Reaching the trailhead was an adventure in itself. We went from paved highway to gravel Forest Service road to dirt road to a really scary track introduced by a sign warning "steep, narrow road, sharp curves." No mention of the washboard surface that threatened to throw the Jeep over the edge, however.
The trail was basically flat with only 400' of elevation change over the 10 miles we hiked. The challenge was coping with exposure--there was no shade and no water--so we were in full sun for five hours during the hottest part of the day. On the way out we traveled west, with the sun at our backs; on the return trip, we traveled east, once again with the sun at our backs. Fred wisely slathered himself with sunblock but I'd overlooked the the back of my upper arms and the back of my legs.
Our reason for doing this hike was the opportunity to see Native American petroglyphs and pictographs created as long ago as 500 BC. About two miles into the gulch, we found the first set. The excitement of that find encouraged us to press on to the next set and the one after that, further than we'd planned to go but well worth the extra miles. Without the inducement of discovering archeological treasures to inspire us, the hike back to the trailhead was a long, hot ordeal. Although we decided to use a less remote road for the drive home, it wasn't much better than the original route.
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