South Kaibab to Hermit Trail, Grand Canyon

First of all, the Third Annual Birds, Blues, and Bellydance Benefit was a resounding success! $1040 raised for Wildlife Rehabilitation Northwest Tucson- thanks to Sky Bar for hosting, the performers for donating their talents, and all who came out and enjoyed the entertainment. I’m waiting for pictures and will post when I get them.

I drove up to the Grand Canyon in March to do an Arizona Trail presentation for the Tusayan Chamber of Commerce. The meeting was held in the sitting-room of the Historic Kolb Studio perched at the head of the Bright Angel Trail at the Grand Canyon. The Kolb brothers were Grand Canyon pioneers- click here to read more about this adventurous duo. Definitely the best place I’ve given an Arizona Trail talk yet!

Kolb Photography Studio with a camera pointed at the Bright Angel Trail

Since I was in the neighborhood, I decided to try my luck at a walk-up permit at the Backcountry Office. It was the first wave of Spring Break traffic and I wasn’t sure what was going to be available. Although I have spent a lot of time in the Canyon, I have never done the popular Hermit-Bright Angel loop, so I asked about that itinerary. Surprisingly, there was a first night at Salt Creek, then a second night at Hermit Creek. What sold me on the itinerary was that Salt Creek is only one campsite, so I would be assured some solitude despite the busy season.

Salt Creek Camp

I was looking at a map the day before my hike and decided that instead of the Bright Angel Trail that I would take the South Kaibab Trail down to the Tonto Trail. I could see the piece of the Tonto Trail that goes from the Tipoff to Indian Garden while avoiding the crowds of the Bright Angel Trail. It would pose more of a challenge, at 16 miles instead of 12, but I was in the mood for a long day.

I could hardly sleep, I was so excited to go backpacking.  It has been WAY too long since I’ve backpacked in the Grand Canyon.  I have been spending all of my time in the Canyon in the past two years at river level. The last backpacking trip I took in the Canyon was my Point Huitzil trip in April 2011. Hard to believe. I’ve hiked in twice since, but rafted out, which is quite the luxurious way to do it.

Smiling in the Supai on the South Kaibab Trail

Brahma and Zoroaster Temples

I started hiking around 7:30 am. There was ice in the chimney of the South Kaibab Trail and I was happy to have my Microspikes. The ice only lasted through the first switchbacks and was clear the rest of the trip. I was practically running down the trail, I was so excited to be back. I love the South Kaibab Trail, it evokes so many memories of my growing relationship with my adopted state. In August of 1994, my boyfriend at the time and I drove across the country in a red sports car from Chicago to move me to Tucson to attend the University of Arizona. I’d chosen the school, sight unseen, because of its excellent Anthropology program. Never having been to the Southwest before, I had no idea what to expect. My first hike ever at the Grand Canyon was down to Cedar Ridge and it completely blew my mind. At the time I don’t even think I knew about backpacking down to the river or anything.

My first visit to the Grand Canyon- 1994

I returned for dayhikes with visitors, but was not able to do much more because I was very sick with fibromyalgia in my 20′s.  By 2001 I was having less frequent flares and some friends of ours got a permit for two nights at Bright Angel Campground in April. My hike down the South Kaibab was excruciating. Despite having tried to train beforehand, my knees were my weak point and I hobbled into the campground on borrowed hiking poles. My husband Brian and I made all the usual mistakes, carried too much, trained too little, and then he didn’t eat enough on the 10 hour hike out the Bright Angel and threw up the rest of the evening. I was sore for a week but wanted to go back. Brian did not share my enthusiasm, it was his first and last backpacking trip.

The South Kaibab is also part of the Arizona Trail, I hiked this passage with my brother Sanjay in 2008. We had an amazing four days together,  I wish we could do it again sometime soon. So much history with this trail.

My brother Sanjay and me in 2008

It was interesting to see this part of the canyon from above once again. The river gives such a different perspective. There were a lot of people on the trail that were going to have a long, hard, hot hike up. It was hard not to be in guide mode. I reached the Tipoff and had a nice chat with a woman who is a ranger at Glacier NP who was having the same issue on her dayhike, trying to enjoy herself without going into ranger mode.

Temperatures had soared in the last couple of days and it was going to be hot on the exposed Tonto Platform. Luckily, I had my trusty umbrella, which is ideal for Tonto walking. I turned off toward Pipe Creek and began contouring on the Tonto, or Tontouring, as I have heard it called. It was easy walking toward Pipe Creek. When I reached the Pipe Creek drainage, I saw a beautiful juniper for my break time. There is no better smell in the world than a Grand Canyon juniper. I took a long break and ate and rested up before continuing on.

