Day 3: Six-mile day hike from campsite to Bolder Spring, then over ridges to old mine site off Globe Mine Rd
I won't see any people today again. I have just enough water to stay at my campsite another day, so I'll hike over to probably-dry Bolder Spring, about two miles away, just to explore, and to see if any extra water exists over there.
I'll leave camp around 11h and get back around 16h30. My daypack includes the usual items, including my Camelbak and two 1.5-litre bottles of water, which turns out to be adequate, but not optimal. I'll eat two Clif bars and a couple of handfuls of dried apricots during the day.
Because it's not so windy this morning, it's fairly noisy around the tent while I make coffee due to humming insect life, none of which seems much interested in me--fortunately.
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Date: April 25, 2008, 10h00
Size: 68 items
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More white-flowered buckwheat
The old trunk of this one is pretty old and dead-looking, despite the healthy plant it supports.
Date: April 25, 2008, 12h19
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I continue walking up the wash toward Bolder Spring
The old road that used to be in this wash has been washed away during years of non-use.
Date: April 25, 2008, 12h27
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The old road to Bolder Spring is leaving the fan in favour of the foothills, and the scenery is becoming more intimate
I take a short walk up this narrow side wash which has obviously hosted a lot of flowing water during the years.
Date: April 25, 2008, 12h39
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I return to the main wash and follow it further upward as it carves its way slowly into the base of foothills
I do see some greenery ahead, so I'm watching for signs of Bolder Spring, in case it actually has some concealed water to offer.
Date: April 25, 2008, 12h47
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The "road" to Bolder Spring narrows
It's fun to look at a wash like this and imagine a primitive road located here. Of course four-wheel-drive vehicles can still drive "roads" like this today...
Date: April 25, 2008, 12h50
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Time for a map-and-compass check to see if I can figure out where Bolder Spring is supposed to be
The whole area is looking pretty dry, despite some green patches, so I'll be surprised if I find any water around here.
Date: April 25, 2008, 12h53
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Well, there are some water-indicating grasses growing here...
These are the same grasses that were growing around the well in the wash below Tough Nut Mine.
Date: April 25, 2008, 12h56
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I'll make a guess that Bolder Spring is here to the left of those bones somewhere
Of course, it doesn't matter much today where the spring is if it's dry... However, for the sake of closure, I do need to assign a location to it. This is one of the greener spots around, and there aren't a lot more of those grasses past here.
Date: April 25, 2008, 12h58
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A few more bone pieces
Perhaps these are bones from an animal with poor map-reading skills that was dying of thirst while trying to find Bolder Spring.
Date: April 25, 2008, 12h57
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Beyond the dry Bolder Spring, the old "road" doesn't get any better
In disused locations like this, I always wonder how long ago the place was last used. I'm not seeing any human footprints around here at all.
Date: April 25, 2008, 12h59
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Desert mallow growing in the Bolder Spring wash
Orange-flowered desert mallow is one of my favourite desert plants.
Date: April 25, 2008, 13h01
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Blue flowers in the Bolder Spring wash
I think these are a phacelia species. I'm seeing quite a few of them around sometimes, but they're not as common as the more greyish phacelias that I'm also seeing around here. Maybe they're both the same plant.
Date: April 25, 2008, 13h05
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I hike a little further up Bolder Spring wash and reach a fork
Oh, a decision to make. I could climb the right fork into the mountains and make my way back to camp that way. Instead, I decide to head left up over a ridge of hills that overlook the north fork of Globe Mine Road.
Date: April 25, 2008, 13h08
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Climbing out of the wash, I look back and see the crevice that I just hiked cutting across the foothills
I can even see the lower part of Globe Mine Road down in the distance from here.
Date: April 25, 2008, 13h12
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As I approach a saddle on the hills, a large rock along the way invites me to sit on it a rest for a few minutes
I haven't planned my hike from this point on, so a few minutes spent here will help me prepare my route improvisation. I might as well eat another Clif bar while I'm seated here.
Date: April 25, 2008, 13h18
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I've decided to aim for the top of the unnamed hills ahead between Bolder Spring wash and the north fork of Globe Mine Road
To get from this saddle over to the summit on the top right, I'll need to drop down into the drainage in front of me and climb upward from there.
Date: April 25, 2008, 13h40
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Decomposed cactus remains, apparently
For some reason, a spiral pattern has formed in this debris.
Date: April 25, 2008, 13h41
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I make it to the summit of "Hill 1161" (as labelled on my map) at 3700 feet and look to the north toward Cima Dome
I spend some time roaming on the summit, enjoying the views up above it all. My map indicates an old mine shaft up here, but I haven't seen it yet.
Date: April 25, 2008, 14h10
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