Elevation Gain: Approximately 1000 ft.
Time: 9:30 am - 1:30 pm
Weather: Scattered clouds, sunny, very hot, too hot.
Traveling with my family the last week has me back in my home state of Oklahoma. I did a google search for Oklahoma Hikes and found a book on Amazon aptly titled "Oklahoma Hiking Trails." I did not have time to purchase through Amazon, but found a store in Oklahoma City that sold the book yesterday, and I bought it. I was immediately ecstatic that I did. It is a great trail book and in color. It details almost every trail in the state, so I can easily find new hikes when I visit in the future. In the beginning sections, it lists the "top hikes" in Oklahoma. The first is the Black Mesa summit, which I did back in week 16. The next trail listed was a place called Charons Garden. I read the entry and was intrigued. The hike was located in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. I woke up and was on the road by 7:30 am.
I arrived in the refuge around 8:30 am and decided to stop off by the visitor's center to make sure I was heading to the right place. I am glad I stopped. When I told the woman at the information booth my plan, she informed me the Charons Garden Wilderness has been closed due to excessive heat. Last week 10 hikers were rescued, 8 for heat exhaustion and 2 were helicoptered to the hospital with broken bones and dehydration. A fellow, dressed like a ranger looking very official, came over and joined the conversation. He let me know that many of these hikers were ill-equipped for the conditions. Many were in flip-flops and/or brought 1 bottle of water and nothing else. He told me about some good hikes that were still open and apologized that he could not let me go into the area.
I was bummed and even thought about doing the Charon Garden hike anyway. My new hike was in the same direction. I got back in my car and took off. I made the turn from the visitor's center and within 5 minutes was stopping on the road to let a herd of about 30 buffalo cross. I don't remember ever seeing this many buffalo in one place in my life. I was smiling like crazy and instantly began feeling better. After they crossed, I drove on and was then stopping again, this time for a couple of longhorn cattle.
I got to the Lost Lake trailhead, got my boots on, loaded 6 liters of water in my pack, and began walking the kite trail (the trail the ranger suggested). Within minutes, I crossed two men who asked what I was up to. I told them, and they were in a similar situation. They did tell me that in about 20 minutes I would reach a buffalo on the trail. I was so excited.
I took off on the trail and was enjoying the early morning weather. It was hot, but not oppressively hot. I came to a place called forty-foot hole, a decent sized gorge for Oklahoma, and I was hearing a lot of commotion up ahead. A family of about 7 were watching the buffalo. I got up there just as they were leaving. After they left, the buffalo and I hung out together for about 10 minutes. I did not approach too closely, but I was within about 20 feet. He was not concerned with me at all, instead he was enjoying the grasses along the trail. I moved on, and within 30 minutes I was the end of the trail at another trailhead.
I walked the road a bit to a place called Boulder Creek Cabin, where another trail went up into another gorge. This place was called The Narrows. The ranger said this was his favorite area in the park. I can see why. I first dropped into the creek bed and could see some rock cliffs unlike any I ever knew existed in Oklahoma. I then climbed from the creek bed and gained a bit of elevation. It was about 11 am when I found a shady spot under some rock cliff, and I sat and drank lots of water. It was really hot at this point, but thankfully there was a strong breeze. The wind was coming through to this shaded area, and I was cooling off a good deal.
I was about to head back, when I spotted a few rock cairns moving up a talus slope. I went in their direction, and soon I was climbing up to Eagle Mountain. I was reminded of boulder climbs I have done in Utah and in climbing gyms. It was a ton of fun, and soon I found myself really high up. The rocks were scorching hot, as this was the east facing side of Eagle Mountain, and they had been warming up all day. I saw a hawk fly about 30 feet above my head, and the view I had to the south was amazing. I was burning up, and my hands hurt. I decided to head back to the car. I took another route down from where I had climbed, and it was 12:15 when I was back at my rest stop in the shade. I stopped again and drank a ton of water.
I took the trail back to the creek bed, and I had to soak my head in the creek to cool off some more. The creek water was warm, a surprise to me since I am used to Washington's cold streams, lakes, and oceans. I continued on, got back to the road, and the trailhead heading back to my car. I met some cool guys from Kansas City and had a great chat. The were looking to hike and maybe climb a bit, and I suggested the hike up the Narrows and up to Eagle Mountain. I also warned to take a lot of water.
The hike back along the kite trail was brutally hot. I stopped every 15 minutes in the shade to drink my water, which was now very warm. I poured a little on my head and neck and would start back up. I was back at the car by 1:30 pm. I was down to a liter at this point. I saved a half liter to drink, then dumped the rest on my head. When I cranked the AC in the car to drive away, I finally started to feel cool again.
Orchid: Buffalo on the trail.
Onion: Oppressive heat or the shut down trail.
Picture:
Google Map
No comments:
Post a Comment