Joe Domin (gpsjoe) 5 Year Memorial Reunion

This reunion trip will mark five years since the passing of Joe Domin in the Mazatzal Mountains. To this day nobody truly knows what really happened to Joe. We have a good idea where he likely was and what he was attempting to accomplish. Joe's last adventure was reaching the indescribably rugged Sheep Mountain summit. He tried multiple times.. It became an obsession. Did he ever reach the summit? I truly hope so. Joe is regretfully still up there... To this day he has not been found. The search efforts on behalf of the SAR team and the army of Hike Arizona members was nothing short of staggering. Many people outside of HAZ even joined in on the efforts. It's humbling to think about just how many people dedicated there time and energy to try and save Joe. It's really cool. I consider it a privilege to have taken part in such an amazing story. The legacy of Joe Domin will never be forgotten. He made his mark in this life and touched many lives along the way. I feel like an outsider in that I’m one of the few involved that never actually met him in person. Throughout this experience I have grown to know him from the outside looking in. We'll miss you Joe!

In memory of Joe Domin (1942-2010)



Eric

Whenever The Mazzies come up in conversation, I light up. Bruce and Nick were talking about it and when I caught up to them ....they said we should do Peeley and Sheep. is what I felt. It is such an awesome area. Old Baldy was fun but this one is a hat wearing peak. Chums also helped bring the average age down. The Eagle is a generation all to himself.

How can a lucky guy help solve a 3 year old missing Lost Dutchman Hunter but search endlessly for a fellow HAZ hiker.
WallyFrack led a hike leading to the solving of a 3 year old mystery. We found Jesse Capen's pack and the next day his body was found... HAZ rocks and Jesse's recovery would never have happen without HAZ.

But Joe Domain still remains missing in the rugged Mazzies. Its not fair that we busted our ass to look for Joe. Whenever I go to the Peeley TH, I can see the faces of Hank and Gabby. But most of all I remember Chris holding his daughter. Joe's family is at peace knowing he left this world in a place he truly loved. But......

I still feel empty and always will until I meet up with the man I've never met but had so much in common with.

The pool is open

I cry for joy and I cry for sadness but most of all I pray for Carys.

I will personally guide anyone who wants to venture out to Sheep. Its my passion just like it was for others before me.

Thanks to all that searched for Joe and thanks for all the Hazers who've searched with me. We took some serious routes and bled and searched and came up empty. Hopefully, 2015 will be the year where we find our fellow Hazer Joe.

great hike to some really cool peaks in the Mazzies. thanks for leading the way bobby rockets.

warm day with a rejuvenating occasional breeze. outstanding views. it was nice to finally hike with chumley. the road up is in great shape and it was nice to drive it this time instead of having to hike it all the way up

fun group. thanks for inviting me on your hike brucey

Frick, Chumley and myself were all Peeley / Sheep virgins.
(Although Chumley wasn't real sure about this being the first time for Sheep)
BobP was more than accommodating, being gentle, taking it slow and leading us by the hand to the promised peaks.

The route to Peeley is well worn and for sure the simpler of the 2 assents. Lots-o-HikeArizona members represented in the Peak Register.

It's a steep drop off of Mount Peeley and a steep climb up Sheep Mountain, but when I drew this one up, the TOPO maps did not make this look like there was much gain between Peeley and Sheep Mountain. In the 2 miles between the two peaks, there was 10 or so "Bumps" over mostly rocky terrain, gaining 750'. Three of us did this hike in shorts as the brush was not all that bad.

Views were great from atop Sheep Mountain. We took some lunch here and Bob chucked some more Agave.
Back across the ridgeline, skirted Mount Peeley and jumped on the Divide Trail for the walk back to the TH. It was good to be back on a portion of the AZT again.

Wow, hiked w/ Bob and Nick twice in two months!... The part of the beaver was played by Chumley.

Agave Chucking and Peak Tours by Bob from atop Mount Peeley and Sheep Peaks
https://youtu.be/qp ... AAtE

Thanks for driving Nicky (although we know what it'd be like if you rode in the back seat up and down FR201)

Short notice opportunity to bag two peaks in the Mazzies I hadn't done before. With temps in the mid 90s down low, I figured that 7k wouldn't be too bad--and it wasn't. The sun is strong and warm, but there was a pleasant breeze most of the day which alleviated most heat issues. Peeley is a relatively straightforward off-trail peak, but the ridgeline to Sheep is a surprisingly difficult route. Even after the fire cleared out the vegetation. Neither the topo maps, the photographs, nor the actual view give you the full appreciation for the ups and downs you must endure to get across there. But it's a pretty sweet view when you arrive!

Good to finally hike with Nick for real, nice to hike with the Eagle, and occasionally see a shadow in the dust kicked up by rocket feet.

We can reflect on life in many ways. Sometimes we use pictures, words, videos, and memories. If you are lucky, you may be able to re-live some of them in person.

First off, I want to thank Hank for graciously allowing me to use an extra GPS of his. Mine is no longer reliable.

Today, I got a late start and decided to amend my plans. I would mostly follow the ridgeline and glass from prominent areas.