Pipe Creek

Twisted geology

My next stop was Indian Gardens and the junction with the Bright Angel Trail. I decided the best method of dealing with the Spring Break crowd was a minimal-contact policy. Just fill up the water and keep on going. So many people, I was glad to get out of there. I met nonot from HikeArizona.com on the trail headed out from a Boucher-Bright Angel loop and stopped to chat for a bit before Tontouring over to Horn Creek.

Junction with Plateau Point Trail

I was feeling good as I made my way to the Horn Creek campground, which was full of people. I was glad that my permit was for the next drainage over, where I would have the camp to myself. The last miles toward Salt Creek were long and my feet were getting sore. My spirits were buoyed by a fantastic view downriver of Granite and Hermit Rapids.  I Tontoured forever around Dana Butte and finally reached the Salt Creek CG about 6pm. It had been a long but incredibly scenic day, surprisingly hot, but all the drainages had water in them for me to cool down.

Cheops Plateau and Pyramid, Brahma, and Zoroaster

I ended up hiking 17.3 miles that day, an extra mile added on because I thought I left my Mp3 player on the trail and backtracked for a while to look for it. I set up my camp and was so tired that I passed out for about two hours before waking up and eating a sandwich and going back to sleep.

I had a leisurely morning the next day, as I had only 7.2 miles to get to my next campsite at Hermit Creek. It was so nice to have Salt Creek to myself and I spent a while writing in my journal and relaxing before breaking camp and moving on. I continued on the Tonto toward Monument Creek and got to see some boaters running Granite Rapid. It was so fun to be able to hear their triumphant cheers from 1500 feet above as they all made it through without incident. I can hardly wait for river season to begin again. I am working six trips with Arizona River Runners this summer starting in late May, so soon enough I will be the one cheering as we go through the rapids.

Granite Rapids

I stopped in Monument to refill my water and take a break. I spent a bit of time checking out the dark sculpted schist narrows downstream of the trail. This is by far the best camp on the Tonto between Bright Angel and Hermit, the others are quite small and located in the back of mildly interesting drainages. There was a climb out of the drainage and a tour of the Monument, a tall Tapeats Sandstone pillar, before regaining the Tonto Platform. I got to see the same boaters run Hermit Rapids, one of the most fun on the river.

The Monument

Monument Creek

White boat in Hermit Rapid as the other two wait their turn

As I reached the Hermit Trail junction, there were lots of backpackers taking breaks tucked into various small shady spots and we chatted about itineraries and such. I reached the trailside corral and dropped my pack to go check out the old Hermit Camp ruins. It was a luxury camp deep within the canyon from 1911-1930, visited by fancy ladies and gentlemen via a mule ride. Visit this link to read more.

Historic Hermit Camp

I reached the campsite in the creek and found a shady ledge to set up for a nap. There was a NPS helicopter circling around and I thought they might be looking for someone, but it turned out it was a Poop-copter flying in barrels for the composting toilet. After the excitement of the Poop-copter, I explored up Hermit Creek a ways, plenty of pretty waterfalls and small pools. I was still a bit tired from the previous long day, so I decided not to make the trek down to the river.  I’ll see Hermit Rapids plenty this summer, up close and personal.

Cascades up Hermit Creek

It was a windy night and I heard people starting to stir before sunrise, most were getting ready for the big hike out. I made it on the trail around 7:30 am and Tontoured back over to the Hermit Trail junction. At the base of the switchbacks, I could see a boy scout troop up ahead and heard screaming. I prepared myself for what I might find when I came upon the group. There was a boy in front screaming at the top of his lungs, “MY FEET HURT! I WANT TO TAKE A BREAK! I HATE THIS PLACE!”

I caught up with the adult in back who happened to be the scoutmaster and I asked what was wrong with the boy. He said that physically, nothing was wrong- they’d checked his feet numerous times. This boy had been screaming like this the entire trip, any time that they were hiking. He’d done it all the way on the hike down and whenever they hiked. When they stopped for a break or camp, he was quiet. They tried to mitigate it by hiking for 20 minutes, then taking a break. And sure enough, when they stopped, the boy was quiet. I tried to give some encouraging words to him about the hike out as I passed the group.

I made it up several switchbacks and the Boy Scout troop started moving again. “THIS IS THE WORST DAY EVER!! I HATE YOU! MY FEET HURT! I WANT TO TAKE A BREAAAAAAAAAK!” The screams echoing off the canyon walls. To tell the truth, it was freaking me out, and I had to put on some loud music to drown out the sounds. I felt so bad for the whole group, days of enduring the screams and cries of one of their members while trying to enjoy their big trip in the Canyon.

Cathedral Stairs (different set of Boy Scouts from the screamer)

There was shade for the hike up the Cathedral Stairs, which weren’t as bad as I’d expected. I finally lost the sounds of the screamer once over the saddle. The long Supai traverse was really beautiful, I liked having some quality time with one of my favorite rock layers. I took a break about halfway through the Supai in a shady nook. I enjoyed the peace and quiet of the Canyon, restored after leaving the screamer behind.

