Tuesday, May 17, 1994

We awoke about 6:00. The weather was warm, and we felt pretty good, so the decision was to go for it. We had our typical breakfast of non-fat, dry milk and chocolate instant breakfast. It isn't all that bad hot, and has lots of nutrients, especially protein. Also a couple of bite-sized Snickers bars or maybe it was Kudos that morning. Don't remember.

We hit the trail about 9:00, faced with the prospect of a 1000 foot climb out of the west fork canyon, a descent to the Mogollon itself, then a 1200 foot climb out of its canyon. All in about 4 miles.

It was a bitch. The climb and descent over to Bud's Hole on the Mogollon wasn't too bad, as we were fresh. We stopped for a break, and some fishing. I caught a nice 10-inch rainbow in a real clear pond right by the trail. I was rather surprised to catch him as the water was so clear. He made two or three flashes at the fly before he finally took it. He was a great fighter. When I put him back, he lay on his side in the water, gasping. I was a little worried about him. But after a few minutes, he shot off back to his feeding lane in the stream. That was pretty surprising, too. Usually after you catch one, they go and hide under a rock for a while. He went right back to feeding just like it was another day at the office. A lot of those fish over there acted pretty strange. Usually when you spook trout they head for cover under a rock or something. Some of these just sat there sorta watching you. They wouldn't hit a fly or even move. They knew you were there, but didn't hide. And they weren't stockers. They grew up in those streams. Guess they didn't have much to be afraid of.

Time to head up the trail again, and face the hardest climb yet. The canyon of the Mogollon apparently got so steep that it was impassable. So the trail took a giant detour of about 3 miles and headed up the ridge on the south and then back down to the river again. The climb was even more laborious and exhausting than the others. At least we carried lots of water. When we finally made the top, we stopped for a hot lunch of vegetarian Cha Cha Chili. Actually it wasn't bad, and at least we both felt much better. All those dried beans gave me lots of gas, though. Jason made me walk behind. I kept thinking I was going to pass gas and blow myself over one of those cliffs. I would have made good time to the bottom. But it didn't happen that way. I had to inch my way down, even more aware of the abuse I was doing to my feet. Thank goodness, foot abuse is not politically incorrect. The loose rocks and steep trails were really taking their toll on my feet and ankles and knees.

It was already starting to get late when we made it back to the river. It seemed like I was even more tired than before. There was a delightful little clearing at the base of the ridge, right by the river. It was full of big Ponderosa pines and lots of giant bluebonnets. I needed a rest, and just lay down in the pine needles. Jason took off fishing again. I don't know how he could possibly stand up.

After a while, I got up and went down to the creek. The water looked pretty inviting, and I wasn't up to a swim, but I got naked on the rocks and took a sponge bath. Not very environmentally sound, but I knew there wasn't anyone downstream for miles, and the stream would purify the soap and my body secretions. It sure felt good.

I went back and dragged my camera out. Jason had said that Jennifer would like some pictures of giant bluebonnets, and this was a beautiful stand, so I thought I'd take advantage of that opportunity.

Jason came back in a little while, all excited about finding some great fishing holes. He came to get me to go fish. What a thoughtful son! Too bad. I had hoped to make up some of the milage we had lost, and already we were in danger of falling even further behind. I insisted that we try to make at least two more miles that day, instead of stopping to fish. Jason was pissed. He was talking about coming back someday, just to fish those great holes. And how he only came to get me to take me down there to fish with him. He really didn't want to go on. But we did. It was drudgery. My feet were tired and sore. I was more exhausted than before. Those two climbs we had done were really hard. At least the trail was easy now. It followed the river bed, mostly through pine forests. Not many rocks or even stream crossings.

After an hour or so of walking, we found a nice campsite, and stopped for the evening. We hadn't gained any on the lost mileage, but at least we hadn't lost anymore. I rested. Jason went fishing, of course. I finally roused myself and fished for a while, too. Unfortunately, the terrain was pretty flat here, and the river didn't have enough strength to gouge out any good pools. In addition, the low water made it easy for the fish to see us. It was almost impossible to find a place where we could cast and avoid being seen. Now Jason was really pissed. We hit the sack about 8:00, and I slept like a rock again.