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We were on the lookout for fossils, hoping against hope that we would see a few specimens in the rocks that lined the trail. The Ranger at the Visitor Center had said to expect some fossils along the trail in stones that had fallen over the millennia as debris from the reef above us. I was awestruck by the limestone escarpment that rose over 2,000 feet above our heads—a mountain formed by once living things whose limey skeletons had combined with calcium carbonate in the sea water. Quite unexpectedly, my big fossil find of the trip was a “sea lily” or crinoid, which was actually an animal related to starfish and sea urchins. Typically the stem of the sea lily is the part of this animal that is most commonly found in fossils of the Capitan Reef, but I was lucky enough to discover a fossil complete with its roots, stem, and flower. It looked amazingly like the drawing in the Park Service literature. What a find! I was able to capture its image in a photograph, the best way to keep a souvenir from the Park, but I forgot to add a marker for size. In case you think I need a reality check, I will admit that my sea lily has not yet been confirmed by an expert to be a true fossil. I will share the picture anyway with some trepidation and acknowledge the possibility that to a trained eye it might appear to be a skillfully made artifact or a chance formation in stone such as NASA’s photograph of the mysterious face on the surface of Mars. But until I am told otherwise, I will cherish the discovery of my ancient sea lily.
ROCK CRAWLING
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Devil's Hall Trail
(Where's the trail?) |
The trail up into Pine Spring Canyon was like a floating shelf of loose rocks in many places, which made the hike increasingly difficult. It required extra attention to foot placement and balance, and we would have to stop at intervals, plant our feet, and then take a moment to look up and reflect upon the scenery that was unfolding around us. Farther up the trail, the loose rocks quickly turned into boulders resting in a large wash where the “trail” was suddenly difficult to distinguish from the rocky landscape. Mary Ann and I were both concerned about the risk to her safety. Several years ago, she had seriously sprained both ankles on a trip to the Buffalo River in Ponca Arkansas. We both understood the consequences of this happening again, especially in a remote wilderness area such as the Guadalupe Mountains. I would be of little help except to alert the Park Rangers of the need for a rescue operation. Having never sprained an ankle, I was much less concerned about the potential hazard of stones on the trail, so I recklessly hopped from one stone to the other feeling relatively indestructible. I helped Mary Ann over the difficult places, and after conquering each steep ascent and descent or scaling each large boulder, we would think “that must be the worst of it”. But the rocky terrain continued to present more and more difficult challenges. I became concerned when I saw a growing look of fatigue and apprehension on Mary Ann’s face. I wondered if she would reach a breaking point soon and still be able to resist the urge to harpoon me with her walking stick for leading her into this God-forsaken wilderness. But she pressed on up, over, and around the obstacles while developing some skill at belly-sliding off the larger boulders to make a soft landing on the other side. She was to survive the ordeal and earned the right to boast that she had invented a new sport—“rock crawling”.
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| Bigtooth Maples on Devil's Hall Trail |
After hiking for about 2 hours at this pace in surprisingly demanding terrain, we were relieved to find a level place to sit and eat lunch under the shade of a large pine. It gave us a chance to look around and appreciate the unique beauty of the place without having to worry about taking a misstep. Mary Ann wanted to please me by making it all the way to the scenic Devil’s Hall, a towering narrow cleft in the canyon wall that leads to the more remote recesses of Pine Spring Canyon. However, when we met another hiker returning from there, I asked him, “How much farther?” When he said, “only about half a mile”, then I made the call—it was time to turn back. The Devil’s Hall had not been our original goal anyway; today’s hike was intended to be a warm up walk for our hike through McKittrick Canyon. A more important goal was to avoid ankle sprains or damage to our relationship, and I was also concerned that I had worn us out too much for the big hike tomorrow. Anyway, we got to see a lot of good stuff on the “easy” trail into Pine Spring Canyon, and we only had to walk about 3½ miles round trip. The return hike was mostly downhill and therefore a bit easier but not without meeting the same rocky obstacles with which we had to contend on the way up.
Back at the trailhead, we kicked off our hiking boots and took a rest. It gave us a chance to reflect on the beauty of the place and on the technical merits of "rock crawling", a personal triumph for Mary Ann. She had made carefully calculated and skillful moves not wanting us to end up hurdling down the canyon wall like Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas in
Romancing the Stone. At least they were able to slide down their canyon on mud and water in a Columbian rainforest. That would have really hurt in the dry Guadalupes.
"Piece o' cake...right, Mary Ann...?" The answer is censored.
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