I set out at about 840am which is pretty late for me. It was still in the 40's and very pleasant. As I hit the divide trail, I thought of all the people who I've encountered here through the years. I've made many friends along this route, some HAZ members and others who haven't yet joined or occasionally stop by. I could hear flowing water along the trail and when I got to my off-trail turnoff, there were pools of water where sometimes I'd seen only a trickle but mostly it is totally dry. I glassed a little bit on my way to Mt. Peeley. The views from the summit were amazing.

I took a direct line to the ridge from the summit and glassed at different highpoints. I stayed north of Peak 6,910 and from here I headed down to the 6,600 contour(GPSJoe's last chance route). I headed west a short distance where I encountered some 6ft manzanita which slowed progress. Next, I headed up a familiar rockfall back to the ridgeline about .3 of a mile from Sheep Mountain. I cached 3 quarts of water for a future trip and also checked on two other caches. Both caches are now good for washing my hands or cooling off.

Someone has taken items from the register and torn out pages. There was a fire ring on the summit; maybe they needed paper to start a fire. I broke up the fire ring with its garbage and broken bottle and tried to make it look a little more natural. The views were amazing I could see the snow capped SF Peaks and Kendrick and others to the North. I was a great day to be outside in such awesome surroundings.

The GPSJoe poster is still in good shape and the road is a little rutted but most passenger cars can easily make it except maybe those that ride really low.

Its been almost 3 years since Joe went missing. Wally picked a great day to go out searching. The weather was perfect. The high was probably less than 70. I concentrated on the last chance route and somewhat below. I could hear and see Denny and Wally at times but mostly I was on my own until we met up on the ridgeline later in the day. The ridgeline is still a super highway and is easy to manage if you are just going to bag Sheep. Denny joined me on the return trip and we contoured and climbed and bushwacked the north side. Still no clues. Thanks Wally and Denny its always good to hike with you guys.

second hike with mike, and our second trip to the mazatzals
hiked to the summits of mount peeley and sheep mountain
great day for it
saw the gpsjoe poster is still up at the trailhead, and he was on our minds all day
missed the turn onto the switchbacks and had to backtrack some
up the divide trail to the turnoff for peeley, then the off trail began
i'm not all that into off trail hiking, but to reach certain places, sometimes it takes a little more effort
spent a few minutes on the peeley summit
great views of four peaks, ord, the superstition ridgeline, saddle mountain, mazzy peak, bartlett lake, verde river and catherine
lots of wildflowers throughout the hike, mostly some little blue ones and bigger yellow ones
started down the long ridgeline over to sheep
along the way, there are several small peaks, and one larger peak before sheep
we hit them all at least once
lots of ups and down, some bushwhacking, scrambling and manzanita bashing
still must be much easier than before the fire
pretty cool to be on the summit of sheep
took another break there for cheese and crackers
our route back was less than stellar
knew where we were, but seemed to take the path of most resistance back up peeley and down to the divide trail
will clean up my route for a good track up peeley and along the ridgeline to the summit of sheep
enjoyed this hike - more than i thought i would
thanks for being willing to go up again, mike
it's a beautiful, rugged and intriguing area

Three years ago yesterday, GPSjoe, Sun_Hiker, and I celebrated GPSjoe (Joe Domin's) 68th Birthday where he wanted to be this special day, on the summit of Mount Antero, CO, at 14,269ft.. http://hikearizona.com/photo=205689 and http://hikearizona.com/photo=155210

Yesterday would have been Joe's 71st Birthday. Today I wanted to pay my respects to Joe, a good friend, a good traveling and hiking companion with my drive this morning to the Mazatzal Wilderness- Mount Peeley TH that for many years Joe so enjoyed hiking out-of.

A sunny, blue sky with a refreshing breeze as I spent some private time checking-out the status of the Tonto NF "Information Board" related to our placed November'10 GPSjoe Missing Person Poster to see if it needed to be replaced today. I am happy to report that it is still in good condition, secured well, and still easily readable. I also spent some time clearing a large amount of the dreaded New Mexico Locust thorn bushes that were badly encroaching on the front approach to the "Information Board". I took a few updated pics today of my drive in and the TH area to post.

After my visit to the TH area, I enjoyed a short drive back down FR201 at FR3348 for a shaded lunch visit to the FR3348 Campsite Area of our enjoyable April'11 HAZ Mazatzal Group Camp.. http://hikearizona.com/photoset=15312 Good Memories! Updated pics of my Campsite Area visit are also included.

Regarding FR201 and FR3348 present "Road Driving Status":
FR201 was surprisingly dry with few rocky rough spots-ruts and is easily navigable by high-clearance 2WD. Sedans are still not recommended.
FR3348 Due to one rough-loose-rocky-steep spot to reach the .45 mile road end at the main campsite area, FR3348 is only recommended for high-clearance stock 4WD vehicles.

A lot of new North side territory for me. The weather was a little warm but the breeze helped out at times. This search started off easy and then the manzanita was tough and was an energy drainer. I did some climbing and some scrambling but I forgot my helmet so I kept it pretty tame except for a few instances. The perspective from this vantage point confirmed some of my beliefs but it also showed that even with several teams; the surface hasn't even come close to being scratched. Again no clues. I saw the eagle on the Verde again and that is always exciting. I didn't see the North side Falcon this time but I could here him making noise. There was one car at the trailhead but never ran into them. I met 2 AZT'ers and 2 AVT'ers.