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the treacherous hole


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Posted by Zonie on January 01, 2023 at 05:18:29

With the same get-up as yesterday I went to the south trail of the west segment of Reach 11 today. I figured I'd give those mostly torn clothes one last mud hike before throwing them out.

I was enjoying a slog through a miry area when I got that sinking feeling and found one of my boot heels sank very deep with the toe pointing awkwardly up. I had come upon a deep spot in the mud that was too narrow even for one of my boots. I applied pressure and collapsed more of the area around it. Well a deep spot in the mud that fits my whole boot is to my liking, but it occurred to me that this could endanger equestrians or mountain bicyclists. I tried kicking sediment into it, but it remained deep and yielding. It occurred to me that the sediment wasn't going to settle until the ground dried, and with half an inch more rain expected tomorrow that might be quite some time.

The ideal solution would be a small boulder to put into the hole, but none were in the area. There were some mesquite logs and twigs, and I figured if I packed them in tight they wouldn't float. I broke several apart and packed them down in the hole. That seemed to have done the trick. They supported my boot at about the same level as the surrounding mud.

I continued a short distance when, as if on cue, I heard the pounding of approaching hooves. As this is a multi-use trail rather than a dedicated bridle path, riding at a full gallop is very unusual, but this was definitely happening. Not wanting to spook a galloping horse, I quickly fled into the mesquite thicket.

The horse was well-trained and disciplined, and the equestrian stopped it on a dime. She called out to wish me a Happy New Year and then just as quickly resumed a full gallop.

Later I was going through a muddy arroyo and came upon what I thought was a discarded snake skin. Moving it with my hiking staff, I found it was more than a mere skin but an entire dead rattlesnake. Well that's probably my last rattlesnake encounter of 2022 (unless I find one in my house sometime in the next two hours). The previous two were unsettling in that both of those snakes were living. Given what a cool day it was, I doubt a living snake could have done much.

I found a nice deep creamy mud hole and had a full wallow. I then hiked around burdened by the heavy mud on and in my overalls. The dry cleanup method was partly successful, but a lot of mud had gotten into the overalls, so when I got home I needed to strip and hose myself down on a winter night without fully seeing what I was doing. Well sometimes we have to pay for our pleasures.

I did notice I was finally getting mud to stick to those boots. Maybe it was just some polish or wax the manufacturer applied to them that had to be worn off.


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