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Upper Horsehead CreekUpper Horsehead Creek hike of bluff on creek action
12/7/19
At 4:30, in the predawn hours, most lie tucked cozy in their beds, dreaming of all manner of action. I prefer to penetrate the shrubbery during such dark moments, for our history here on earth is brief. One does not know what perils lurk within the wilderness...waiting to remove us from the world we know and cherish. Deadly woodland creatures, perilous bluffs and swift currents all lie in wait, to take us down...hard. It was 35° on this Saturday morning in December. The skies were free of moisture and the air was still. I made my way south down the ridge and thought back on my breakfast at Denny's in Russellville. The meal was fit for a queen...hell, maybe even a king. It prepared me for a day of scrambling over treacherous terrain...and living to tell about it. On this day...I lived, and therefore am now telling you about it. I hiked on the West Fork in 2018.
My bluff of choice was mounted around 6:00. Sunup was an hour away. I waited. The sun rose and the view before me was quite savory. When provide with such, one must obligingly savor...so that I did. The light slowly permeated the valley from the left. The angles of the beams changed with relaxing sluggishness. This, in turn, was relaxing to my inner workings...and provided me with much solace. The broad expanse of the land here, I found to be fairly unique. I claimed it for my own. It is now mine.
Sometime around 8:30 I headed into the hollow below. After four to five thousand feet of descent, the creek was before me. Not long after following it upstream it became apparent that the brush and downed timber would make it difficult as the sides of the valley closed in. I elected to move back up the slope. Lunch was had near the top with a fine view of the gorge. By 12:00 I was back at the car with 53°. This hike tallied in 6.5 miles.