Fancy!

Top of the Cathedral Stairs

The sun hit the trail and it warmed up considerably. Thankfully I was headed uphill into cooler temps. I saw the first hiker in a while coming toward me. As he got closer, I realized he looked familiar. And then in what was the longest 15 seconds ever, I came to the realization that the hiker was none other than Jim Bartling- the “trip leader” from my disastrous Royal Arch Loop hike in 2010.

Now I get along with just about everyone, but Jim “led” a trip through Meetup on one of the most difficult and technical routes in the Grand Canyon without doing the proper research or even having a route description with him. Thankfully for the group of 11, I had pored over countless pictures, trip reports, and route descriptions, bringing 5 different sources with me for the route. The trip was a nightmare, and Jim proved again and again that he was a terrible navigator, had no sense of group dynamics, and wasn’t physically prepared himself to do the trip. He put a lot of people in danger and then after the trip talked a bunch of crap about me to other hikers. Here he was, my trail nemesis, leading a big group into the Canyon once again.

“Jim?” As he hiked past me all he said was “Yep.” I wish that I had some witty retort to report, but all I could say was “Shit.” There was a long line of people hiking with him and I let them pass. I couldn’t help but say to them, “You guys all with Jim? Good luck with that.” I can only imagine what Jim said about me that day to his group. If you’d like to read all the juicy details of my trip gone wrong, visit my Royal Arch Loop writeup.

And now, to lighten the mood- Micro Chicken on the Hermit Trail near Lookout Point

More than a little irritated by my chance encounter, I hiked on toward Santa Maria Spring. I took a long break in the cool little structure and refilled my water. After the spring, clean-looking dayhikers started to appear on the trail. The trail construction in the Coconino was fantastic, tight, long cobblestones underfoot. The last bit of elevation before the rim was tough, but thankfully it had cooled considerably and I just took my time. I topped out at the trailhead among the flip-flop clad tourists and answered questions about where I’d been and where was the rest of my group. It always makes me think of all the people who see the Grand Canyon as a thing to cross off your bucket list, rather than a place to explore again and again. I guess I’m just lucky that I live so close and even more fortunate that I now get to spend my summers on the river.

Almost there!

It is full-on baby season at Wildlife Rehabilitation Northwest Tucson, we’ve got countless bunnies, baby quail, a goofy pair of Black Crowned Night Herons- enough to keep two shifts of volunteers more than busy! Thanks to all who donate toward their food and lodging.

Baby Quail

Baby Black Crowned Night Herons

2013 Birds, Blues, and Bellydance Benefit this Saturday, April 20th

Birds Blues and Bellydance 2013

The past month has been an excellent one for backpacking and I’ve been lucky enough to have hiked from South Kaibab to Hermit in the Grand Canyon, the Alamo and Gila River Canyons passages of the Arizona Trail in full wildflowers, and a three day tour of the Rincons that included a trek to Rincon Peak, the little-used Rincon Creek Trail, and the new Quilter Trail/Arizona Trail in Saguaro National Park. Unfortunately all this backpacking has left me little time to update the blog.  I promise I’ll have one of the above trips up soon!

Looking down Monument Creek

Gila River Canyons Wildflowers

View South from Rincon Peak

Spring is definitely in full swing, and it’s time for the third annual Birds, Blues, and Bellydance Benefit for Wildlife Rehabilitation this Saturday, April 20th from 7-10 pm at Sky Bar- 536 N 4th Ave.

Citan the Harris Hawk

There will be a Harris Hawk, an Elf Owl, and a Great Horned Owl from 7:30-8:30, funky blues courtesy of The Railbirdz, bellydance performances from Troupe HipNautic, Brandye Asya and others, and open dance toward the end of the evening with Ensemble Al-Salam.

Troupe HipNautic- from the left: Tama, Raja, Zahyra, Marjani, and Krishana

The Railbirdz -photo by Mike Bieke

100% of the $7 suggested donation plus 15% of sales at Brooklyn Pizza go toward food, housing and supplies for the birds and small mammals at the rehab, so come on out and have a beer and a pizza while helping a worthy cause!

Here’s the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/586386804712314/

Hope to see you there!

If you can’t make the event, but would still like to donate, click the button below to donate securely via PayPal or send an old-fashioned check made out to Wildlife Rehabilitation Northwest Tucson to Pima Federal Credit Union P.O. Box 50267 Tucson, Arizona 85703.

Battle Axe Butte

Battle Axe Butte- Arizona Trail 2008

Every year for my birthday, I like to go on an adventure to a place I’ve wanted to go for a long time. Recent birthday events have included climbing Weaver’s Needle and visiting The Wave. Earlier this year when Wendy and I spent a night on The Spine, we visited the artesian well and I looked up at Battle Axe and knew that this would be my birthday present to myself.

