Mountain Sheep Wash

The sun had yet to creep over the cliffs on this brisk morning a few days from winter solstice. We removed our shoes and were now wading across the Virgin River, the ice-cold water reaching my knees. Not long after reaching the other side a great blue heron leaped from his hiding spot and with wide gray wings flew to another secluded location downriver.

It felt exhilarating to be outside.

Crossing the Virgin River.

Today I traveled with Jenna. She just returned from living in Chicago and this would be her first true hike in a year and a half. We set out to explore a little-traversed arm of the Virgin River Gorge in Arizona.

The first mile of the hike followed the river around a large bend. The trail became hard to follow and in some places completely disappeared, I'm sure due to it being wiped out during spring floods. I kept an eye out for the heron, but didn't see it again.

Virgin River. 

Enjoying the river. 

At last we came to Mountain Sheep Wash, the dry tributary I intended to survey. Here there would be no trail. We ventured into the wash which veered in a southerly direction.

I will admit that I didn't have high expectations. Everything in the gorge appears very similar. There's wide California barrel cactus, cholla cactus, the occasional Joshua Tree, perhaps a quail or two and plenty of rugged and dry cliffs.

In years past the gorge has been prime habitat for desert bighorn sheep. But I hadn't seen one here in a couple decades. I think they were removed to protect cars on the freeway. But that didn't stop us from looking as it was truly prime habitat for them.

Mountain Sheep Wash.

Lots of unexplored country on the side hills. 

Cholla cactus. 

The wash itself was filled with rocks of many kinds, most of them white and smooth. It boggled my mind to wonder how so many rocks of different varieties ended up in one place. In some places are the sheer walls of a former dirt embankment with thousands of rocks embedded in the walls. As these walls continued to slough and drop these rocks, the occasional flash flood carried them to other locations downstream. As this process has continued for millions of years, I'm sure this would account for some of the variety. I even found a fossil of a shell embedded in one of the rocks.

As I gazed up and the rugged hillside I imagined that much of that space had never been trod by human foot. Of the few people like ourselves who were adventurous enough to hike the wash, I'll bet that nearly no one makes the additional effort to climb the hills and explore near the cliffs.

Interesting little cave we found along the way.

We continued in this wash for several miles. Occasionally there would be a fork, but we stayed in the main canyon. For most of it I saw no signs of human habitation or involvement.

At the 5.2 mile mark we came to a barbed wire fence that spanned the width of what was at that point a narrow canyon. After crossing we found that a black tubing, roughly one inch in diameter, stretched across the fence, coming from a location up-canyon. There was no running water in the tubing and it appeared it hadn't been used in a while.

We followed the tubing up the canyon and found that it led to troughs, some made of metal and one of plastic. They too were devoid of water. A rough dirt road led up a hill and additional tubing followed the road. My guess was that it led to Mountain Sheep Springs, which was further than we had time to travel. Obviously this was a spot where ranchers could water their cattle. Access to the dirt road would have to come from the south side, which would entail a long drive through the Arizona Strip.

Watering troughs. 

We chose to continue up the wash, and not to follow the road.

We didn't have too much further to go. On Google Maps I had spotted a location that appeared as if it had a cave. The colors of the rock changed to ocher and I hoped that perhaps we might find some old cowboy inscriptions or petroglyphs.

Twenty minutes later we departed the wash and walked uphill toward the formation I had found on Google Maps. We finally sat down and removed our packs, designating this as our official turnaround spot. Jenna took time to eat a sandwich while I explored the surroundings.

It turns out that my cave was no more than a rounded niche in the rock. But it was a pretty little niche with yucca plants growing within it. I walked around the entire periphery of the cliff face and found no writings. This didn't surprise me, but I was a little disappointed. Our total mileage to this location was 5.9 miles. Surprisingly, we gained 1,854 feet in elevation and were now at 4,035 feet.

This was my so-called cave that ended up being a niche in the rocks.

Interesting color on the rocks. 

Taking a lunch break before we turn back.

In spite of the disappointment, I took in the moment. We were without a doubt a long ways from anyone else. Other than the occasional cattle rancher, I'll bet almost no one comes this way. There was a satisfaction with setting foot in such a remote location.

The way back felt much shorter. We enjoyed conversation and not having the sun in our eyes. When we arrived at the river we found the great blue heron in his usual spot, perched atop a rock in the midst of the flow. Surprisingly, he allowed me to sneak up on him until I was a mere 100 feet away. Then he spread his wings and flew just a few feet away behind some growth. I was content and let him be. ♠

Great blue heron on the river. 

Great blue heron in flight.