Any other hikers, backpackers, campers out there?

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Only 1 shot from this weekend repeat hike that I have already posted pics of. Just shot this shot was cool with the sun rising behind the peak

 

[gambit]

Dam bro. You've been out there getting it done! That's awesome! The only thing I'm disappointed in is that you didn't get the dog a bacon cheeseburger. I'm sure the aftermath would've been great lol.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Dam bro. You've been out there getting it done! That's awesome! The only thing I'm disappointed in is that you didn't get the dog a bacon cheeseburger. I'm sure the aftermath would've been great lol.

 

HA that would have been a mess !

 

The 3 week break sucked I was planning on having my milestone hike to complete the preserve done by now :( but needed to ease back into it a bit. Knee felt solid after this weekend, I think I will go for one more 10-12 miler before taking on the big one. With our temps lately I might be headed north sooner than expected. Pushing 80 degrees for the next week so it is sunrise or bust lol.

 

 

I also am kicking around the idea of completing the 808 mile AZ Trail sometime in the next couple years. It is 43 passages that run from the southern border with Mexico all the way through the center of the state up to the northern border with Utah I would do over the weekends mostly as day hikes of 11-26 miles, a few of the passages I would have to do as overnight backpack trips due to access and location of trailheads. I am in the initial stages of looking at the passages and looking at logistics. I would also like to hike and raise funds for a charity so starting to look at different charities and best way to do it like go fund me and social media etc. The charity piece provides good motivation to finish the trail and goes to a good cause. I have been fortunate to do so cool stuff in my life, but I think this would be one of the coolest stories I could tell completing the trail.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Good example that shows that the desert is not just a dry arid wasteland like some people want to think. This is 20 miles due north from my place. Elevation 2900-4100 feet. This area was devastated by the cave creek complex fire in 2005 which is still the 3rd or 4th biggest wildfire in state history. There was still evidence of the fire but for the most part the area has recovered. Keep in mind we have had an unusually dry winter so far with something like .5 inch of rain vs 2.5 normal ytd, the creek is low but still running. Looks like we have some rain in the forecast this week which should help.

 

 

Not too often you run across a crested saguaro, this one with multiple crests was spectacular.

Switch from riparian area into high desert 3600-4100 feet

Skull Mesa, Seen in previous hikes from the other side. This is a future hike, supposed to be a bunch of Indian ruins up there.

Views for miles

Left over reminders of the 05 fire

Entire hill is green, Ponderosa Pines start making their appearances around 4k elevation

Wonder who this AB fellow was, the area is littered with former prospect sites on the USGS Topo map so best guess is a prospector along the creek looking for gold.

 

Our seasons are confused, it is February and still signs of fall along the creek

[One_Putt_Blunder]

New personal bests for me in terms of distance and elevation gain. Also completed all the trails in the southern section of the Scottsdale Mcdowell Perserve

 

Little boulder hopping to start

Lunch break spot up on the old mine

Mile 12.5 to mile 13.2 gained about 1100 feet was brutal

 

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Now that I have completed the Mcdowells I wanted to revisit one of my favorite spots that has such a great vantage point over most of the range along with east to Four Peaks, Fountain Hills, West towards the football stadium and SW towards downtown PHX, Camelback etc.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Superstition Mountains on Saturday with the wife. Heart of Lost Dutchman story territory.

 

Part 1 Peralta Canyon to Fremont Saddle and Lone Pine. Incredible Hoodoos spiking up along the south canyon sadly did not see any big horn sheep up there this trip

Lone Pine and Weavers Needle

the view down East Boulder Canyon which we're headed down then back up around the canyon to the right of the needle

Part 2 East Boulder Canyon to Black Top Mesa

 

Side View of Weavers Needle, so cool to get a 360 degree tour of the needle to see how much the perspective changes.

Opposite side of Weavers Needle fom lone tree

Black Top Mesa

 

Dutchman Trail to Terrapin Pass and bluff saddle working our way back now

 

Up on the saddle

Barks Canyon

Final push through Barks Canyon back to the car

 

Sorry for pic overload here but this was truly a visually stunning hike, albeit a grueling one

[gambit]

Look awesome bro. I’ve been bogged down by work, weather, sick kids. Need to get back out there.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Short little hike yesterday 6 miles or so. did not use gps just went for a stroll with the wife. After torturing her with the 13 mile 3k elevation gainer last week she took me to one of her favorite hikes. New spot for me in the northern section of the Mcdowell Sonoran Preserve. Brown's Mountain Summit (only a 600 foot climb so nothing crazy) but great views

 

The summit from below

The view from the top down

 

 

The subject of last weeks hike from some 35+ miles away. Amazing how recognizable the needle is from a long ways off

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Welp guess it is time to start being more aware on the trails. Danger noodles are starting to come out, ran into this little one last night at home

 

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Picketpost Mountain Summit yesterday, This was definitely more of a scramble than a hike. 2 miles to the summit 1/2 mile from TH to base of the mountain. So in 1.4 miles we gained about 2150 feet

 

Trailhead which depending on which way your headed is the end or start of passage 17 on the AZT which is also in the planning stages for me. We're going up the mountain. The route takes up through the draw just above/right the right corner of the AZT sign. When we got to the trailhead it was pouring down rain, thankfully it was a brief 10-15 minute shower otherwise we would have had to hit eject and turnaround. Way too slick and dangerous on the rocks in the rain.

 

 

Here is a good look at the draw. From here the route is up to the left to the base of the cliff then traverse over to the draw

 

Thought this was a cool shot, as the storm was passing, Weavers Needle looked like it had a spotlight shining on it.

 

 

push up to the cliff below/left of the draw

 

Traversing over to the draw

 

The view up the draw

 

Looking back down from the false summit ridge

 

Summit Beer!

US geological survey marker set in 1936

 

Summit Views

 

Heading down was quite possibly more dangerous and sketchy than going up

 

[moegolfer11]

Some awesome pics bro. I always thought the scramble up was the easy part, it's getting down that's scary to me.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Some awesome pics bro. I always thought the scramble up was the easy part, it's getting down that's scary to me.

 

Thanks

 

I'm kinda slow going up my replaced hips still not as strong as I'd really like them, going down punishes my knees and quads. I dont mind the solid rock parts (1st to last pic) as long as you have grippy shoes solid rock is not so bad. The loose rock/dirt steep parts are always what get me(last pic). We went as a big group since the route is not easy to follow. Normally there is no where near that many people up there. I'd say 5-10 make it to the summit on a weekend day we only saw 3 others that morning. Having some people in the pics gives a better translation on camera of how steep it really is

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Color corrected version of the trailhead sign. I love this picture

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Took the weekend off, which was probably a good idea have some big ones coming up. Sneak Peek at the upcoming weeks

 

This weekend Browns Peak out at Four Peaks fairly benign until you reach this scree chute then it gets interesting

 

 

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Browns Peak the tallest of the Four Peaks and highest point in Maricopa county. 5 Miles round trip first 1.75 miles has 1100 feet of gain the final half mile has the remaining 1000 feet

 

For Perspective on why it is called Four Peaks, from the golf course yesterday. Browns Peak is the one on the left.

 

Starting out the hike one of the first landmarks you come across is dubbed Snoopy Rock

Up above 6000 feet the views are great and the terrain totally different than the desert floor. Even smells like forest up there lol. Large fire swept through this area about 10-15 years ago downing many of the ponderosa pines.

 

Approaching the saddle and first really good look of the challenge that awaits

 

Into the chute

 

 

 

About half way up we really start going near vertical

 

Then you reach the top of the chute which is also a bit of a false summit

 

 

Finally the payoff 7657 feet above sea level and time for a summit beer

 

The view back to the Mcdowell Mountains which I posted many pics of little bit of a low haze really put a damper on the pics

 

Heading back the main trail to the T.H.

The bark on these is so cool looks like aligator skin, this one damaged by the fire.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Headed up North to Sedona for the weekend. 3 hikes. Hike one a short one called robbers roost. This is off the beaten path about 10-12 miles of forest service roads to an unmarked trailhead. Then about a 3 mile round trip on an unnamed trail. I messed up and went low when I should have gone high. This put us on a crazy traverse on slick red rock with about a 40 degree incline. My wife got freaked out and stopped very shortly in. I kept going to scout and now I realize it could have gone very bad very quick as there were no good hand or foot holds, and it would have been a long drop with nothing to stop me. Eventually saw the roost above me and worked my way back very carefully and headed up the correct trail. No pics of that part cause well I was not trying to die

 

The views so worth it all though

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Hike 2 a 10 mile loop from the place we rented which was conveniently less than 100 yards from a trail. Soldiers Pass and Brins Mesa. Notable sights. Devils Kitchen a large sinkhole that formed. Seven Sacred pools, somehow they always have water in them which is kinda weird. Soldiers Pass Arches

 

Coffee Pot Rock

Back angle

 

Sinkhole

Pools

 

Arches a slight detour off the main trail but worth it

Rest of the hike

Wife is a trooper, she had a piece of broken glass lodged in her heel surgically removed a week before, and still had a pretty good sized hole in her foot, but trucked on for close to 20 miles over the weekend.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Hike 3 Devils Bridge. Saved this one until Monday as it is super touristy. We came in from an alternate trailhead to avoid people as long as we could. Also got a bit lucky and beat most of the rush as the masses were en route on our way back.

 

That golf course has some really good views

 

Also just a reminder if you are going to hike, hike smart. Over the weekend we helped no less than 3 couples find their way back to trailheads. They had no map, no gps one group did not even bring a phone with them. One of them was nearly 1.5 miles off track already.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Well this was the scariest spot I've been in so far, as mentioned in the first Sedona post. I was scouting what i thought was a route to the cave on top of the hill. I found myself traversing and dangling on slick rock with no hand or footholds. Roughly 40 degree+ slope. Looking back this was a really really bad idea to get out that far. There was no plan B. A simple slip of one foot and there was nothing to stop me from sliding all the way down and eventually off the cliff. I really wished I had my Adidas hiking shoes on this one as they are way more grippy on stuff like this than my other pair of trail shoes. It would have made a huge difference. I traversed in from the right through the scattered rocks, came back on a higher line that kind looks like a thin white line. The worst part was going across the water run off chute. It was full of basically mold and there was no grip, it involved a pretty big stretch move across with only a sliver of a foothold and no where to grip with hands

 

 

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Battleship Mountain, Superstition Wilderness. roughly the W/NW area of the wilderness. 12 miles round trip. Caught a break in the weather dropped from mid 90's during the week down to low 80's so we gave this one a go. About 5 miles to the mountain scramble route. Then about a 1/3 mile of climbing through scree to the ridgeline followed by a 2/3 mile boulder scramble across the ridgeline to the summit. I kinda want to go back and do this again in the fall/winter as I kinda played it safe since the person behind me in our group was not a strong route finder. This is a really cool choose your own adventure kinda scramble. You can boulder hop pretty much the entire ridgeline to summit, or drop down in the gaps and stay on dirt for less exposure. I missed out on the fun boulder scramble to the summit because of this.

 

Google Satelite if you want the overhead. Hiked in from First Water TH (shows as Dutchman TH on google) down through Second Water canyon into Boulder Canyon and up

https://www.google.c...1.3987413?hl=en

 

 

The hike in/out was pretty uneventful minus seeing two does in the wash early on. so Ill skip ahead to the fun part.

Hitting the saddle down into second water canyon we get our first glimpse of our goal

Up on the ridge the profile view, it kinda looks like a listing battleship

The narrow connecting ridge, except a couple short 6-7 foot near vertical climbs this was the only spot you really had to boulder hop.

the reverse view of the narrow ridge me coming back down in red shirt light pants. I got sick of climbing down and back up boulders so I just jumped across. The jump from where the gal in the red/black is to the boulder below/right of her was a bit nervy but fun. Behind me you can one of the guys face to the mountain going down one of the small vertical sections

A view from higher up looking back down the narrow ridgeline

Summit views are outstanding, so many sights visible, Canyon lake, Weavers Needle, La Barge Canyon (the steep spire) Massacre Grounds, Flatiron and the main superstition ridgeline.

