This hike was Bills decision. I took Zana and she was excited to hike today. We met shortly before sunrise in the trailhead parking lot off Ramsey Road. We were the first cars.
It was 37F at the start. My hands were a bit chilled but when the sun rose high enough to warm me up, all discomfort was forgotten.
Zana was on leash for the first mile. I took her off leash once we were alone. She did beautifully! She healed right by my feet and sometimes Bills feet. I didnt put her back on leash until the return hike the last two miles when there were now people on the trail.
The goal of the hike was to show Bill the slot canyon just off the trail at the 3.5 miles mark, just before the trail switchbacks uphill. This is a shady box canyon with several cottonwoods and red maples that still had some autumn display.
There was smelly stagnant water in the pool that Zana went right into. No water was trickling down the falls. The only trickling water was in the water trough at the Wilderness boundary.
We then continued another .6 mile to the upper falls. This area was also very dry. By now the sun was up high to shine some warmth on us. But I never took off my flannel overshirt.
We didnt stay long. We took a few selfies at the overlook and then resumed our return hike.
We hiked seven miles in 3:20 hours
