Rider Canyon Hike–Day 2

On our second day on the river, we had our first ‘real’ hike – a short hike up Rider Canyon. Do check out Becky's blog, as she does a great job of describing this hike.
This was the first on many hikes where we would wear our rafting shoes because we would be hiking through water or, in this case, mud. We stepped out of the raft to find ourselves wading through mud and muck where a creek should have been. We held on to each other to keep our footing in the slippery mud.  You know, it seems funny, now, how we just adapted to the dirt and mud without even worrying about it. Muddy? So what! On we hiked…..

Once we got passed the mud, the trail continued on dirt and rock as we made our way up the canyon.

It was pretty awesome as we entered a larger chamber and stopped to take it all in.

We stopped as Matt checked out the trail….it was supposed to go up that chute and continue on….at least that is what he thought. It had been several years since Matt had hiked this trail, and it seemed to have changed a good bit. At any rate, we definitely could not go up the chute, so Matt looked for another route.

While Matt was looking for a route up the canyon, Tom gave us a talk on geology.
The route that Matt found involved a good scamper up a rock slide and a walk over a narrow ledge…….Becky and I decided that it was a bit too much for us.

So….as the rest of the group headed up with Matt……

Becky and I stayed behind, enjoying the time just soaking up this little canyon. Since Fred took our camera with him on the hike, this lovely picture is complements of Becky.

These photos and descriptions came from Fred and others……..After the rock scamper and narrow ledge, the group walked on a bit and the next challenge was this stepped wall which seemed to block the way.

In front of the wall was a sizeable mud puddle. So…they waded through the mud again and up the wall.

It is better seen in this photo that was taken on the way back down. A good bit of help was need in this process of getting up and down, as everyone’s feet were muddy and slippery.

Looking back down from the new vantage point.

A bit further of a hike ended with this dead end…….A bit of a disappointment, though it often is about the journey, not the destination.

Our guide, Allison, continued on a bit to see if there was a way to go around. There was not, so the group headed on back.

Meanwhile….Becky and I had about 90 minutes to enjoy the quiet and solitude on this 2nd day of our rafting trip.