MonikaC
Well-Known Member
This is the last batch of pictures from my last trip to the San Rafael Swell. It also has my favorite shot (the one with the leaf).
After a few days of dry hikes, I generally think it's time for one with water for my dog. Since I was headed north after a side trip part way up Temple Mountain Road, I decided to stop at Eardley Pool, where I hadn't been since probably around 2008. We camped close to the trailhead and headed down the wash. I'd remembered it as being a bit tedious with lots of rocks, sand & curves, so I kept my eye out for the shortcuts. There were some shallow rivulets that were mostly frozen over, so when I reached the mouth of Eardley Canyon, I wasn't surprised to see that it was icy. I didn't expect it to be so extensive, flowing out from the mouth. It didn't seem frozen solid enough to take my weight for the entire length, but I was able to get some pictures staying close to the edges. Fortunately, I was able to go around the boulders on the left and continue up to the pool. It was much rockier than I'd remembered, but then I recalled stopping in at the BLM office in Sept 2013 and having the ranger there tell me that "all the canyons" were flashing, making sure he included Arch Canyon. For those of you who haven't visited Arch Canyon, it's a big, wide canyon, not a slot. For it to flash flood is impressive. All those boulders in Eardley that I didn't remember were probably the result of flash flooding, I decided.
Here's the mouth of the canyon.
Looking back down the canyon from a little below the pool.
Now here are my favorites.
From the mouth of the canyon. Kind of like a nebula, I thought.
From the pool. Staying with the astro theme, maybe part of the Milky Way?
My favorite, from the mouth of the canyon.
After a few days of dry hikes, I generally think it's time for one with water for my dog. Since I was headed north after a side trip part way up Temple Mountain Road, I decided to stop at Eardley Pool, where I hadn't been since probably around 2008. We camped close to the trailhead and headed down the wash. I'd remembered it as being a bit tedious with lots of rocks, sand & curves, so I kept my eye out for the shortcuts. There were some shallow rivulets that were mostly frozen over, so when I reached the mouth of Eardley Canyon, I wasn't surprised to see that it was icy. I didn't expect it to be so extensive, flowing out from the mouth. It didn't seem frozen solid enough to take my weight for the entire length, but I was able to get some pictures staying close to the edges. Fortunately, I was able to go around the boulders on the left and continue up to the pool. It was much rockier than I'd remembered, but then I recalled stopping in at the BLM office in Sept 2013 and having the ranger there tell me that "all the canyons" were flashing, making sure he included Arch Canyon. For those of you who haven't visited Arch Canyon, it's a big, wide canyon, not a slot. For it to flash flood is impressive. All those boulders in Eardley that I didn't remember were probably the result of flash flooding, I decided.
Here's the mouth of the canyon.
Looking back down the canyon from a little below the pool.
Now here are my favorites.
From the mouth of the canyon. Kind of like a nebula, I thought.
From the pool. Staying with the astro theme, maybe part of the Milky Way?
My favorite, from the mouth of the canyon.
