Not knowing what the day would bring, whether I would be down in the south unit or hiking the north unit, I woke up early and packed my backpack for any and everything. Headed to the visitor's center around the time that everyone gets in. As luck would have it, Ryan stopped in and had the day available to journey down south. Weather showed 40% chance of rain and high in the 50s, which is decent enough. Knowing it would be chilly on the UTV, I added a couple layers of clothes including a base layer and rain gear. Fantastic choice. My hands and feet were cold most of the day, but I was comfortable everywhere else. We headed south side to the v/c there around 9am, loaded up the UTV, and headed across the highway to the road that leads to Palmer Creek. It was actually Ryan's first time in Palmer - he's been here over a year and has had to patrol all areas of the park, and yet even he had not been into this unit. He brought his GPS so we could map the day's route and plot some of the unmarked roads onto a map. It was misty/foggy all day, and quite windy, so everything was wet and muddy (the UTVs wheels kicked up clods of mud which were hitting us in the face all day). Made photography rather challenging, but I still got some okay shots. We drove a lot of the roads in Palmer, including the only two roads that are on the map. Also drove through the place where the chief ranger got us stuck last week (see Search and Rescue blog entry). The road only went a little bit further than the stuck place. Intrigued by the many canyons opening up further along, we parked the UTV and hiked in. There were dirt bike trails that continued past the established two-track road (not legal), and Ryan wanted to check where they went. As we got further in, we found more and more interesting rocks and erosion patterns. Lots of calcedony dikes. Lots of fossils.
One of the really cool finds today was some incredibly large scat. We looked at each other over that and agreed that it appeared to be mountain lion. A ways further into this slot canyon, I was paused for photos while Ryan continued along. I guess he called out to check on me, and I didn't hear. He then came across pretty fresh mountain lion tracks in the mud, and as I got closer he heard a branch snap and got nervous. I heard a frantic sounding "Jessss????" He said he was freaked out enough to be ready with his hand next to his pistol in case I was that mountain lion. We came to the end of that canyon, and on the way back out tried another that connected in. This one was very narrow and steep, but we were able to get all the way up on top. As I scrambled up, I put my hand out to get a grip, and found an incredibly complete fossil lizard skull and neck! Took lots of photos and emailed a couple to Ed (paleo), who is terribly excited. I took a bunch of photos up at the top of this slot canyon, it was a fantastic view. Ryan continued on, got around and up another area, and then to get to the very top-most spot, did some crazy scrambling up an almost vertical shelf. He yelled back down to tell me I absolutely had to come up and see this, and to bring my cameras. With a heavy pack on, this proved most challenging. I got over to the edge of this (slightly sloping) cliff, and followed the step-like prints Ryan left, which usually works for getting a grip in this type of rock. However, the material here is very very crumbly and fine, and each time I put a foot on a print, it gave out under me. I still managed to scramble up a ways, and Ryan pointed out a plant to grab onto that was well rooted. I managed to just barely reach it, but then I was supposed to pull myself up on it. Yeah, right. I might barely have the arm strength to do so without a pack on, but all I could do was dangle with the extra 30ish pounds I was wearing. Ryan said to reach out an arm and he could haul me up and over the cliff, but it felt like my arm was going to come off. He grabbed my pack to haul me up, but it half slid off. I tried to slide all the way out of the pack so he could pull it up and I could get myself up, but I got stuck in my pack. It was ridiculous. I did get out of the pack, but it was all I could do to get it up to shoulder level - I couldn't toss it up to him. Must start lifting weights. He still got it, and then hauled me up and over by my arm as I scrambled my feet up the cliff. It was so worth the effort. The view from up there was spectacular. As we stood there looking, Ryan said he wants a painting of this spot. I said of course I have to paint it. It was really incredible, made more so by the fog and mist. After lots of photos with pauses to wipe moisture/rain off the camera and lens, we climbed back over the ledge and quite literally slid back down the cliff-side. Headed back out through yet another slot canyon that Ryan had spotted and scoped from up above. At this point it was around 2pm, and we had to head out in order to get back out of Palmer by 4ish to get the UTV back and get Ryan home not too much after his work day was over. With the continued mist and rain all day, things were far muddier on the way out, and we were covered in dirt, head to foot. Had to stop periodically to thaw our hands on the hot exhaust from the UTV. It was a magical day amongst the fog-shrouded buttes and formations of Palmer Creek. These are a few of the shots of us and the incidental adventures. For a brief visual tour of Palmer, see next post.
Ryan prepping the UTV.
The I-beam bridge over Porcupine Creek.
Already miles down the private access road that leads to the elusive Palmer Creek unit.
The northern start of the west road into Palmer. Buttes appear in the mist at a distance.
Lots of drainage and creek crossings such as this. Many are far more steep, some are rocky, some mud.
The spot where the chief ranger and I were stuck last week. This is almost at the end of the eastern road.
Very large scat, we guessed mountain lion.
The guess of mountain lion was likely confirmed after finding a stretch of prints. This is Ryan's large hand next to the print for scale.
Lizard skull and neck. I already forgot which lizard. Have to ask Ed again.
The cliff that Ryan hauled me up is at the top, far left of this image. We first had to climb down behind where Ryan is standing to get over and up to the cliff.
Partial panorama of the view up top.
A stop to warm frozen hands on the tail pipe.
Mud covered. A thin coating since the mud was diluted by the consistent mist.
A well dirtied UTV, post trip. My backpack is so muddy, it may never look the same!