Sunrise on Battle Axe from The Spine

I had to work at the Superior Eco-Tourism Fest on my actual birthday, so I planned on hiking it sometime the week before. I contacted John to see if he was interested, and we found a day that worked for both of us. I thought it would be a good idea for him to get a preview of the Grand Enchantment Trail and was excited when he said he’d never seen the area before. John and I hadn’t met before, but I have exchanged messages with him on HikeArizona.com. Last year, he hiked the entire Arizona Trail as dayhikes from south to north. Then he hiked it all again from north to south! Incredible. Some days he hiked over 30 miles- the speed required to cover that kind of terrain that fast boggles my mind.

This is one of my favorite places in all of Arizona, the striped cliffs, the artesian well, and the toothy ridge of Battle Axe. I have admired it for years and have countless pictures of it from all directions. It is on the old Arizona Trail route and when I hiked through here in 2008, it was covered with so many wildflowers that they completely covered the trail.

Up the ridge

We parked at a spot that I’d camped in 2008 and made our way up the ridge. I told John that it was going to be a little different pace than he was used to because I require silly things like breaks and water. He was more than gracious and patient. As we neared the first scramble, the scenery got ever more interesting.

John waits patiently

John sped through the scramble, I went a little too far right and had to backtrack. There are plenty of ledges to hike up and the brush isn’t too bad. We saw the spire from the description and headed for the chute to the right of it. The slickrock chute was great and then we followed along the wall toward the saddle. The whole route was a lot more stable than I’d expected.

Juniper!

We reached the saddle with great views to the south and took a minute to look at the route. John was able to scramble straight up from the saddle on the ridgeline and I followed. I carefully picked my way along the jumble of white rock. To my left was a massive sheer drop, so I tried not to look that way. We reached a spot that gave me pause. To get across it, I had to climb up over one of the ridgeline rocks and lower myself down onto a small catwalk to get across. Fortunately, John found a way to lessen the exposure by climbing down and around instead of all the way across. Still a move that got my heart moving.

Looking at the lower summit

John right before the catwalk

Summit Ridge of Battle Axe Butte- photo by John

Once past the catwalk, it was smooth sailing to the summit. We signed in the small, rarely used register and took what was probably John’s longest break ever. The views from the top were spectacular! I was so excited to be atop Battle Axe- something I never thought I would do 5 years ago, looking up at it from my campsite on the AZT. I showed John where the GET route he would be hiking went and eyed up peaks to hike in the future.

Summit view to the southeast

The Spine

Pinals and Battle Axe Rd.

The scramble down was no problem at all and we went back through the chute near the spire and down to the ledges. We stuck to the ridgeline on the way back and found two large cairns. In no time at all we were back to the trailhead. Afterward we drove up Battle Axe Rd for a bit. Never get tired of this area, always more to explore!

View of our route

In Wildlife Rehabilitation news, baby bunny season has started and we rescued a Great Snowy Egret who had been caught in a fishing line. They had to go out with a boat and cut it out. Poor thing. Here’s Janet Miller, founder of Wildlife Rehabilitation Northwest Tucson giving it some food. This year’s Birds, Blues, and Bellydance fundraiser will be on April 20th 7-10 pm at Sky Bar- 536 N.4th Ave in Tucson. Mark your calendars, it’s going to be a great time!

Janet feeds a Great Snowy Egret

A Night Atop Picketpost

Picketpost Mountain- the route to the top goes up the large gully in the center

First of all, the most exciting thing happened- I got my camera back!!! I lost my camera this summer at the end of my season working on the river in the Grand Canyon. It dropped out of my pack in a side canyon and I thought I’d never see it or the photos again. I hadn’t backed up the SD card, so out of 6 trips I did on the river, I only had pictures for two. Then a couple of weeks ago, I got a call from Arizona River Runners saying that they’d been contacted by someone who found my camera. I don’t yet know how or when they found it, but I am so very happy to have the irreplaceable photos back. The best part is the camera still works! I must have accumulated good camera karma from finding and returning the one on Table Mountain in December. Here’s one of my favorites, I’ll put together a blog post of some more soon.

Leading an archaeology tour of the Unkar Delta

I went on three overnight trips in January: another Night on The Spine near the Gila River with my friend Wendy, a night on Battleship Mountain in the Superstitions and a night on the summit of Picketpost Mountain off the Arizona Trail near Superior, AZ. For a great writeup of our trip on The Spine, visit  Around the Next Corner with Wendy.

Wendy on The Spine

The trip up Battleship wasn’t to the summit, but to the deck of the boat for the night. When I’d hiked here in 2011, I thought it would be a great place to spend the night. Other than the bizarre January mosquito population, I was right!

