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In general, John and I don't make it a habit to camp in
public campgrounds. However, since our next adventure would take place in a
state park, we found that we really didn't have a choice but to do so. That
taught us one thing: primitive camping is definitely better! But that isn't to
say that we didn't have a fun weekend. Although the adventure didn't happen
the way we wanted it to, we still managed to enjoy ourselves...and have a
typical Verley adventure, too.
The plan for the weekend was to camp at Alamo Lake State Park, northwest of
Wickenburg, so that we could hike into the Rawhide Mountain Wilderness Area,
located just a couple miles west of Alamo Dam. We would also bring the canoe
with us in case we had time to do a little canoeing on the lake. Then, we
would stay overnight at the public campground next to the lake. In the
morning, we would break camp and drive back to Phoenix in time to see Danny
and Janice perform in a dance recital.
It seemed like a perfect plan, but things did not go so smoothly. Friday
morning, the day before our trip, John began to come down with a cold. He
complained of a sore throat and congestion, and though he took cold medicine
before going to bed on Friday, he wasn't any better Saturday morning. That
concerned me, because part of our hike would involve swimming in February.
However, there was a chance that we wouldn't have to swim, that the water
level in the Bill Williams River would be lower than normal due to the
drought-like conditions we had been having in Arizona, so I decided not to
back out of the hike yet.
All went smoothly during the drive to Alamo Lake, but the trip took us longer
than we expected - instead of two hours, it took us two and a half. To get
there, we took US 60 north through Sun City towards Wickenburg. Then, we
continued west on US 60 to Wendon, where we turned north on Alamo Road. Alamo
Road leads into Alamo Lake State Park. Most of this drive is through very low
desert, below 2,000 feet, with the exception of a small climb over Cunningham
Pass on Alamo Road and another over the Buckskin Mountains on our final
approach to Alamo Lake.
During the entire drive to the lake, John paid close attention to the
temperature gage on the van. During the week, he had replaced the thermostat
in the van and had fixed a leaky hose, so he was concerned that it might start
to run a little too hot, especially during the climbs. He was glad to see that
the van did not get too hot, and by the time we arrived at the lake, he was
convinced that he had fixed the problem.
Although he had indeed fixed the problem, a new problem had sprung en route to
Alamo Lake. Upon our arrival, we parked at the Alamo Dam Overlook, and almost
immediately we noticed a pool of water forming under the van. When John opened
the hood, he found that the top radiator hose had begun to leak! Of course,
rather than turn around and return to Wendon in search of a radiator hose, we
decided to go set up camp and enjoy ourselves. As long as the van wasn't going
anywhere, it was fine, and at the campground there was plenty of water for us
to use to fill up the radiator for our trip home the next day.
Near the overlook, we found the access road that would take us to the Bill
Williams River and the Rawhide Mountain Wilderness Area, which would be found
just a couple of miles beyond Alamo Dam. The access road was gated and locked,
and the fence bore signs reading "No Trespassing" and "Bald Eagle Area" - did
that mean that we couldn't hike there? According to our wilderness guide,
hikers are still allowed to bypass this gate and proceed into the area, but
just to be sure, we decided to ask the park ranger about it when we went to
register for a campsite. "Oh, yes, you can hike there," the park ranger told
us. "We won't let you drive there, but you are more than welcome to hike
there." He went on to say that they will only restrict hiking in the area
during special circumstances (i.e. the water level in the Bill Williams River
is too high, or there is a bomb threat at Alamo Dam).
After setting up camp and warming up with a nice game of catch, John and I
returned to the overlook and began our hike. We bypassed the locked gate,
which had a two-foot wide gap between it and the rock to allow hikers to pass.
Then, we proceeded down the dam access road. Over the next half-mile, we
dropped several hundred feet in elevation, until we reached the Bill Williams
River. At the end of the road (at the weir), we began to hike cross country,
following the river along the way.
Soon, our hiking turning into rock scrambling as the canyon began to narrow.
We found ourselves hiking across rock shelves, which didn't really require
technical climbing skills, but I still had to be careful so as not to hurt
myself. (I've been getting quite clumsy lately as a result of being pregnant.
Rock climbing has become more difficult for me.) Finally, we reached a point
where we couldn't go on any further along the shelf. That was where we found
the narrow gorge through which we would have to swim, and the water looked
very deep. "No," I said. "I'm not going through there."
I know that John hates it when I make us turn back from a hike, but for my own
safety, I chose not to go. I just couldn't take the chance of swimming through
that gorge, in the icy cold water, while pregnant. In addition to that, I was
concerned about the cold that John was developing, and I didn't want him to go
swimming in cold water like that. At another time of year, perhaps it wouldn't
be so bad, but not in February. So, reluctantly, we turned around and began to
hike back towards the dam.
