October and now into November, as mentioned, has been extremely busy. I do not have to rehash what was said before.
When a client had to delay their work until Monday evening, I gained my weekend back.
The grin on my face would not go away late Friday afternoon. My time bank had funds in it again. I could again spend the weekend outside.
Enjoy the cool night air, the sky above and the simple act of walking somewhere in the backcountry.
But where to go? My usual methods for finding trips were perused.
And then I narrowed the choices down further…
My first choice had the good potential of rain. Which means the BLM roads would be a sloppy mess with the very real potential of getting stuck.
I still wanted a canyon backpacking trip, however.
I thought of where I went more than two years ago.
A place that is in-between.
Where the mountains meet the foothills and then the almost desert like plains.
I went back to the Grape Creek WSA.
A pleasant place that I enjoyed with the late splash of fall color.
The weather was more spring like than fall.
And at a little over two hours from my current home, not a bad drive at all.
The water level was lower than that Easter Sunday over two years ago. But the canyon the creek flowed through was still enticing.
The remnants of campfire rings became less prominent as I made my way down the canyon.
The flora of the Wet Mountains gave way to cholla and other desert-like plants found on the High Plains.
I made camp and enjoyed a hot drink while listening to the creek meandering not too far away.
Sleep soon overtook me.
Perhaps it is telling that I had one of the soundest nights of sleep I have had in a while. Nearly thirteen hours.
My large sleep deficit was finally addressed.
The following morning I woke up to some cool, fall-like weather. But the sun soon warmed up the canyon. I was soon was in rolling up my sleeves instead of the light fleece and wearing a boonie hat instead of my balaclava.
Remnants of past years were very much in evidence.
An overlook gave a fine view up-stream into the heart of the Wet Mountains.
I continued to marvel at the transitional fauna in this area.
My exit from the canyon was soon reached.
I drove back down to town and had a look over to the mountains in the distance.
Time to head home. Refreshed. And in a better state to face both the work load and the personal challenges ahead.
Paul, I’m glad you had a nice getaway… and congratulations on 13 hours of sleep!