Atop the deck of the Battleship

My camp with a view of the Superstition Ridgeline

Battleship Sunrise

I was in Superior planning the Legends of Superior Trails Eco-Tourism Fest coming up onFebruary 16th and figured since I was in the area, why not spend the night atop one of Arizona’s iconic peaks. It was going to be a little cold, but three days of rain had resulted in some of the best visibility I’d seen in a while. The top of Picketpost Mountain was just the place to take in the views.

Beautiful colors and textures

I started out in the afternoon from the Picketpost Trailhead on the Arizona Trail. My pack weighed down on me the first bit of the hike. I had thoughts of just continuing on the Arizona Trail and picking a nice campsite instead of scrambling straight uphill. Once I warmed up, I got in the zone and all was well. I didn’t see anyone after I left the parking lot- nice to have such a popular hike all to myself.

Base of the first scramble

The temperature was perfect for the climb and I enjoyed working my way through the various obstacles. There was water running in the chute and patches of ice that were easily avoided. As I neared the saddle, the trail got mushier and mushier. It was easier to rockhop than step in the squishy mud.

Waterfall

Ice in the chute

The trail had water running down it on top of the mountain and the whole summit was saturated from the previous days of rain. As I hopped from rock to rock, they sunk into the trail. Made things a little unstable.

View from the saddle

I reached the summit mailbox and the fancy new bench and was so glad I’d decided to spend the night. The views from Picketpost on an ordinary day are outstanding, but the absence of dust in the air made it truly spectacular. I could see so many Sky Islands from here- too many to name. Mount Wrightson, over 100 miles away, was as clear as could be.

Mailbox register and fancy bench

Looking toward the Gila River with the Catalinas in the distance

Santa Ritas visible to the right in the far distance- over 100 miles away

I decided to camp right at the summit, rather than look for a more sheltered spot from the wind because I wanted the 360 degree views. There is room for one person right next to the tree that is free of rocks and I called it home for the night.

I hiked out to the cliffs overlooking Superior and was pleased to find a scattering of junipers, my favorite tree. Then it was time for the sunset- some clouds had rolled in making for a beautiful show. The temps plummeted as the sun went down. Since I was staying at the summit, there wasn’t really anywhere I could make a fire without making a huge mess, so I opted for a hot water bottle instead for heat. My dinner from Los Hermanos tasted even better than usual.

Found a juniper!

Looking down on Superior

Picketpost sunset

Great place to watch the show

I settled in for a long, chilly night. My trusty Exped Downmat had broken and I was awaiting a replacement. I never appreciated how much extra warmth it gave me until I used a friend’s air mattress for this trip. It was breezy and I slept in fits and starts, once waking up for a couple of hours to write in my journal and admire the moonlit landscape. I also got to read through most of the logbooks in the mailbox, which were quite entertaining. Lots of familiar names and one thing that was interesting is how many small kids had been up to the summit.

Micro Chicken on the mailbox

By morning it had changed from breezy to full-on gusting wind. I ate a quick breakfast and made my way down the hill. The scrambling wasn’t too bad, as my pack was a lot lighter after having eaten my dinner and consumed a bunch of water.

Just enough room for one

Windy morning

I reached the turnoff from the Arizona Trail and met a group of guys who hadn’t been up before. They looked apprehensively at the mountain as I told them where the route went. I told them that there were folks as young as 4 and as old as 85 years old that had made it up there and they went on their way.

What a great night on the mountain, worth every bit of cold and wind for those killer views. It’s definitely a place I’d sleep again.

In Wildlife Rehabilitation news, it’s the time of year when I start planning the Birds, Blues, and Bellydance Fundraiser to benefit Wildlife Rehabilitation in Northwest Tucson. The third annual event will be held on Saturday, April 20th and once again at Sky Bar at 536 N. 4th Avenue has generously donated their fantastic venue for all the fun! Here’s a pic of Elfie and Raja from last year’s event.

Elfie the Elf Owl

Raja

A Look Back at 2012- An Exciting Year for Micro Chicken

About a year ago, I was buying a present for my nephew at Yikes! toy store in Tucson. It is filled with all sorts of eclectic toys and a small jar filled with tiny rubber chickens caught my eye. The perfect backpacker’s toy, smaller than my pinky finger and weighing nothing at all. I tucked him into my camera case and he went on all sorts of adventures with me this year. So instead of the usual year-end retrospective, I give you the travels of Micro Chicken!

Micro Chicken (or Mic if you’re into that whole brevity thing) started his year out right with a 3-day backpacking trip on the Arizona Trail # 16 & 17 from Picketpost to Kelvin

Micro Chicken aka “Mike” visits Trough Springs on his first backpacking trip

In January, I got my first taste of technical canyoneering, and Micro Chicken was along for every rappel and swim:

Micro Chicken’s first canyon too!

Later in January, Bill Bens met Micro Chicken on a hike to Elephant Head in the Santa Ritas. Bill had seen pictures of him, but didn’t realize Micro Chicken’s incredibly small stature:

Bill meets Micro Chicken

Ride ‘em Mic!

