A Nice Hike

Last night it rained lightly on and off until I fell asleep. A crystal clear, cool morning offered a great chance to hike on the well drained sandy ground. Instead of climbing on the dunes (I had plenty of that kind of fun in Michigan as a kid) I headed out to an obsevation point just a bit higher than the dunes themselves. All manner of wildlife and signs of wildlife could be seen along the trail. Coyote, jackrabbit, deer, Steller's jays, hawks, more helped make it a 4 mile long zoo.

I hit the road at about 11AM and the truck handled a 9,200 & a 11,300 ft pass without any of the issues from Wednesday. After a 20 minute wait for construction I made a 2,000 ft descent through a muddy construction zone. Truck and T@B are covered in mud. Not to worry!! It is raining as I type at my campsite at Black Canyon of the Gunnison Nat Pk. I may get some sunset shots if it clears off.

I am amazed at the mix of expertise and stupidity of the tent campers I have seen so far. Some rules of thumb become obvious. Any tent costing less than $150 will leak. Any air mattress will leak. The more plush the sleeping bag the longer it takes to dry. And last but not least: ground cloths should never be visible or extend beyond the edge of a tent. It is also a good idea to put a heavy rock on your tent stake/guy line when pitching in rocky soil. Whew! Off my chest.