I convinced H that hiking Mary Jane Canyon Friday morning would be a good idea: gotta go in the morning because it's just too dang hot later in the day, and during the week would be much less crowded than a weekend or holiday. We got up at 5:30, tossed the dog in the car and headed off.
Prince's Plume
It is about a forty-five minute drive out there from in town. At that hour, there wasn't much traffic on the river road. We drove out past Castle Valley and Onion Creek (30 minutes), turning down the dirt ranch road. That road is quite washboarded and it took us a whole fifteen minutes to get down to the parking area; someone in a jeep or truck - something more rugged than a Subaru Crosstrek - wouldn't need to be quite so cautious.
Heading into the canyon
We were the first ones there and headed out into the canyon. There was less water than the last time we did this hike - Memorial Day weekend, so definitely more available water earlier in the year - but there was still plenty. I felt a little silly carrying water for Milton but better safe than sorry out in the desert, plus we really weren't sure how much water there would be.
At the waterfall
It was super pleasant in the canyon. There's no point trying to keep your feet dry, so that helps keep you cool; the high, narrow canyon walls kept us completely shaded the whole way in, and protected from the wind as well.
Milton is just not sure about this nonsense
Distance to the waterfall is just over four miles and it is a very fast four miles. Despite wading in the creek, the footing is quite good and just a gradual uphill the whole way out. We could hear the falls long before we saw them; Milton was a little intimidated by the noise. H waded in up close, testing the force of the water with his hand and trying to convince Milt to come a little closer.
Extremely well-built nest
We saw seven people heading in as we were on our way out, two with dogs, but we didn't see anyone until we were half an hour from the falls - our pace was good and we felt like we'd had the place to ourselves. This place is a gift (unfortunately too well-known at this point), an oasis in the desert with the water and the access for dogs.
Big as my thumb
It was also a pretty good day for small wildlife (other than the dead thing Milton tried to roll in). There were lots of birds, including heard-but-not-seen canyon wrens, and some cool nests tucked in along the cliff walls. I also found a chonky caterpillar and my very first black widow spider. I didn't tell H about the black widow until we'd gotten back out of the canyon. It's perfectly safe, though, because she was in a huge snarled web that no human would intentionally walk into, fastened under an overhang on the wall so no human would inadvertently walk into either.
Dangerous lady: black widow
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