Start: Rio Grande
As I neared the San Lorenzo wash which my route went up, I was unsure of what I would find. There had been flash flooding in the entire area, and this was a large wash. As with a few days ago, I was unsure if it would still be flowing or dry. When I first hit it, it was grassy and muddy, but I followed the levee upstream, crossing a railroad and a road, after which the wash became dry and firm like before. That was great news for me, since the alternative could have been me leaving the trail.
The hills began to close in on the wash, and a 4×4 track joined in. After a while, some off roaders came in and passed me.Rock formations became more interesting, and an actual hiking trail appeared. At this point, I had 2 options. Either continue down the wash and pass through the heart of the San Lorenzo Canyon, while also having the opportunity to explore a side slot canyon, or take the hiking trail and see the canyon from the rim.
I love slot canyons, so I opted for the main route. However, a few minutes later I passed a second trailhead for the same trail network, and it pulled on me to get on some actual hiking trail since it had been a few days. I ended up changing my mind and taking the trail.The trail quickly headed up to the rim of the canyon which it followed as closely as it could. It offered views of the canyon as well as the rugged surrounding land, so it was a good choice. I then heard blaring Mexican music coming from the off roaders in the canyon, which definitely was better experienced from the rim and not inside the canyon.
It was a nice hike on the rim, but the trail petered out in the end, leaving me to finish the route cross country and negotiate a steep descent on loose dirt and rock to get back into the canyon. I made it, but it wasn’t the best.
The canyon narrowed even more and there were a couple pinch points to get through, one with a chock rock wedged between the canyon walls, and a second pourover flowing with water.The pourover was a little difficult to get up since there were not great handholds and it was about as high as I am tall. I couldn’t get up it with my pack on, so I heaved it up onto rock above, and then was able to scramble up it myself. When I got to the top I saw that I had heaved my pack right into the stream, but it hadn’t soaked through yet, luckily.
The canyon then began to quickly disappear and the wash was again on a wide plain. The flowing water disappeared, and I took a break and refilled my water since there were only cow troughs ahead which I had no idea if they were filled or how contaminated with cow they could be.
The day got hot since all the clouds of yesterday had cleared out. After most of the day in the San Lorenzo Wash, it continued on into the hills, but my time with it came to an end, and I turned off onto a 4×4 track with a couple dry cow troughs.
I topped off my water at a rancher well to my full capacity since it was hot with not a bit of potential relief from the sun. Down more 4×4 track through this barren stretch until I began to see some juniper on the horizon. I decided I would get to some shade for my next break. I wasn’t going to sit down in the sun, that wouldn’t be much of a relief.
The road turned into cow path, which lead me down into a wash which turned out to be a beautiful oasis of poplars. The wash had obviously been flowing high yesterday in the flooding, with water marks as much as 10 feet or so above the center of the wash, but now there was not even a puddle left, just some mud.
The trail only joined this wash briefly, and I definitely took a break in the shade before setting out again across the desert. I dried my stuff from last night. Looking ahead on the trail, it would be another 6 miles or so to the next potential cover, where I was in essentially a sandy oasis with plenty of shade at the moment. It was only 3:30, way earlier than I normally stop for the day, but I didn’t need to go any further really since I’m hitting town early tomorrow regardless. So I made the unusual decision to stop for the day at this early hour.
I didn’t know what to do with myself, but I ended up laying around on the sand in the shade, and just enjoyed the solitude of this oasis.