Jump Creek Canyon

26-May-2013

Lester and I headed down to Jump Canyon for a quick afternoon hike. Neither of us had ever been there and didn't really know what to expect asside from what we read in the guide book.

While we were driving up we could see a big ole thunderstorm aproaching from the south. It was easy enough to find an overhanging cliff until the storm passed. Listening to the thunder roll through the canyon was pretty cool too.

We knew we would run into Poison Ivy, but didn't know how much. This three-leaf plant was all over the place, and it didn't have the thick shiny leaves that is the tell-tale sign that you have PI, but we didn't want to take any chances, so we avoided it as much as possible.

You get so busy stooped over to crawling under brush, or peddling your way up a scree slope, it's easy to forget to look around once in a while. Some of the rock formations are pretty amazing.

The canyon is very narrow in sections, with thick brush on one side and slick rocks on the other. We elected to cling to the rocks when given the choice.

Several spots were down right gorge-ous (pun intended).

A little more water and this section would be a lot more... er... interesting.

After about three miles (which seems like a lot longer), the canyon widens out and becomes even more choked with brush. At this point, the book says to head up the scree slope on the right to exit the canyon. We chose a slightly more challenging and interesting path up the rock section that ran along side the scree slope. This was one of the best parts of the trip. It was a matter of choice how hard or how easy you wanted to make the climb.