The decision...

The photo is of the old cattleman's line shack, also known as a "rockhouse", which is why this canyon is called Rockhouse Canyon. Not very creative. Note the old stovepipe on the left side.

Winter days in the desert are mild but winter nights can dip down to 30-degrees. Plus, winter nights are long. Routes look relatively simple on topo maps once you understand what the contours mean, but associating physical features and judging distances between the map world and the real world is not easy, especially in the desert where colors are muted and land features are indistinguishable.

Ultimately I led us down a rocky gully that was far steeper than I recalled, and we popped out in Rockhouse canyon. Then we hiked up canyon for a mile or so in deep sand and eventually reached the cattleman’s line shack a little before dusk. After a quick bite of food it was time for a decision. Do we try and make it up and over the saddle in the dark, and back in Bow Willow canyon where we’re just a few miles from our vehicles? Or, is it safer to spend the night at the shack, in the cold, and start hiking the next morning?

At this point we were unaware that the hantavirus can be caught by inhailing the virus in contaminated dust. On subsequent hikes we noticed plenty of mouse droppings in the rockhouse so the possibility of exposure is real.