In February, I went for a hike on the Bellota and Milagrosa Ridge Trails for my birthday. Wendy and I found a magical place called Tequila Spring on the trail and Micro Chicken dove right in.

Uh-oh, look who’s wasted!

In March, I went on my first backpacking trip in Sedona on the Secret Canyon Trail.

Just me and Mic in the red rocks

In April, Micro Chicken and I were in Sierra Vista doing Arizona Trail work and decided to take a hike down to the southern terminus of the AZT.

Micro Chicken on AZT #1

I also had the second annual Birds, Blues, and Bellydance benefit for Wildlife Rehabilitation Northwest Tucson and Micro Chicken’s feathered friends. Everyone had a great time, we raised about $1000, and I can’t wait until the next one. A million thanks to everyone who donated via the website as well- over $700 this year!

Elfie the Elf Owl

May was an especially exciting month for me and Micro Chicken. I started a summer job working in the Grand Canyon with Arizona River Runners and Grand Canyon Whitewater. What a dream to be able to teach people about the Canyon while having the ride of your life! Micro Chicken was a big hit with all the passengers and one even wrote a limerick about me and Mic.

She came from the windy Midwest

Micro Chicken secured for the quest

Archaeology not fashion

Canyoneering her passion

With fine weather and foul friends she’s been blessed!

Workin’ on the river with Micro Chicken

Some of Mic’s admirers

And then one day on the river, this happened- Micro Chicken met Mega Chicken deep in the Grand Canyon

My work on the river was exhilarating and exhausting and I can’t wait to go back next season. At the end of my commercial river season, I was invited along last-minute on a private river trip just for fun! I of course said yes and Micro Chicken and I joined my friend Chelsea on an 8-day lower-half trip. It was fantastic, and one of the hikes we did was to Thunder River:

Colorado River

Thunder River

In September, I transitioned back into a terrestrial lifestyle and was excited to go exploring closer to home. Micro Chicken and I started doing some peakbagging, usually with an off-trail component. Here’s Mic at Josephine Peak in the Santa Ritas and on top of The Biscuit in the Mustang Mountains near Sonoita.

Micro Chicken bags another summit

Micro Chicken makes an appearance

In October I was up at the Mormon Lake Lodge for the Arizona Trail Rendezvous and Micro Chicken was along on a hike on the Arizona Trail to see some fall colors.

Micro Chicken and Aspen

I backpacked the Samaniego Ridge Trail and Micro Chicken stood upon the tiny summit of Samaniego Peak after quite the scratchy bushwhack. Someday we’ll do this West Ridge route.

Ridge heading west from Samaniego Peak toward the Baby Jesus Trail

Samaniego Summit

In November I went to see Fall colors in Ash Creek in the Galiuros. Micro Chicken was so excited he wouldn’t sit still so I only have this fuzzy one.

Fall Colors

Micro Chicken in Ash Creek

December was spent doing off-trail hikes to peaks in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness- Buster Mountain, The Cleaver, Table Mountain. So close to home but so very fun! The best was spending the night atop Table Mountain at the fireplace campsite. Micro Chicken by this time has become quite a dirty bird, but what do you expect when he goes on so many adventures?

Micro Chicken atop The Cleaver- Prominent Point and Mount Kimball across Pima Canyon

Micro Chicken atop Table Mountain

Time will only tell what kinds of adventures Micro Chicken and I will get into next year. I can assure you that we plan on starting the new year out right!

Micro Chicken in a festive mood

Happy New Year and Micro Chicken and I will see you in 2013!

To donate to Wildlife Rehabilitation Northwest Tucson, click the button below.

Harris Hawk Head

A Night on Table Mountain

Pusch Ridge is a series of four peaks extending westward in the Catalinas: Pusch Peak, closest to town, The Cleaver, Bighorn Mountain, and the tallest,  Table Mountain.  From town, Table Mountain is a dark-green-dotted diamond shape, but from Oro Valley you can see that three sides of the Table are massive sheer cliff walls.

Table Mountain from Tucson

I have had a longtime fascination with Table Mountain ever since I came across pictures of the summit views. The thing that most piqued my interest, though, was a photo of the campsite on the summit. Underneath a stately Juniper tree was a beautiful stone fireplace made out of Catalina granite. That was it- there was no way that I was going to hike Table without staying at the campsite on top.

The fireplace at the summit

There is only a short weather window for this peak because it is off-limits from January 1- April 30th for bighorn sheep off-trail restrictions. Most of the time that it is open, the weather is too hot. Two years ago, I had attempted to backpack to the top for a lunar eclipse, but had a shoe failure and had to turn around. Last year, the weather didn’t cooperate with my schedule. This year everything fell into place and the experience was even more amazing than I had anticipated.

