We were up, checked out, fed and back at Clear Creek by 9:30 a.m. This time the “supposed directions” led us 2.5 miles past the east end o
f the small tunnel. And about 400 yards into the hike we were in Separation Canyon, which wa
s a wide wash displaying towering redrock cliffs and “desert tanks.”
After the tanks, a narrowing canyon filled with charcoal-colored redrock and snow-packed boulders caught my attention. I became engrossed i
n taking pictures – that is where the adventure began. As I lagged behind, Liv hiked on
thinking I would catch up soon enough. Unbeknownst to her, I found the left split in the wash that would take me to the point, a nipple, known as Separation Point.
As I continued up the wash I thought she may have followed the path as well. Until I came to a very sketchy, congested area with a 300-foot drop and realized she would have stayed in the Clear Creek rock bed. I continued up the wash assuming I could scramble up the slickrock and down the other side, intersecting with Liv’s path through Separation Canyon. Once I reached the ascent and Separation Point; however, the slickrock simply flattened out leaving an impossible path to the other side. Not wanting to climb down the steep and treacherous slickrock I just ascended, I began to panic just a little. Not because I felt that I was lost or that I wouldn’t be able to get down, but I knew at this point Liv would realize I wasn’t behind her and she would begin to worry. I hastily ran to every point of the slickrock plateau looking for a way down and every time, that way down turned out to be at least a 200-foot drop with no foreseeable (or logical) point to descend.
I ended up finding a snowy crag, much like the one we climbed up the day before, and essentially slid down hurriedly – only losing my balance once or twice. But once down the crag, I realized I still had another couple hundred feet to climb before I made it to the wash. Finally, I found a gradual slope in the slickrock. Half sliding down and half doing the crab walk and made it to the wash and headed hurriedly back to the car.
Based on the position of the sun, I knew it was about noon, meaning I had been MIA for about two hours. I was hoping Liv had hiked back to the car and just waited, knowing I was an avid, not to mention adventurous hiker, and I would be behind her shortly.
About half a mile away from the car, in my halfhearted attempt to run on the unsteady bedrock, I made my way around the bend to find Liv headed back my way. Her faced looked relieved and she gave me a great big hug; to my surprise, she wasn’t too panicked. Although she had left a note at the car telling me to stay put if I had come back, she hadn’t planned to call the rangers or the swat team for at least another hour.
We walked back to the car arm in arm laughing about our separation in Separation Canyon and realized that all in all, the hike had been amazing – the trip a success and both of us individually, had discovered our own little adventures. 
Looking at the car from the top of the hike 
Desert Tanks in Separation Canyon 
Author playing in the desert tanks 
Charcoal-colored redrock was beautiful in the canyon 
Mossy redrock among the desert tanks and charcoal rocks 
Winter runoff in the canyon 
The runoff pools in the canyon 
Where the canyon narrowed right before the left split in the wash