Song inspiration of the day:

Should I Stay or Should I Go (The Clash)

Should I stay, or should I go now?
Should I stay, or should I go now?
If I go, there will be trouble
And if I stay, it will be double

In a moment of ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go?’, Sloth agreed to another day of hiking with The Hurry One – this time along a dried out river bed into a box canyon named ‘Ice’.   

The hike, is divided into three segments.  The first segment of the trail, the desert valley, is  lined with dirt, small stones and no ankle benders, with many pleasant stops to photograph desert flora.  The next segment, is where friendly small stones disappear, and unfriendly large rocks, mostly unstable stepping stones blanket the trail. Our hiking speeds diminish.  Perhaps this is the worst of it? Perhaps this is the river bed?  Perhaps Sloth could keep thoughts zipped, as being the only hikers on the trail at the wee hours, not a sound could be heard, not even a thought.

The final ascent along the riverbed, slowed our hike to a crawl.  Physically, a crawl.  Giant boulders needed  climbing, first by staring at them to determine footwork strategy and then handholds, ducking in and around trees, holding onto trees, double checking that handholds were not laced with giant spiders, and the final three tenths of a mile had our ankles stretched in every direction. 

Reaching the end of the box canyon, unless you have ropes and rock climbing gear, you have reached your destination.  The views are upward, and spectacular, more photos, more high fives and thoughts turned to the boulder descent. 

To exit the box canyon, you turn around the same way entered, and navigate everything in reverse, leaping, crawling, and adding a new technical skill – the boulder butt slide! Eventually we returned to the trailhead, ankles intact, spirits high, and at a crossroad pondering one final hike before returning to Route 66 —  should I stay or should I go!

Photo Journal: Ice Box Canyon

Photo Journal: Hurry wins Jackpot

Peace, luv, out
Jane -n- Jill