All the trip reports I had read said to take the Pima Canyon Trail three miles to a steep, loose, brushy gully.  The reports made it sound borderline dangerous and I was not looking forward to it. I remembered that Cowgill and Glendening’s book mentioned that there was a ridge option that would probably have more shindaggers. Then I came across a report by a woman who went by the name “Bloated Chipmunk” on NW Hikers.net that had pictures of the route. It looked way better to me, especially with a full pack.

The morning of December 17th, Wendy and I met at the Pima Canyon Trailhead, excited about the adventure ahead. Our packs were heavy with 7 liters of water and warm gear for our night at the 6265′ summit. We hiked about two miles on the Pima Canyon Trail and saw the slabs of our ridge route to our left, across the brushy creek.

Chilly start to the hike

First glimpse of our day’s objective- looks far!

We followed the trail until it crossed the drainage. There was a distinct sharp smell of cat urine and a large sprayed area under an overhang. We decided that hit would be better to backtrack and try to cross the creek closer to the slabs. There was a spur trail and a small opening in the brush that allowed us to get into the creek. We took a break before beginning the ascent and  I spotted a pair of antlers in the creek. When I went to investigate, I saw an entire deer that had been picked clean, probably by our feline friend.

Our deer departed friend

There were tufts of hair everywhere and the skeleton was picked clean

The beginning of the route was on large slanted granite slabs and was quite fun to walk on. There wasn’t a lot of vegetation and the views were great! The ascent was an off-trail choose your own adventure with the occasional cairn. Sadly, the slabs ran out and we picked our way through patches of prickly pear and ocotillo.

On the slabs of the ridge route

Me and The Cleaver

Out of the slabs and into the brush

As we gained elevation, we lost most of the cacti and hiked into the sea of shindaggers. Wendy and I wove a path between them when possible, but sometimes there was no choice. The only way to deal with shindaggers is to step directly on the center. We reached a saddle and took a break for lunch with a fantastic view of our objective.

Shindaggers aplenty

After lunch, we climbed steeply up and toward the Table, aiming above a rocky outcropping with scattered oak trees. The vegetation changed again with our first juniper and pinyon pines appearing near the base of the Table.

Our route went up the litle drainage above the oaks

Getting closer!

Base of the Table

By this time, Wendy and I were getting pretty tired. We wished that we had a flat table ahead of us, instead there was another 1000 feet of elevation to go. We pressed on, but went a little far to the west and got into some boulders that made travel more difficult. The bonus was that we got to see the great views down the west gully right before the final ascent.  Somewhere along the way we were in a brushy area and I looked down and found a black case with a camera in it.

Oro Valley, Tortolitas and Picacho Peak

Patches of snow at the top

Finally, we could see blue sky and the end of our climb. We went through some pinyon and junipers to a clearing with breathtaking views of the Catalinas and the sheer cliffs of Table Mountain dropping off below. We dropped our packs at the fireplace and toured the summit, dotted with patches of snow. Now came the payoff for lugging all our stuff up here- watching the sunset and sunrise from this incredible promontory and an enjoyable night by the fabled fireplace.

Cathedral and Kimball

Prominent Point and the Santa Ritas

Snow-covered Mt. Lemmon

There was a small glass jar summit register near the fireplace and I read through it before dinner. The first name I saw was the woman from NW Hikers.net who’s triplog I’d read. The second entry I read was an entry from February that said “Lost camera in a black camera case” and gave a phone number! I was so excited that we were going to be able to reunite the camera with its owners. I lost a camera this summer and would give anything to have it back.

View Northwest

Wendy got our fire going and we had a decadent meal of cheese fondue with all sorts of items for dipping and chocolates for dessert. The fireplace was great- it had a chimney and everything which diverted the smoke upward. The fire warmed the rocks and it radiated heat all night long as we slept in front of it. We hit a perfect weather window and the temperature was quite reasonable for 6000′ in December.

One of my favorite campsites ever!

A little chilly last night!

The night was a long one, and it stayed cold for a while after it finally got light out. I spent the amazing sunrise hanging my head over the cliff face and watching the light change. We ate breakfast in our sleeping bags and didn’t want to leave.

View north from atop Table Mtn.

Eventually, we tore ourselves away and started hiking downhill, packs much lighter after a day’s water and food were consumed. We followed what looked like the standard route down the face which was much easier than our ascent route. But if we’d taken this ascent route we wouldn’t have found the camera.

Incredible rock and views on the way down

Bighorn and Pusch below

It was a beautiful, cool day and we shindagger-stomped our way down the ridge, taking short breaks and thoroughly enjoying ourselves. It felt like we were flying compared to yesterday’s ponderous ascent. The golden cottonwoods in the canyon got closer and closer and then we were back to our slabs down to the creekbed.

What a place!

