I meet Keith and Bob at the Jacob Lake Inn for breakfast at 7:00. We then drive to Sowats Point, which takes just over one hour. After a little packing, our hike starts around 9:30.
We only find a few flowers along the way, but that is to be expected in October. We come across a Horned Toad on the trail. These used to be everywhere in Oklahoma when I was a kid, but I haven't seen one in many years. At the base of the initial descent is a very nice Forest Service sign.
We then loop around to the north for about a mile on a level trail and are treated to some great views of the Esplanade, Kwagunt Hollow, Ojojojo Canyon, and Indian Hollow. My objective for tomorrow, Racetrack Knoll, can be seen far in the distance I travel down the steep switchbacks and take a break at the Cottonwood trees at the bottom. Bob has been having difficulty with the steep descent and arrives a half-hour later. After an extended break, we go down Kwagunt a short distance, turn to the south, and head toward Ojojojo Canyon. Right away we come to some Cryptobiotic soil that you should avoid walking on. We then find an established trail that we take until our descent.
I learned on my previous hike here that you should avoid the first (most northerly) arm of Ojojojo and instead go down the south arm. I placed a waypoint on my GPS where I believed the proper descent point was. Upon reaching it, we start down. Pretty soon we come to an obstacle requiring a little scrambling that I don't recall. On my previous trip, I remember it was just a walk down, so I'm confused that there is any difficulty here. We have lunch and then proceed further until reaching a very large, non-negotiable pour-off. I didn't encounter any of this before, so I've clearly taken us down an arm too far south. Keith and Bob tell me they are going to backtrack to the top and go down the next arm to the north. I believe I can pass this pour-off by traversing a high, narrow, scary section for a few hundred yards and then making my way down to the creek bed at the end. Everything works out well, but I don't recommend this at all as my apprehension was high the entire time and a fatal fall could have happened at any time.
I wait for Keith and Bob for an hour and a half and then leave them a note indicating I am moving on to camp in Indian Hollow. Next to my footprints in the mud are those of some animal, possibly a coyote.
Near the lower end of Ojojojo Canyon I come to Ojojojo Spring. I am surprised that there is this much water here. Water continues flowing almost all the way to Indian Hollow. Just before Indian Hollow, you come to a large pour-off requiring some light scrambling to get past.
I reach Indian Hollow in just a few more minutes and find a nice little flat spot there for our tents. Keith arrives in about an hour and reports that Bob is very sick and has remained in Ojojojo Canyon for the night near one of the water sources.
Fortunately, we have a large pool of water only a few feet from our campsite, so filtering water is easy. MAIN INDEX | HIKING INDEX | BACK TO PREFACE | FORWARD TO DAY 2
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