~ Wilson / Reynolds Creek, China Wall ~

On Saturday, Josh and I went out to the Wilson Creek area for a hike in the Owyhees. We started from the main trailhead and trekked along some various trails eastward, towards Reynolds Creek. We lost the trail a few times and had to bushwhack to our way to the next trail. The inversion over Boise had caused depression to accumulate, however, the clouds broke over the Owyhees and we were able to experience some glorious sunshine. The light was particularly stunning that day.

We hiked to the top of one of the buttes to take in the view and admire some interesting geology. There were odd boulders with distinctive striping. Later, we discussed how the Owyhees contain many fascinating geological features.

A few ridges later, we happened upon a trail that Josh hypothesized would lead us to the China Wall, a trail we have been trying to find. We hike and hiked, and just has we were coming up over a ridge, someone called out, "Hey, it's Josh and Jennifer." I was totally weirded out that someone would recognize us in the middle of the Owyhees. It was a group of friendly mountain bikers who were just coming out of the China Wall. We stopped and chatted and they suggested that we hike the China Wall and that we would be able to get back to the Wilson Creek Trailhead from there.

It was an awesome hike through the Reynolds Creek Canyon, along this rocky trail-bridge ("China Wall"). I was curious about the history behind this trail and I discovered that the trail is formally known as "China Ditch" and informally as the "China Wall," and that it was built by Chinese laborers who were diverting water from Reynolds Creek for irrigation purposes. The trail took us down to the bottom of the canyon, with what seemed like the cliffs of Mordor rising above us.

Eventually, we hiked out of the canyon, where we were faced with several trail options. We decided to follow the bike tracks from the group of riders we had chatted with, a plan that proved very wise. Tracking their tire prints allowed us to navigate back to the trailhead with great ease.

During the hike, we also decided that we would return the next day with our mountain bikes, and with Elizabeth.

The bike ride was awesome. We rode a few different trails to access the canyon area, most of which were in pretty good condition. The trails were rougher than the previous day due to horse travel; Josh and I felt bad because Elizabeth isn't accustomed to the rough trails in the Owyhees, but she seemed perfectly fine. One trail traversing the backside of a butte was particularly muddy and we had difficulty riding to the top. I worked up a sweat and got my heart racing because I was dead set on riding it - - meanwhile, Josh and Elizabeth were hiking behind me, having faced reality in a more timely fashion. Otherwise, the trails were dry.

Descending into and through the canyon afforded us an opportunity to practice some technical skills.

Riding along the wall was fun. More photos on my photoset

Posted by jennifer at 6:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)