HikeArizona.COM

Hey fellow Hazers,
How did you do with your 2013 Hazalutions? I hope you all had a great year. I did meet a few more Hazers but would of liked to hike with more of you. We didn't find GPS Joe . Thanks to BobP and all who looked and prayed for him to be found. The Eagle and I are almost done with the GCT. I got to do a lot of hiking and see some cool stuff from the Supes to Deer creek-Thunder River to name a few. I even got to do some hikes with my son which has been a blast. Thanks to him and all the other Hazers that let me hike with them! We did have some tragedy in the family with Grace's stroke and a couple of death's in the family which are still hard to believe. Grace did hike a mile this week .
OK lets here some of your goals for 2014. I hope for all of my family and friends to have a safe and healthy year. I hope to do a lot more hikes with my son, Grace, and lots of Hazers. I hope to do some more Grand Canyon, Supes, Mazzi, GCT hikes as well as some new areas. I do need to get down Tucson way some more!
Cheers to all of you. I hope you all have a healthy and safe year and lots and lots of great hiking adventures! Happy New Year!

Tortoise
Hiker

More adventures in the outdoors, whether hiking, backpacking, kayaking, mountain biking, etc.

I'd like to follow the sage advice of John B. L. Soule, made more famous later by Horace Greeley. The HAZ map needs more pins.

2013:

This year ended up being quality over quantity. I'll follow the same rule next year, instead of trying to hit a certain mileage. I just want more travels, greater adventures, and bigger hikes.

My California trip served up the travels. Didn't really have any big hikes, though.


For 2014, I'll say big hikes (again), more travels, and more peaks. Ultimately, I want to be a lot more active than I was this year. I'd also like to go snowshoeing in Mesa Verde within the next two months along with some peakbagging in California.

Let the games begin.

I am so glad that I was not embarrassed by my 2013 HAZolution. So on that same note, I resolve not to make any embarrassing Resolutions for 2014

I wasn't able to accomplish any of my 2013 goals.
I set my goals too high. I'll keep my goals simple this year.

1. Photograph more sidewinders than last year (last year's count was 52). Perhaps make a pyramid of sidewinders if I can figure out how to round them up.
2. Photograph a badger, as I missed my opportunity in August.
3. Photograph a bobcat
4. Complete the Pemberton Loop under 1 hour and 15 minutes. I'm at 87 minutes.
5. Lose 10 lbs.
6. Go to Snake Road in October.
7. Photograph more Mexican Hognosed Snakes. Perhaps explore the Dragoons while I'm at it.
9. Go to Bryce Canyon
10. Learn how to count.

gummo wrote: 10. Learn how to count.

As for #3, it's probably more exciting if it doesn't just show up on your back patio in Scottsdale, like it did for my friend yesterday morning:

failed on one resolution: learning to use route manager
that remains on the 2014 list
except for a fluke work injury that cost me a week and a half of quality, i was healthy enough to do something almost every day
that something included biking, hiking, climbing and running
in 2014 i want to see what i can do with this running thing, but mostly keep doing what i'm doing

more trail running
52 peaks
hit some areas i haven't spent much time in, especially tucson and further southeast
one big national park trip, maybe yosemite
wish list but maybe not this year: the san juan 14ers
one or more backpacking trips

Sidewinders? Where do you see them? I lived in Arizona for 27 years, hiked all over the place, never saw one. In fact, probably averaged seeing about two snakes a year. But I am not looking to find them, I am only looking to watch where I step, in order to avoid them! Saw one dead badger. Saw several of each of bobcats and mountain lions. Saw several Gila Monsters, and one tortoise.

Did you know you should never pick up a tortoise in the wild? That is because it will urinate if you pick it up, and that is not good for it. It may not be very close to a water source, and thus it could become dehydrated.

I'm not going to make too many Hazolutions. I will say, in addition to what I mentioned about continuing to backpack, hike, kayak, etc. I would like to do several things I have not done before. Namely: 1. Multiday kayak trips. 2. Multiday dirt road mountain bike trips. 3. Buy a motor home, start living in it, and spend the winter of 2014-2015 in the desert along the Lower Colorado River. (This last will depend on certain financial factors coming into play. Otherwise, you'll see me slaving away somewhere at a job.)

