Bob and Keith drive up about 9:45 and I take them to Sowats Point at the top of the hill next to the parking lot. The view from here is quite good of Indian Hollow, Kwagunt Hollow, Sowats Canyon, and the Esplanade. We find a Geological Survey marker with a date of 1953, which apparently is when this area was surveyed.
Then it's back to the parking lot where we start getting ready for our hike. Our plan today is to go all the way to Mountain Sheep Spring. The trailhead sign indicates the official name of this trail is the Jumpup-Nail Trail. This obviously is a very popular area as the parking lot is filled.
We start down a little before 11:00. Right away I find some flowers in bloom near the start of the trail. At the base of the first descent, we reach an unusually nice Forest Service sign.
The trail then levels out and begins to loop around to the north for about a mile before plunging straight down a series of switchbacks to the Esplanade. Our first destination is a bunch of cottonwood trees at the head of Kwagunt Hollow on the Esplanade.
I pull into the Cottonwood trees a little after noon. Bob and Keith arrive about ten minutes later. Bob immediately proclaims just how much he enjoyed descending the steep switchbacks. We are surprised that we can't find a good spot at the trees to rest or sit, so we make do the best we can while having lunch.
After lunch we continue down the trail, find a cairn marking an intersection, and take the right branch that goes to the north across the Esplanade. The trail is generally level and the walking is pretty easy. In a little while, we come to some Cryptobiotic soil that you should avoid walking on.
I am surprised to find this many plants and flowers in bloom in October.
A little later, we find some interesting black fungus on some rocks.
About an hour and a half after lunch, we start the descent into Sowats Canyon, which requires some light scrambling. The creek bed of Sowats Canyon is gravel and cobblestones, so the walking is fairly easy.
Another half-hour and we reach Mountain Sheep Spring. We are all surprised with the large amount of water flowing from the spring. There is a nice area for camping right beside the creek.
This entire area is very pretty. I never expected the creek bed to suddenly go from being bone dry to having this much water.
Our plan tomorrow is to continue down Sowats Canyon until reaching Jumpup Canyon, then go down Jumpup past Kwagunt Hollow and Indian Hollow until we reach Kanab Creek, and finally go upstream in Kanab Creek about a half-mile until we reach the "Hidden Pool." MAIN INDEX | HIKING INDEX | BACK TO PREFACE | FORWARD TO DAY 2
|