This morning I left my apartment with a specific hike in mind.  I followed the directions to the trailhead only to find out that the last 3 miles require a “high clearance vehicle.”  For those of you unfamiliar with that term, my Infiniti M45 is the exact opposite. I was irritated and decided that instead of looking for a car dealership, I would head to a nearby area and choose a hike there.

I went to Red Rocks and decided to hike Ice Box Canyon.  A little different flavor than the 7,000+ foot Escarpment I was planning…

Why on earth someone living in a place with 75 degree weather in March would choose to hike into a place called Ice Box Canyon may run through your mind.  Supposedly the canyon is a very unique place due to the shape of the canyon walls and floor, and the average temperature is more than 20 degrees cooler than the desert outside.  It was descirbed as having numerous microclimates showcasing a wide array of plant and annimal life.  The big reward was to be the tall and narrow waterfall entering the canyon at the end of the hike where the canyon walls meet. 

The first mile was across the desert valley floor.  Geckos were everywhere, so was scat from bighorn sheep.  I was too late apparently, maybe next time I will see them.  The miles after that were scrambling over large boulders through a dry wash.  This was why it was listed as a mid winter or late summer hike – the lack of melting snow made it possible.  And let’s face it, I’m not planning on doing much hiking here in the dead of summer.

When I got to the end, there was no waterfall.  The picture below shows it, it was totally dry.  Oh well.  The waterfall wasn’t the draw for me, rather it was the walk through the base of a canyon.

But oh did I learn.  Two primary things became very obvious.  

First, I’m a peakbagger.  The hike through the canyon did nothing for me.  The walls were great.  The hike itself was okay.  But the end was anticlimatic.  There was no sense of accomplishment.  No view.  No grandeur.  No spiritual moment.  Just a dry waterfall and two drunk kids who looked to be spending their time partially clothed and drawing all over the rocks and walls with chalk.  Which brings me to educational point number two…  

Second, while John Muir and Stephen Mather had the right idea to work to make some of the beautiful lands our country has to offer available to the general public, they needed to enforce some educational components.  Namely, the concept of pollution.  This makes me sound like a curmudgeon, but so be it.  The chalk graffiti all over the trail was very offputting.  The yelling of vulgarities so they echo through the canyon was equally bad.  Both are polluting the environment, one visually and the other with noise.  I have no problem with people being outside, in fact more people should be.  But do so respectfully and consider your actions and how they will impact the experience of others.  Its official, I’m a grumpy old man.

So the end result of my morning hike?  I realized that I’m a person who needs to end a hike with a summit, or at least have a summit along the way.  I now know that if I am going to be serious about being a peakbagger, that I need a vehicle with four wheel drive.  And I’m old beyond my years.