(Continued from page 3)

After a few minutes Cody and I climbed back up to the Upper Canyon Trail and continued hiking east on single-track trail:

   

Here's the map section again for the loop I'm hiking in the clockwise direction. This page starts at the top left corner:

A couple hundred yards down the trail we met a 50-ish man who was headed to the ridge. He started where I did, turned around somewhere ahead of me, and was going to go back to the South Prong parking area via the Haynes Ridge Overlook Trail. He said it's easy to "walk on top," just tough to get up to it and back down again. He considers the views to be the very best in the park from that trail.

Now I know I'll have to try it the next time I'm here!

Those were the only hikers I saw on the whole loop until I was almost back to the North Prong parking area.

From Fern Cave eastward the trail continues a gradual descent through thick shrubs and trees. Just walking, I had to duck under some branches or move them out of my way. I also had to watch my footing through rocky areas.

I could see horse hooves through that area -- where horses and bikes aren't supposed to go. I have no idea how equestrians could get through that section but they did.

About a mile later I caught up to a group of five older equestrians who were stopped for a break. They were doing a long ride from the equestrian campground and had gone up to the cave on this trail from the east (the opposite way I was going). The lone woman in the group had talked the men into turning around at the cave because the trail looked too steep up to the ridge.

When the men found out I'd come up from the other side, they asked me about the trail -- they had wanted so badly to go on up, and they wanted me to say it would have been OK!

I told them they were smart to listen to the woman! I described the trail to them. I think they would have had trouble getting up to the ridge in either direction and it would have been even more dangerous for all involved to descend either side with all the loose rocks and boulders.

But what do I know? I've never ridden a horse under such conditions.

The men weren't real happy with my response (the woman was!), even though I said it diplomatically and with humor. They took my word for it, however, and continued on back to the equestrian campground via the Upper and Lower Canyon trails (C, D, F). Jim also saw them that day on the loop he was running farther east in the canyons.

It didn't take me long to realize that the views are better going the opposite direction on Trail C (west, toward the ridges). I frequently turned around to look at the scenery and take pictures behind me:

 

 

Like the first canyon I hiked this morning, this one also had some interesting rock spires and other formations:

 

 

 

About a mile east of Fern Cave the trail widens again. This part really is open to cyclists and equestrians, although the deep sand/grit in some places would be hard to ride a bike unless it has really aggressive tires (and a stronger rider than me).

The trail became more roller-coaster than steady downhill. Cody and I crossed several dry creeks; there was no water in any of them in the four miles between Fern Cave and the North Prong parking area. Good thing we were carrying plenty of water.

 

By the time I met the equestrians I was in more desert-like terrain with many fewer trees and no shade whatsoever. You can see that in this view looking back:

Somewhere in this section I reached the point where I turned around last year on an out-and-back hike from the North Prong parking area.

Above: rocky dry creek;  below: the trail is smoother

 

 

When I reached the T-intersection with the Lower Canyon and Canyon Loop trails I turned right and went south on the Canyon Loop Trail (D) for 1½ miles to the North Prong parking area:

Even though I've been on this trail several times, I always see something different -- or the same thing in a different light. So I kept snapping pictures. It's in my DNA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I saw ten more hikers in the last half mile to the North Prong parking area, for a grand total of fourteen hikers and five equestrians. That's not very many people on a beautiful spring Saturday morning, and few of them apparently ventured much beyond their vehicles. Most of the ones closer to the parking area were not carrying water.

Cody and I walked through the North Prong parking area and down the park road for another mile to the South Prong parking area and our truck:

The road was the only part of this loop that I didn't like. The scenery was still great but it was sunny and hot by early afternoon. Most places in Caprock Canyons aren't shaded. At least the road is mostly downhill -- the reason I went clockwise to begin with.

This is a challenging, varied, scenic loop that I highly recommend to other hikers and runners who are adequately trained for the distance (eight miles) and terrain. Take plenty of water any time of the year; the streams and air are bone-dry most of the time and the sun is relentless.

It took me 3:45 hours to complete this loop. The time included three conversations with hikers and equestrians, four water stops for Cody, innumerable photo ops, frequent backward glances at awesome scenery, rock scrambling, and being very careful going down loose rocks and steep places. The last thing I needed out in that wilderness was an injury.

Next time we're here I want to do this loop again -- with Jim. With fewer photos the next time, I should be able to do it in under three hours.

Next entry:  cycling the Caprock Canyons Trailway to Clarity Tunnel, home to thousands of Brazilian free-trailed bats

Happy trails,

Sue
"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil, and Cody the Ultra Lab

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© 2011 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil