Oak Creek Exploring

I was hankering for a little bit of exploring. I had spent a lot of my furlough inside taking care of the kids and the day to day things. It was time to get out. It was easy to get restless when the days all run together and you need something fresh. I always wanted to try to get up Oak Creek behind the maintenance yard to see what was up there.

In the past, I had explored up there but it was so hot, I just ran into the Altar of Sacrifice and was forced to turn around due to being tired of dealing with the heat. This time it \was February, Groundhog Day to be exact. So I would not have to worry about the heat at all. I drove up to the maintenance yard where I parked and started my hike. The beginning part was on a dirt road and the funniest thing is I actually saw another person up there. That was strange because this is not a place people usually go. I never saw them turn around, though. I hit the watercourse which had a small flow of water in it and followed that up. I was met with a few obstacles that were easily surmounted. I had been all the way up to the Altar of Sacrifice before, so this was nothing new, just some uphill hiking and some bushwhacking.

This time I went farther up the canyon. I had to get up on to the plateau to get by some obstacles. This was intense bushwhacking and eventually I got back into the canyon. I was met with obstacle after obstacle that I was forced to get around. Eventually I made it up to a point where the obstacle was too difficult for me to get up. I contemplated ways to get around, but figured I would just run into another one around the corner. The canyon looked interesting behind it, but still it wasn't worth it. Instead, I picked a new goal. I found a big rock leaning against the cliffs and noticed an opening behind it.

I maneuvered my way up to this rock having to do a bit of difficult climbing in order to make it up the rock. It was really neat behind it. There was like this entire room that I had to myself. I wondered if this could be a place to find Indian ruins, though I attempted to think things could be that, I don't think that in the end it would have been. In fact, I may have been the first person to set my foot in this area. I stayed there for a bit of time, peaking around the corner to see if there was anything else to explore. Eventually I left and went back the way I came to my vehicle. I was glad that I found something unique, but was disappointed in the exploring that produced nothing entirely unique. Still it was worth seeing once and good for my well being to get out for a bit.