Getting closer to the bottom of the canyon

Our deer departed friend had been moved in the night and looked more macabre than ever. We found our way out of the creek and intersected the Pima Canyon Trail. Clouds started rolling in and the wind picked up. The last two miles back to the car on the trail felt like they would never end.  It felt great to look up at Table Mountain knowing we’d finally spent the night at the fireplace.

Slabby ridge

A look back at our ridge

We had been talking for the last two days about what flavors of gelato we were going to get at Frost after our hike. The weather changed so quickly that by the time we got our gelato, we had to eat it in Wendy’s car with the heat on!

That night, I called the owners of the camera and they were so excited that we had found it! They had gone back up the next week to try and locate it to no avail. It had become a running joke between their friends that someone was going to finally find the camera that was lost on Table Mountain. I dropped it off the next day on their porch and they sent a lovely card thanking us for returning their long-lost camera along with some pictures from the day they lost it.

What an amazing, life-affirming couple of days on the mountain. I’ve found another of my favorite campsites and Wendy is always a blast to hike with. So glad I finally got to spend a night on Table Mountain and it certainly won’t be my last.

You can see the full set of pictures at https://plus.google.com/photos/108844153292489172003/albums/5826811070181856545

In Wildlife Rehabilitation news, I was going through old pictures when I came across this shot of mama and baby bunnies from 2010. So cute! You can read their story here.  Click below to donate to Wildlife Rehabilitation Northwest Tucson.

Baby bunnies that were born at the Wildlife Rehab to a broken-leg bunny

Peak 4910 – The Cleaver

Peak 4910- The Cleaver

This was such a great hike, with much less blood loss than expected. Eventful parking lot, there was a large fire crew when I got there and tons of Pima County Sheriff conducting a search for someone when I left.

Weaving my way through the ocotillo and staying away from the nastier cacti, I kept to the ridge to the left of the drainage. The Cleaver loomed above. I reached a point where I had to travel in the drainage but it was not for very long.

Weaving through the desert vegetation

Working toward the saddle

Soon I was able to pick my way up toward the saddle on another ridge that was quite steep. It helped that the Alt Hiking Meetup group had been through here recently, their mashed-down vegetation made my travel a bit easier.

View NW from the saddle

It was a relief to finally reach the saddle and the base of The Cleaver. Only one tough part left. There were two short scrambles near the base, then a bouldery ramp to the summit. The short climbs would have been nothing if I had been hiking with someone, but solo they got my heart racing a little.

Base of The Cleaver

Short climb at the base of The Cleaver

Ramp to the summit

The summit of The Cleaver- what an amazing place to be! I so enjoyed the challenge and seeing Pima Canyon from yet another perspective. Such a great thing to live in a place where a wild and rugged summit like this is in a canyon so close to my home. I took a lengthy break and read through the small summit register.

Summit Register

View down the drainage I came up

Micro Chicken atop The Cleaver- Prominent Point and Mount Kimball across Pima Canyon

As I headed back, I was a little nervous about getting back down to the saddle. I remembered what Wendy does when she gets nervous: she sings Irish songs. I don’t know any Irish songs, though- the song I chose was Paul Revere by the Beastie Boys. It worked well, especially the “one lonely Beastie I be” line.

Prominent Point- another Pima Canyon peak I have my eye on

East face of The Cleaver and Bighorn Mtn.

After the saddle, I saw a helicopter flying up and down the canyon. That can’t be good. I worked my way back the way I came. I was on the ridge on canyon right and saw the helicopter go up Pima Canyon, flying low. Trying to sidestep some prickly pear, I misjudged and ended up with a cheekful of spines. Great. Out came the tweezers and I tried to get the spines out before the helicopter flew by and caught me with my pants down. I managed to tidy myself up just in time before they flew over me.

I traveled the rest of the ridge down to intersect the Pima Canyon Trail. I was feeling tired and realized that I hadn’t really eaten a whole lot for how long I had been out. It was nice to be able to stretch my legs for the mile and a half to the trailhead.

Just before the trailhead, I came upon a Pima County Sheriff carrying a very large rifle and another with a backpack. They told me to talk to the other Sheriffs at the trailhead. I told them I had seen only two people all day- two men out taking pictures in the morning. They said that it didn’t fit their description. I wished them luck with their search. I wasn’t able to find out anything on the web later about who they were looking for.

A couple of hours after I got home, my body got revenge for not eating enough and I got the worst leg cramps I have had in a long time. But The Cleaver was totally worth it.

Still smiling!

In Wildlife Rehabilitation news, I’ve begun to plan next year’s Birds, Blues, and Bellydance event to benefit Wildlife Rehabilitation Northwest Tucson. We’ve had a blast the last couple of years and next year’s event (probably late April) will bring some new performers to the eclectic mix! Of course, our educational birds will be attending as well- Elfie the Elf Owl, Citan the Harris Hawk, and Luna the Great Horned Owl. Click below to donate to Wildlife Rehabilitation:

Citan the Harris Hawk