Swamp Point to Muav Saddle – July 2006

Preview

The competition for our demise: lightning vs. venom; and the ghost of Canyon past.

Day 1 – Swamp Point to Muav Saddle

Lazy morning enjoying views from Swamp Point.  Monsoon rolls in outta nowhere.  Huge, dark clouds.  Packed, about to leave, brilliant surge of light, energy, power, surrounds and explodes, loudest boom I ever heard.  Force and shock of lightning strike literally knocks us to ground.  Regroup and hustle down North Bass Trail towards Powell Plateau.

At Muav Saddle, Zilly forgot our food.  Dammit.  Backtrack to retrieve grub, spook a couple mule deer, getting late, storm coming back.  Return and take shelter in Teddy’s Cabin.  Round 2 of storm unleashes fury, barrage of lightning, pounding rain, thunder, darkness.  Real fear this flimsy wood cabin will be pulverized any second.  Prayer.  Finally relents, can hear Castle Canyon tributaries flash flooding and…much closer…an unmistakable rattle.  Sunovabitch.  Check tiny room, looks clear but disconcerting pile of rubble in corner, shut door and block bottom opening, pretty sure rattler is under cabin…hope rattler is under cabin.  Fitful sleep on cabin floor.

Day 2 – Muav Saddle to Swamp Point

Beautiful partly sunny morning.  Window open, positive I latched it shut, guess Teddy’s spirit snuck out during night. No sign of rattler, but that’s their specialty.  More storms look like real possibility, we haul ass out.

Recap

Though I day-hiked there pre-trip, proper exploration of Powell Plateau will have to wait for another time, always another reason to come back.  Later learned that lightning storm actually started a fire atop Powell (along with 2 other fires on North Rim), guess Zilly forgetting the food was a blessing in disguise.