how green is my canyon

 Saturday was pretty cloudy but still in the high 30s.  Knowing that rain was on the way for Sunday and Monday, we figured we should get out and do a hike while we had the chance.  We opted for the Hymasa/Amasa Back loop, figuring we'd get a good hike and great scenery for very little driving.  Temperature-wise, it was quite nice for hiking: cool, not cold and not windy.  Other than the water in Kane Creek (looking fairly healthy for this time of year), there wasn't any water in any of the potholes and only a couple of damp, sandy patches.

Moody views

There were actually quite a few vehicles in the lot when we got there, although people were pretty well dispersed.  We passed father and son MTBers just after the creek crossing as they were working on one of the bikes, and then a couple of BASE jumpers flung themselves off the cliffs behind us as we got onto the single track.  About halfway up, we caught up with a group of four women MTBers and their two dogs.  Everyone was friendly and we chatted with them a while before finally getting ahead of them: despite being on MTBs, they were taking lots of breaks to accommodate the weaker riders, plus they were clearly having a lot of fun.

We got up to the top (intersection of Hymasa, Captain Ahab and Cliffhanger) and kept on going around and down via the jeep road.  The snow-covered La Sals were just visible against the gray sky out past Behind the Rocks.  As we came around the corner above Kane Creek, we started to see a fair number more MTBers on their way up.  Nothing like the busy season numbers, of course, but it was still good to see folks out there.  Below us, Kane Creek Canyon looked really green.

That's pretty green

Three more BASE jumpers launched themselves off the cliffs just as we got back to the car.  We watched them land (safely) with a friendly trail runner, and then Milton worked his way around the parking lot, introducing himself to some climbers who were gearing up.  It was an impressive array of activities on display for a January day: hikers, MTBers, runners, climbers and BASE jumpers - but it was also quiet because there weren't any side-by-sides careening up and down Kane Creek road.  Delightful!

Hike stats: 6.00 miles; moving time 1:57/3.1 m.p.h; overall 2:05/2.9; 890' elevation