En route, we found a side canyon. Since we really didn't have any place else
to go, we decided to go exploring to see how far we could get. At first, it
was rather easy hiking, but several hundred feet later, we hit an obstacle: a
deep pool of stagnant water, on the other side of which was a rock wall,
standing ten feet high and at a fifty degree angle. There were two ways around
the pool: 1) we could cross on a narrow shelf against the canyon wall, which
required a lot of technical skill; or 2) we could wade through the pool, which
was just over knee deep. John was able to go with the first option, but I was
unable to do it so I had to go with the second option.
Now, of course, once I put my feet in the icy cold stagnant water, I created
another problem for myself: I made my boots too slippery, and as a result, I
was not going to be able to successfully climb the rock wall on the other
side. When I tried, I ended up falling back down again, and I landed on my
belly. Fortunately, I didn't hit hard enough to cause any damage, but I was
definitely concerned. At that point, I was forced to turn back. (John went on
ahead to see what we were going to be missing. Just after scaling the rock
wall, he found that there was yet another obstacle - a forty foot tall dry
waterfall that he knew I wouldn't be able to scale. We would have had to turn
back anyway.)
After leaving the side canyon, we continued our hike back towards the dam.
Once we were back on the main road (past the weir), we noticed that the road
branched off and crossed the river. There, it continued all the way up to the
top of the dam. I suggested that we take that road so that we could vary our
route a bit, and John agreed. However, once we were across the river, John
hesitated at the bottom of the road, near the dam. He appeared to be
fascinated by a set of cables, which extended from the top of the dam to the
bottom, so he went to investigate while I began the long climb to the top.
Indeed, it was a long, rocky climb to the top of the dam, but I took my time
and kept going, every now and then stopping to look behind me to see if John
was coming. "Hmm," I thought, when I didn't see him, "I wonder what he's
doing." Of course, in the back of my mind, I knew exactly what he was doing,
and, just before reaching the top, when I heard him call out my name, I was
convinced that he had done it. John had climbed up the dam!
Well, not exactly. Actually, he had climbed up a drainage that bordered the
dam. It was a much steeper climb than the one I had just done, but it didn't
take him nearly as long to get there. So, naturally, he was already waiting
for me at the top of the dam when I finally arrived.
We ate lunch on top of the dam, listening to the sounds of the boats on the
lake and watching the river roll along. Then, we finished our hike and headed
back to camp, where we laid down to take a nap before embarking on our next
adventure: canoeing.
It wasn't until late in the afternoon when we decided to go canoeing. By that
time, there were only a few boats left on the lake, and the sky had clouded
over, cooling the day down considerably. We paddled out onto the lake,
floating past ducks who scattered as we neared them and egrets who ducked
underwater to hide from us. Majestic blue herons were wading near the shore,
only to fly away once the ducks scattered. We tried to take pictures of them,
but it was hard to see them against the gray sky.
We canoed towards the dam, through the peaceful waters that were occasionally
disturbed by a passing power boat, but for the most part it was quiet - a
nice, enjoyable way to end the day. Then, after reaching the dam, we turned
around and returned to the boat launch. The entire trip took us about an hour,
which was just enough canoeing to relax us.
We got back to camp just in time for dinner. At that time, the sun was
beginning to set on the lake, and it was getting a little bit cold outside.
After dinner, we sat by the campfire and tried to enjoy a quiet evening of
watching the stars, but, of course, complete silence and solitude is
impossible in a public campground. Our neighbors, who had just returned from a
day of boating, continued to party until late in the evening, long after we
had gone to bed. Another one of our neighbors ran his generator for hours. The
sound echoed through the night, ending whatever chance we had for silence.
Even at four in the morning, while the rest of the world was asleep, I could
still hear yet more noises coming from our neighbors: one guy, who was tent
camping two sites over, was snoring like a buzz saw! (When he finally stopped,
around six in the morning, we were convinced that his tentmates had killed
him!) After all of that, John and I decided that we were going back to
primitive camping!
We broke camp and began our journey home at 8:00 the next morning, knowing
that it was going to take us a long time to get there because of our radiator
problems. Just before pulling out of camp, John toyed with the leaky hose in
an attempt to seal the hole. Whatever he had done worked, for we were able to
get all the way home without spilling a drop of water! Along the way, we
stopped in Wendon, Aguila, and finally in Wickenburg in hopes of finding an
auto parts store where we could purchase a new radiator hose, but we weren't
able to find one.
After giving up on finding an auto parts store in Wickenburg, John and I
stopped to have breakfast at Burger King. However, we pulled into the parking
lot at the same time as a tour bus full of elderly people going to Las Vegas!
There were about fifty of them in line in front of us, so we decided to go to
McDonald's instead - this time, we beat the bus and managed to be one of the
first few in line!
We made it home around 11:00 a.m., at which time John successfully replaced
the radiator hose, thus ending his van problems for the time being. We then
showered and got dressed so that we could go to Danny and Janice's dance
recital. |
