HikeArizona.COM

The Holidays are almost upon us, so I thought I would post this one a little earlier so people can plan. Did a New Year's Day Hike last year and had a blast, so I've decided I would try to make it a tradition. Will do a different Peak every year, and since we did Picketpost last year and that's Southeast, I thought I would give the Northwest folks a closer shot, and choose this one. (Plus, I've never done it... :GB:) I try to choose areas just out of the Valley so that we don't run into hordes of people on the Holiday. Carpooling is definitely possible, I can take 3 more people comfortably, 4 if you want to get really cozy.... Start time 9:00 A.M. at the TH. Should give some of the party goers a chance to sleep just a bit. Super Turbo Hikers can start an hour later and meet up with us, like you did last year, or join us for the whole thing.... And yes, I will be bringing the Kitchen Sink with me again this year, unless I can get Joel or Brian to do an Airdrop for me....

Well, the arch is somewhere on the west side of the road, so you would probably have to at least get up behind it a bit to profile it against the sunrise. Supposedly it is not far from the road -- no route ... yet ;) ... on Haz -- so depending on exploring time, I don't imagine it will take longer than an hour to hike. I plan on starting at 0700, or as soon after as I can see the ground (no head lamp), so I can be sure to be at the peak TH by 0900. But I'll adjust if it fits for anyone else ...

I would like to see the arch, but maybe after (so I can sleep in...somewhat) if there's someone else going that I can follow. I quickly looked for the road a while back and had no idea where I was going.

Liz and I almost decided to go, but that just requires getting up too early for that peak. New year's day man, gotta let the beauty recover a little sleep.

I do try to find a happy medium for start times. Trying not to do a crack of dawn start, and yet starting at a time when we can finish up and people can still have some time to do other things later in the day, since it is a Holiday...I know how much you value your Beauty Sleep Mike...

Hey, if it makes everyone happy, I'll do the arch after the peak as well.

@kingsnake
Whatever makes you "Merry" Preston...

@Patrick and Preston
I'll join you guys for some arch-ery.

If there's enough moisture-tap in that area overnight tonight, there should still be some snow up there for you to enjoy. It's more likely that not enough will accumulate and it will all melt during the day Monday though.

the penguin meteorologist wrote:If there's enough moisture-tap in that area overnight tonight, there should still be some snow up there for you to enjoy. It's more likely that not enough will accumulate and it will all melt during the day Monday though.

Cool

rlrjamy wrote:the penguin meteorologist wrote:

Skippy and me (and a couple of others) are in!

Micah and I are thinking about joining in on the festivities.

Based on the temperature forecast it is highly unlikely I'll travel up there. Like it about 20 degrees warmer for a desert hike.

It'll be chilly for sure, but with all the nearby rain gauges reporting a solid 0.00 I think you'll be snow-free!

Anyone going from Gilbert area..... Carpool?

@technology
I still haven't decided if I want to come up there and brave the chilly temperatures (don't want to miss the Rose Bowl game either), but if I do I'll be heading up I-10 from Tucson.

Good point. "The contest will be televised on ESPN with a radio broadcast on ESPN Radio and XM Satellite Radio, which begins at 1:30 PM (PST) with kickoff at 2:10 PM (PST)." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Rose_Bowl ... We are (always) MST, so that would be 3:10 for us ... I'll weeble again and say I'l probably do the arch first so I can be sure to be back in time for kick off. Would not miss one more go with Barry Alvarez if I could possibly avoid it! :budrose: :budrose: :budrose: and hopefully :budrose:

-Press Release-

Due to 101.3 fever BEEBEE is listed as doubtful for the Vulture Peak New Years Day hike. He has prepared for the hike but no determination has been made if he will join the hike tomorrow. Sources close to BEEBEE say a decision will be made early morning pending a good night's sleep.

With an afternoon high temperature forecast to be in the upper 40's for the hike area, I just won't enjoy it. Also, I really want to see the Rose Bowl game at 3 PM, and the logistics are too much of a squeeze play. From my house to the trailhead is about 3 hours. If we were finished with the hike by noon to 1 PM, I still wouldn't get home until at least 4. I don't like putting that kind of stress on the day, as I don't like being rushed to do things. Would rather do this when I don't have any constraints and the weather is much more to my liking. Though it would be fun to hang out with you guys, the wise choice for me is to stay home.