After breakfast at the Jacob Lake Inn, I start the drive to Sowats Point, which takes about one hour. It has been raining off and on all night, but the rain subsides as I reach an empty parking lot. This place was crowded on my last hike from Sowats point. I pack my stuff and start down the trail.
The trail is easy walking and soon heads downhill, eventually going by a very nice Forest Service sign. After that, the trail remains mostly level and loops around to the north for about a mile.
The Cottonwood trees at the base of the descent soon come into view as does Racetrack Knoll far in the distance, my goal for tomorrow. This viewpoint gives me a chance to plan out my descent into Ojojojo Canyon and my ultimate climb out of Indian Hollow.
I pass a Tarantula crossing the trail and see one of the few blooming flowers on this entire hike.
As I descend the switchbacks, the sky again looks quite threatening. The rain starts just as I pull into the Cottonwood trees. A thunderstorm has stalled overhead with a lot of lightning and thunder. I have always heard that refuge under trees is not wise when there is lightning nearby, but these trees are the only place to offer some protection from the rain and hail that is now pelting me.
In a little while, the rain stops, so I head down Kwagunt Hollow a short distance and turn south over a small ridge so I can then enter Ojojojo Canyon. With all the recent rain, finding water will not be an issue.
I reach a point too far west to be able to descend into Ojojojo Canyon due to its steep sides, so I have to backtrack to the east. I wait out another rain shower under an overhang. I'm finally able to start down into the north arm of the canyon. I was expecting the going to be easier, but it is quite a bit of bush whacking and boulder hopping. The problem is that there is lots of water flowing in the creek. That prevents me from going straight down the creek bed, forcing me to alternate from one side of the creek to the other, trying to find the best line down. After another two hours of very slow progress, I check my GPS to see where I am. I placed several waypoints to assist me in determining my position including one for my intended campsite. Unfortunately, I expected to be a lot farther along than I am. There is simply no way I can reach my planned campsite tonight, which will also prevent me from reaching Racetrack Knoll tomorrow. Rain is again falling, so I think the better course of action is to head back uphill and look for a campsite and then hike on out tomorrow.
There really are no good places to camp in Ojojojo Canyon and I'm not looking forward to spending the night in the open without my tent when there is probably going to be more rain. I then see an overhang near a pour-off that has one flat spot several inches above the water line. That spot will just accommodate my tent. Since we have already had so much rain today, I'm hoping the water flow will not increase any during the night even if we get more rain.
After supper, I head to bed. MAIN INDEX | HIKING INDEX | BACK TO PREFACE | FORWARD TO DAY 2
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