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| Hiking | 7.80 Miles |
4,060 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.80 Miles | 11 Hrs | | 0.71 mph |
| 4,060 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | "You slept there, Ken? Well, I guess it's the only piece of flat ground around." Relieved to have the whole group together now, we examined Ken's campsite atop Peak 4, where he rested after his moonlight Motherlode. Definitely not the Ritz in terms of ground comfort, but couldn't beat the view. It was just after 9 am and time to start making our way across the Peaks. Katrina and I had a prearranged light-hearted bet that I wouldn't get off-route ONCE across the traverse. Man, that was a dumb bet to take. Needless to say - for those that have done this - she won  I made it a good way down Peak 3 before losing though, so there's that. But that's part of the fun, you never take the same route twice.
Down through some brush and snow patches to the 3-4 saddle, traversing a bit to the east before the first good scrambling of the day. I found the path of least resistance, with Ken's approving nod afterward, and we gained the summit of 3 easily. Eric was off scrambling on his own route, but we met up soon. Looking over to Peak 2 - I knew my hopes of winning this silly bet were, well, silly. I told everyone that I would be quick to admit confusion and ask Ken's advice if ever in doubt, and a good ways down Peak 3, I stayed true to my word. The downclimbing here is steep, but never terribly exposed or difficult, and we enjoyed the shady, snow-filled areas as the sun was getting warm this day. Tanya - bless her heart - was keeping a good head through all of this, thanks in part to the light-hearted group dynamic, and because she's really progressed over the years.
Going down Peak 3, we all kept staring at the looming Backwards Z. Hard to ignore it. The obvious, 45-degree (ish) ramp is in your face for the entire descent. Ken, Brian, and I also knew what awaited the exit. Do I tell Tanya up front or wait for the "surprise"? We opted for the former, we had some cordolette and that would help. We rested at the 2-3 saddle and started the traverse to the Z. Eric, of course, saw a steeper route and took off up the rock just to the south of the Z and Brian followed, while I took Katrina and Tanya to the gentler part, with Ken watching us. Still steep, though, don't worry. Too steep, really, for Tanya's liking, despite the solid rock and plentiful holds. The exposure was getting to her. The group forged ahead and I stayed with her as she moveds steadily and meticulously up, doing great. Then comes the fun....
Our group bottlenecked as we came out on the ridge proper, and you're faced with the slab climb with some of the most horrific exposure I've seen in Arizona. Since we were the last in line, Tanya could her the exclamations/laugh/shouts/curse words above as others climbed it (as I had 2 years ago when I did this), and I assured her we'd be fine. I hopped up the first pitch, set up a short belay and got her to the start. When she gained the ridge, the next word she said started with an 'F' when she saw the slab
Brian set up an anchor above as he was already up, and Eric sat perched halfway, tying the ropes together and also to lend her a hand up, literally. I hunkered down and offered my shoulders as a boost up the first part. She declined, flying right up to Eric and up to the top. Awesome! So proud of her for that. I followed free-climbing and broke down the anchor after everyone left, taking the ropes in my pack (which soon after came out of my pack, getting snagged on the brush...but I backtracked to them, thanks for noticing Ken) From there, Peak 2 was annoyingly far away but we made it.
Seeing Browns, we all talked about cold beer for the entire way across, and before long we downclimbed the last tricky part of 2, gained the saddle, and made our way up to Browns Peak! Time to head down, and it was nice to see the trail below. The gully descent was shaded and cool, and soon back to the trail. What a day, capped off by Four Peaks 8th Street Ale back at the trailhead! And, of course, dinner at Four Peaks in Tempe.
Great group as always, nothing gets your adventure thirst quenched like a Four Peaks traverse |
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