Little Rock and up top of no name rock. On top, there is an outcropping of rock that I decide to climb on just to see if I can with my pack. There were two large granite rocks with a small pathway between them. I fit easily through then all of a sudden I¢m stuck! My zlite thermarest is wedged between the two rocks. I forced my way through (my zlite does have some scuff marks to show for it) and maneuvered my way to the top. Not a huge climb by any means, but fun anyway. I climb down and continue hiking. Off in the distance I see the Main Loop trail that is my destination and plot my route. When I got to the bottom of no name hill things started to get a little more complicated, because the brush got thicker and there were no paths to follow. So I just headed west crashing through and making my own path and guess what I stumbled on? They certainly made me jump and they took off like I startled them! It was like twenty deer. Now I know where all the deer are. I finally crossed a pretty defined trail, but it doesn't look like something I walked yesterday. Hmmmmm..... I finally got out my GPS to check if I've made it to the main loop trail. (I saved the route I took yesterday in case I needed it today. Ha.) Not at the main loop trail yet. I see a slight hill in front of me, so I decide to hike to the top of that to have a look see and I see that some power lines cross over the trail I'm headed for. I follow the power lines and there is the trail. How much fun was that? Once again, I must thank John for suggesting this route. It wasn't very long mileage wise, but it was a ton of fun! I hike the main loop trail back to the car camping area and the picnic area and decide to have lunch. As I'm sitting there I start thinking about Mark (my fabulous husband) and start missing him. Knowing that I'm about to be separated from him for six months or so, I decide to head home and leave Moss Lake and the rest of the park for another time. I did have a great time and feel pretty good about my fitness level and equipment. I know that I'm not even close to AT trail fitness level, but I think if I take it slow for the first few weeks I will be okay. Until next time.