La Barge Canyon

The route in

One of the guys was not feeling too great and stayed behind on the ridgeline to play it safe he sent me this shot after of me up on the lower edge of the summit plateau

This was the pic I was taking

 

Going back down

 

Really cool hike look forward to this one again was prob the least sketchy of the recent summits I have done but was still one of my favorties. I might come in from the North there is a trailhead near the lake that you can take

[moegolfer11]

Geez man, you've been killing it lately. How's the hip holding up? I'd love to get out and do some hiking/camping but the weather has been bipolar lately...just gotta stay patient

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Geez man, you've been killing it lately. How's the hip holding up? I'd love to get out and do some hiking/camping but the weather has been bipolar lately...just gotta stay patient

 

It is doing pretty good, that one big boulder to boulder jump jarred it a tad and still a bit sore from it, other than that it has been doing good and my legs are as strong as they ever have been post surgeries. Really is the best physical therapy I have done.

 

My season is pretty much over at the end of the month unless we get a break in the weather. I'll prob do some easy to moderate stuff to keep in shape. Hopefully get a few weekends here or there where I can get above 7k feet and into some cooler temps. but that involves 2-3 hour drives each way. ABQ golf trip in two weeks and I need to get some reps in on the course this week so prob not any hiking this weekend either.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

14 hikes, 113 miles and 24,235 feet of elevation gain so far this year. I'd love to break 100,000 in elevation gain for the year. Unfortunately with summers in AZ that might be tough to get that much climbing in. Average hike is 8.07 miles with 1731 of elevation gain.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

New bag, needed something to accommodate longer days on the trail and/or summit hikes where more layers/gear needed. I think with some careful purchasing of small light gear and packing I can even use this as an ultra light overnighter with room for a small tent and compressed sleeping bag

 

[moegolfer11]

New bag, needed something to accommodate longer days on the trail and/or summit hikes where more layers/gear needed. I think with some careful purchasing of small light gear and packing I can even use this as an ultra light overnighter with room for a small tent and compressed sleeping bag

 

 

Nice! Have an Osprey Talon 22 that I use mostly for 1 nighters and day hikes. Absolutely love it. Took it and my REI 45 to Europe for 3 weeks and almost had too much space. Osprey makes awesome stuff.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

New bag, needed something to accommodate longer days on the trail and/or summit hikes where more layers/gear needed. I think with some careful purchasing of small light gear and packing I can even use this as an ultra light overnighter with room for a small tent and compressed sleeping bag

 

 

 

Nice! Have an Osprey Talon 22 that I use mostly for 1 nighters and day hikes. Absolutely love it. Took it and my REI 45 to Europe for 3 weeks and almost had too much space. Osprey makes awesome stuff.

 

Good to know, impressed with all the little pockets and shove it type storage spots. first aid kit and headlamp/flashlight fit nicely in the lower outside pocket leaving plenty of room in the main pocket for gear. This will by my main AZT bag for covering passages I know I can do in a day. Will be heavy but nice to know I can carry 5-6L of clean water and not have to filter out of spots like Bathtub Spring(yes that is an actual known water refil spot along the AZT). With 6L of water I may not have room for a tent but at least I can throw in a sleeping bag and if I get stuck out at least I can make a shelter out of my emergency blankets and use the sleeping bag in a makeshift shelter etc.

[GHIN n Juice]

Just got back from St. Lucia and hiked the Gros Piton. It was an excellent hike of about 1800 feet in 2 miles. Absolutely amazing views at the peak and worth the hike.

 

Growing up in Utah I used to hike all the time and loved Moab whether on foot or a bike. After moving to Nebraska the only hiking I do is a walk on the golf course.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Tom's Thumb super loop Saturday. 12.5 miles 3018 AEG. Aprox 2500 feet of it comes in two stretches that total 2.5 miles. Started at about 6:15am to stay in the shade for the first climb. Was having breakfast on top shortly after 9. With my hip replacements I have always struggled a bit with going up hill. This was a great hike to show my progress. Pace to the thumb was just over 2.25 mph which is really good for me. Usually that would dip just below 2 mph and make up for it on the way down. Also did not take many rest stops just tried to keep the feet moving at a steady pace. Light on the pics here since i've already posted pretty much all of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

 

My breakfast view Scrambled a few boulders to find a nice overlook off the trail to try for a little quiet time. If you are wondering why so many people up there for such a long hike, there is a short route from the north that is a 4 mile out and back with like 1400 AEG that is insanely busy

 

 

Maybe once Ill find a nice smooth dirt trail through a forest or something where I'm not just walking over loose rock the entire time.

Ocotillo in bloom

[moegolfer11]

One Putt, What kind of shoes are you using? Trail runners or boots?