FLASH MUD
In a desperate search for water, I sought out Sonora Pass this weekend. Most everything in California is dry now. The mountains in the Tahoe area are devoid of snow; they usually carry snow until late in the summer. The Sonora Pass mountains are quite a bit higher, so perhaps maybe they still had some snow. They did not. But I definitely picked the right day to go there.
When I arrived at Blue Canyon I found the creek was flowing high and muddy from the day’s thunder storms. Flash flood? More like flash mud. It was kinda weird actually. All the muddy water was coming down from a small side stream that was no doubt completely dry yesterday but was raging with muddiness today. Blue Canyon creek proper was clear and flowing nicely. I was unsure if Blue Canyon creek was also up because of the rain or was this a normal flow? If it was up due to the rain then why wasn’t it muddy also? So many questions. I had wanted to climb up into Blue Canyon but I wasn’t planning to do it until the next morning. With the flow up though, I decided to change the plan. Who knows what it would be like tomorrow.
I crossed the muddy stream below the lower falls and climbed up into the canyon. I felt something was wrong, that I had forgotten something back at the car but I could not think what I had forgotten. Oh well, it can’t be that important. I quickly realized one thing: I forgot to bring water. That didn’t seem like that was it though. Water is important but it was a short hike so I was not concerned about that. When I arrived at the beautiful upper falls (which was not really the upper falls – more to come about that), I realized the other thing I forgot: my tripod! Doh! Now that is important! I tried taking some shots hand held but it was no good.
By this time I heard the thunder. Another storm was rolling in. I don’t care about rain but I sure did not want to be caught up on the mountain in a lightning storm. Yet I did not see any lightning anywhere. How could there be thunder and not lightning? That makes no sense. It is not even possible! Well, I decided to go back down the mountain. It was pointless to continue up the mountain without a tripod anyway, and I’m sure it would have been stupid in the storm. By the time I got back down to the car it was pouring rain. Still no lightning. I did not leave yet though because I wanted to get a shot of that muddy falls. However, by the time the rain had dissipated, the waterfall was much less muddy than it was when I arrived. That side stream was now almost dry again. Well, I went back down to the creek, crossed the muddy stream again and took some shots (with my tripod!). It was quite nice, and only slightly muddy. Now what should I do next? Stay tuned to find out.