So, we'll see how the cookie crumbles. One thing I've learned, a bit late in life, that if you make big plans, you can often pull them off. If you never make big plans, not much is going to happen. But New Year's Resolutions are kind of weird, because it's partly that we are beating ourselves up and feeling guilty we didn't accomplish our list last year. I don't find New Year's Resolutions very helpful. I find that making a plan for a trip and putting it on the calendar, and perhaps inviting friends or members of a club to join you is a lot better way to get things done.

My goals are simple... Double everything Hikes, miles, Aeg. I would also like to get into trail running, attend more HAZ events, see more of the Supes and capture more wildlife in picture ;)

Wow..... There's more than I thought

chumley wrote:

gummo wrote: 10. Learn how to count.

As for #3, it's probably more exciting if it doesn't just show up on your back patio in Scottsdale, like it did for my friend yesterday morning:

Only time I saw a bobcat was in the parking lot of an office park at Raintree & 101 about 5:30 a.m. He looked at me, like a might be food, before continuing on his way ...

Goals for 2014? To enjoy the hikes, not be concerned with AEG as much as I was this year, and to relocate if possible.

azbackpackr wrote:Sidewinders? Where do you see them? I lived in Arizona for 27 years, hiked all over the place, never saw one.

I saw one near Yuma in 2012.

@big_load
Dont you manufacture and sell top secret "sidewinder" missiles for the DOD or something??

@friendofThundergod
Well, we did have one in a bucket for a few minutes before escorting it out of the work area.

I got a few of the 2013 stuff done---my problem is I am easily distracted, then totally obsessed until the next thing. Ok, on deck for 2014

1. Spiral mine, with it's big vertical and spiral adit, mine car on the overpass and the scary room---according to Brian.
2. New Mexico old mine town
3. Try to drag gear to a remote mine shaft drop, backpacking trip
4. Anza Borrego--I've seen a lot there but didn't go there last year so want to go back to perhaps some favorite haunts
5. Poke around in the Peloncillos' more
6. Utah in spring---not sure where, off trail someplace; I really enjoyed my two rubber ducky trips on the Dirty Devil--might try a backpack again in there
7. Wind Rivers in summer, probably repeat some territory and maybe add some off trail
8. Grand Canyon Parashant in the fall, get the started project finished
9. More Sierra Ancha
10. Backpacking off the Rug Road, I've driven that and felt like I needed a neck brace for 3 days after, so I would rather walk then explore some of the canyons at my leisure.

azbackpackr wrote:Sidewinders? Where do you see them? I lived in Arizona for 27 years, hiked all over the place, never saw one. In fact, probably averaged seeing about two snakes a year.

You really need to up your snake sighting average, and seeing a sidewinder in 2014 should be a top priority. The easiest way to find sidewinders in CA is to drive between Ocotillo Patch and the I-10 in Joshua Tree NP from March to October (peaking in late April and the beginning of May) between the times of 9pm to 11:30pm. Most people don't see them hiking because they are small, don't rattle often, and conceal themselves very well. You won't see them lying in the middle of a trail like other snakes. Sidewinders are in the flats where peakbaggers dare not to go.

gummo wrote:Sidewinders are in the flats where peakbaggers dare not to go.

To finish the AZT and hike more with the starter of this thread....same as last year

gummo wrote:

azbackpackr wrote:Sidewinders? Where do you see them? I lived in Arizona for 27 years, hiked all over the place, never saw one. In fact, probably averaged seeing about two snakes a year.

You really need to up your snake sighting average, and seeing a sidewinder in 2014 should be a top priority. The easiest way to find sidewinders in CA is to drive between Octotillo Patch and the I-10 in Joshua Tree NP from March to October (peaking in late April and the beginning of May) between the times of 9pm to 11:30pm. Most people don't see them hiking because they are small, don't rattle often, and conseal themselves very well. You won't see them lying in the middle of a trail like other snakes. Sidewinders are in the flats where peakbaggers dare not to go.

So, I have to stay up late and drive in the dark? I generally don't do either one of those things. But, maybe I could wander around in the flats.