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| Halflode Faux-Backpacking Adventure, AZ | | -
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| | Halflode Faux-Backpacking Adventure, AZ | | | |
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Halflode Faux-Backpacking Adventure, AZ
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| Hiking | 9.30 Miles |
3,815 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.30 Miles | 16 Hrs 30 Mns | | 0.56 mph |
| 3,815 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | All told, the time on this trip was actually 28 hours. However, it's difficult to categorize 11.5 of those as "hiking," and as this wasn't actually a backpacking trip, I want to log it as a hike.
Janelle and I made plans for the weekend. Actually, several different versions of plans just in case one didn't pan out. Plans A-C were quickly dashed when we encountered several hours' worth of stopped traffic on the 87 heading toward Payson. At that point, our goal had been the Mazatzals, so we took a quick look at the map and decided the best route was to take 188 via the foreboding Four Peaks Road, just a couple miles back. We turned around and started the traverse over the bumpy road. But as we got nearer the point where the road intersects with the Brown's TH, we exchanged glances and plans took a sudden change. Four Peaks Motherlode it was.
Now at this point we'd been staring at this mass of mountains all morning long, admiring the large black cloud looming overhead. But now, at 10 am, the cloud had finally dissipated. All was clear for miles around. All week I'd been checking the weather forecast for this hike for both Saturday and Sunday, and conditions seemed somewhat favorable. A chance of rain, but that didn't look likely now. We gunned it up to Brown's Saddle and then the Amethyst Trail, doing our best to make good on time. Of course, we got distracted by all the pretty amethyst for a few minutes, but soon we were headed up the 3-4 couloir. We climbed and dodged wasps, but at one point I pulled myself up and came face-to-face with a black rattlesnake. I "eep!"-ed, and he quickly darted under a rock, rattling a couple times and sticking his tongue out at me. We went around him and up the usual route, encountering a typical amount of brush. Hit the top of Four and then picked out a perfect route up Three, having little to no difficulties. We took a moment at this point to plan out our 3-2 passage, as this is what has brought us down in the past. We worked our way to the saddle and came down a quite a way. Started a traverse across the east face below Two.. and this is when things began to fall apart.
Now, because we were hugging the eastern cliffs of the sky island, we couldn't see the bit of weather approaching from the south. A little rain cloud showed up and sprinkled on us for only a few moments, but this began to cause a bit of distress. We were basically stuck on the side of Two, with smooth rock slabs above and below. Normally not a cause for concern, but now they were wet smooth slabs. My shoes began to have difficulties clinging to the rock, and we started to plan out an escape route. But after waiting for a few minutes for the raindrops to dry, things seemed to be looking up again. We climbed around for a bit, making our way north. The weather seemed good again and we paid it no attention. And then without any other warning, a cloud suddenly blacked out the sun and we were in the midst of a full-on torrential downpour. We were lucky to be off the slabs and into the brush, and so found some quick temporary shelter under a tree. But with the lightning getting worse around us and the rain coming down in buckets, Janelle scouted out for a better location. In just a few minutes, we were both drying off in a most fortuitously-placed open cave. It was obvious that someone had stayed in this location before, as a small "window" near the top had been blocked up with rocks. We sat, not really knowing what to do or say at that point. Hiking now was out of the question; at best it was a death wish. Going down was too dangerous and going up was too stupid. We began to accept the fact that we would likely be staying the night on Four Peaks. The rain poured harder, the temperatures dropped like mad, and the lightning got closer and closer until the thunder crack occurred at the same time as the flash. We tried to cozy up in the pointy rocky cubbies available to us in our little cave, but it was difficult to stay warm, dry, or comfortable. Janelle gave me her rain coat, as she had a long sleeved shirt along with her. I hadn't packed mine, as I was not anticipating encountering any rain today, much less being on this hike. I snuggled up into the coat and drifted in and out of sleep for the next couple hours while the sky raged on.
At some point, the rain stopped. The sky was dark now, but we could tell we were still inside the cloud around the peaks. We began to wait to see if the wet rocks might dry, but without the help of the sun it seemed hopeless. We started to talk of routes and whether we'd be able to find them at night. But neither one of us got a very good feeling about it. An hour later the rocks were still wet. And then we heard the faint pitter-patter of more raindrops. And then we were in the midst of a lightning storm yet again. Expletives were most definitely heard at this point. We gave up any hopes of getting out of there that night and started devising ways to go to sleep in the cubbies that would allow for both warmth and comfort. Eventually, we both ended up finding wet dirt patches and just sleeping there, as the cubbies were completely impossible to work with. Temperatures had dropped so severely that our breaths vaporized upon exhalation. We curled up for hours, shivering, trying to keep warm. Our knees locked up in stiffness, and it became painful to move them. Somehow, though, we were each able to get a few hours' rest despite the conditions.
At some point morning came. We awoke yet again in a deep gray cloud, not sure if it was going to rain yet again, and not wanting to move from this shelter if it would. Eventually, small slivers of sunlight poked through and then disappeared. We waited for an hour, looking to see if there would be disintegration of the cloud as had occurred the previous morning. But after waiting for some time, nerves got the best of us and we packed up in the damp chill and set out.
The rocks were still somewhat wet, but much better than the night before. Our new route: get down and get north, coming around Brown's and meeting up with the saddle. With no previous experience with this, and no maps, it was a move pretty much based on faith. Exhausted, we garnered up our best route-finding skills and jetted out. The spot we'd stayed in overnight was almost right beneath Peak 2, so it was a little aggravating to not be able to run up and bag it. But the rocks were still too slippery up there, and we weren't sure how well a downclimb to the 1-2 saddle would go. All four peaks were still under a heavy cloud cover, keeping the sun out and the rock moist. After bushwhacking for what seemed like hours (and probably was), we managed to circle around Brown's to some ridges on its northeast, then continued in the direction of the saddle to the northwest. This sounds easy, but one must keep in mind that the terrain around the peaks is the same as the terrain that makes up the peaks, and in many places it is possible to encounter bushwhacks like beaver dams, prickly stabbing flora, difficult climbs, and sheer cliff drop-offs. We had to route-find around several of these exciting features, making a decidedly long trip even longer. But eventually our hard work paid off. We managed somehow to locate the alternate trail to Brown's Summit and follow it to where we'd cached some Gatorades. Just in time, too, as we'd both run out of water and electrolytes at this point. Extremely excited to have finally found the trail out of there, we nearly skipped down to the parking lot, finishing at just a little after 2 pm. We happily drove back into town and had a short celebration appetizer at Carly's before going our separate ways.
One thing's for certain -- I will always have a real adventure when out with Janelle! Wouldn't have it any other way. Thanks for the crazy memories! |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
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