Day 03

Day 3 - Cloudy nearly all day, but still very hot. Crossed the river a lot - 18 times to Poncho Wash, 11 more to Ireland Mesa Canyon. Made it almost the entire way without having to take my boots off. Constructed cattle trail about halfway between Cat and Poncho. Trail comes and goes, washed out in a lot of the low-lying areas. Lots of birds. Nesting hawks high on a cliff. Very deep in the gorge now, towering sandstone cliffs. Numerous fault lines and immense chutes clear from the rim. Arrive at Ireland Mesa Canyon, poor camping, finally find a spot, wash hair and get water. Very dark clouds, so set up tent, just in time - pours for about 15 minutes. Go look around afterwards for some rainwater pools, but no luck. Lollygag around, read, eat jerky, finally pump water, dinner, early bed. Water still killing gut, long bathroom break after dinner. Fairly cool evening, not a cloud in the sky at dusk. A lot of bats. Some animals (probably horses, or possibly hyenas) try to wander into my camp in the dark about 9, and I have to chase them off a couple of times.