Everything

Everything is ahead of schedule. The desert willow which usually blooms between May 10th and May 14th is green weeks early. No blooms but they are coming. Hayduker Serens came by and then headed down Lockhart to the next stop which is Needles. She also sent an updated water report.

Hey Tom, Thanks again for the Gatorade and water and front porch setting. Made it to Needles! Here’s a brief water update, referencing Fairweather’s email: The water source near mile 6.8 was no longer flowing over the road. I didn’t go up any washes looking for water since I filled up with you. I opted to take the 2-mile jeep road “Lockhart Road” (mile 23 i think?) down to the Colorado River and spend the night there. It’s a gorgeous area and halfway thru the 40-mile dry section between you and the “giant pothole” at 39.5. I was able to bathe, explore, and camel up, and left with more than enough to get to 39.5 the next day. The 2-mile detour takes less than an hour and, for me, was hugely preferable to carrying two days of water. Note: the end of the Jeep Road is blocked from the river by tamarisk but there is a well-worn path thru the brush to get to the inlet. Or, veer off the jeep road when nearing the end of it and follow the drainage to the river. I hiked up the boulder-choked ravine that Fairweather mentions in her email and there was no longer a puddle. Lockhart spring was still flowing but alkaline. Indian Spring is still mostly dry with some low alkaline flow. However, just after crossing Indian Spring I came across three very large potholes holding a large amount of water that did not taste or appear alkaline. The “giant pothole” at 39.5 was smaller than the above-mentioned puddles but still plenty big enough to gather from. I filled up there and then hiked up to the Loop overlook to watch the sunset and camp — highly recommend!!! A few days later Kick Back and Kite came through. This is probably about the end of Haydukers for this season otherwise they'll get to the Grand Canyon when it's too hot.