Day 08 to La Jolla Canyon

"It is just verbiage."- John

53 miles, 3100 ft climbing

We continued our trek northward on FR 150. Our early AM start granted us some great wildlife encounters. First up- a large herd of elk mom's and calves in the valley below camp. Around Wall Lake we saw more elk and wild turkeys. By mid morning we were at Beaverhead Work Center, where national forest fire crews are stationed. We filled up on water, obtained sodas from their machine, and chatted for a while with Chris. He had worked several season on the fire crew and was quite interested in our trip. The fire season had started early with the drought and was about to get busier with all the lightning that accompanies the SW monsoons in July. We contemplated heading east to The Black Range to ride more of the CDT (I knew there was nice single track there) but it was 30 miles out of the way and there were no reliable water sources so we stuck to the road. At one point, coming around a sandstone cliff, we passed within feet of a young spotted elk calf seeking the shade of the rocky outcrop.

The area was remote. We only saw 5 vehicles that day. We were past the boundaries of the official Gila and Leopold wilderness areas but this part felt just as wild. We got into philosophic discussions of what constitutes wilderness. John seemed to sum it up best with the above quote then Cassi asked "Would you rather spend your entire life in a big city never being able to leave or in wilderness and never see another person?" No one could answer.

That afternoon we reached Collins Park, the western most point on our trip. Further west we could see smoke from the massive fire that was building along the AZ-NM border. We dropped down La Jolla Canyon, hoping to find water, but it was dry. Fortunately we did find a windmill. Its blades were spinning but at first sight the water, contained in a narrow algae filled trough surrounded by trampled cow patties, seemed questionable. I climbed a massive 30 foot wide and 10 foot deep steel holding tank above the trough. Less algae, but 3 drowned squirrels floating on top were a deterrent. Reaching as far possible over the tank, I could just place a water bottle under the pipe that came directly from the ground. It was cold and clear and tasted excellent. Though the canyon had been over grazed and the drought had turned what little vegetation was left virtually to dust, we were glad for the windmill. No cows would mean no water in such a dry year. We traveled to where the canyon opened up and bedded down for the night.

new plants seen- woolly daisy, desert sand verbena

animals identified- elk, turkey, rock squirrel, Abert's squirrel, pinon jay, sagebrush sparrow, raven