Day 5 Rome
We awoke super early I slept like crap last night form some pain in my foot and back so when the alarm went off at 4am I was more than happy to get going. We donned headlamps and made easy miles along dirt roads in the cool of the morning air. As the sky turned pink we had already made great progress towards town.
Dang Salty slow down town will be there when we arrive
We tracked over mostly dirt roads and saw only a few lizards and cows. We finally got a cell signal and were able to catch up with emails and all as we walked through the flat rolling terrain. Eventually as the sun rose higher the heat cranked up and we had pace ourselves to deal with it.
Jordan creek canyon
The flat terrain turned into a canyon wall and suddenly we stood atop the rim of Jordan Creek and looked down into the area we needed to descend into and Climb out from. The climb down was steep but manageable the creek was flowing but small. The shore was covered in cat tails and grasses as we made our way through, Swept Away jumped back and said,”big rattler” a large snake moved its way through the grass and we all were more cautious as we continued our bushwhack up out for the canyon.
Jordan creek canyon from the bottom, watch for “snakes in the grass”
After reaching the rim we crossed some hills and saw a large heard of prong horn in the distance. We could hear the highway and the siren song if town. We proceeded to walk the two miles down the paved highway and into Rome, a glorified gas station with some cabins and a restaurant. The cabins were full but for $15 we are able to camp in the rv park and use power and WiFi. A few meals later and town chores down we are mentally preparing in our own ways for the next 30 mike waterless stretch with temps predicted at 96 degrees.
Being the resident Dago I found it only fitting to lounge around shirtless all day in the heat
Ahh the joys of the long distance desert hiker. We know that after this next stretch it will get easier and the temps better we just need to stay hydrated enough to get there
