| |
| Reef of Rocks Exploration - Technical, AZ | | -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
| |  |
|
1 |
-
-
-
-
|
| | Reef of Rocks Exploration - Technical, AZ | | | |
|
|
Reef of Rocks Exploration - Technical, AZ
| | |
|
| Hiking | 3.00 Miles |
1,951 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.00 Miles | 7 Hrs 53 Mns | | 1.04 mph |
| 1,951 ft AEG | 5 Hrs Break | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | I've often wanted to explore the Reef of Rocks. We've done a couple short scrambles in the area but always had to go back because of the skills of the individuals along. I searched the web, found little. I emailed SAHC hikers and heard that it might be possible as a crew of three had done something similar without technical gear a year ago. I consulted the 'Yellow Book' which I consider my Bible for hiking in the Catalinas. Gary considers it my 'Little Book of Torture'. In the book, I read about how one could rappel down to a saddle. We met with Gary and his son for dinner one night. We talked to his son about the area because he had rock climbed and scrambled all over it. I'm not sure I've ever done so much research and not really learn a lot!
Finally we decided that we should gear up for the trip and so we upgraded the plan from a hike/scramble to a trip with harnesses, rappel devices, ropes, helmets, webbing, rap rings, you name it and we probably had it. We also made sure we had a few people who could use ascenders and had the skills to build anchors. We also took Josh with us climbing the day before so he could learn to rappel.
So with the goal of going down the Reef and then going up the Red Ridge Trail, 6 Alt Hikers set off with a 6 AM meet time and the plans to be out pretty late in the day!
We followed the rock climbing route down to a campsite. From there it started to get interesting as we left all sign of travel behind. We would scout in different directions and then decide which way was the best to go. We did a short rappel which we probably could have done with a hand line - but we were of the opinion that we brought all this gear we might as well use it. Gary set up the anchor and he made it so that when we pulled it we would leave nothing behind.
Then we got to another spot which we found we needed to do at least two rappels. Because we wanted to make sure we didn't leave ourselves stuck between two rappels with no where to go we set up one rappel and then sent three guys down to reconnoiter. Gary did a downclimb and then we reset the rope for a rappel. We also set it up so that when we were done we'd pull the rope and everything should come lose. Then we could use a pull down to bring down the gear. We did see that we had a high risk of it not working due to the friction on the rock. Meanwhile, the guys below set up a second rappel and sent Joel down. At this point it was around noon. After they confirmed that we could get off the Reef they had us bring their packs down to them. They let us know we weren't continuing down the Reef due to the time which was wise because we only had done one of the two rappels and the clock was ticking. We pulled the rope and then yanked on the line to bring down the gear and it stuck. We debated leaving it and seeing if Gary's son could try to retrieve it later. Gary decided to climb up and see if he could get the gear down. In the end, we ended up leaving a piece of gear waypointed so that we can try to reclaim at a later time. We did the second rappel which included an overhang. It was fun! At the end of the free rappel, there was a burned oak and one of the branches was poking up we ended up calling it the colonoscopy stick!
We then scrambled down slabs of rocks to the drainage which did have a nice trickle of water in it. From the drainage we were met with thick brush/trees which had sprung up after the fire. We put Josh in front because we knew from our Valley of the Moon backpacking adventure he could plow through vegetation! He picked a relatively nice route and we were on our way. I was in the back of the group and I noticed that I was following a bloody trail. Thankfully there were no vampires around! Soon we were through to the other side of the drainage and ready to start our climb to the ridge.
The climb up the ridge was very steep and unrelenting. We were going through burn area so we had to navigate up and over downfall and through locust, buckthorn, aspen, oak, madrone, etc. We stopped for a break since no of us had really eaten all day. Then we continued on up the ridge. At one point we were getting close to the cars, but we found that the brush and trees had stepped up the intensity. It also got a lot steeper (as if that was possible)! Finally we managed to get through.
At the car we checked to see if everyone bled. Josh and I escaped with very little damage! Gary won the award for the most blood lost! It's not an Alt Hike if someone doesn't bleed!
We were all happy with our adventure. No one got hurt, we didn't have any emergencies, and we got out before dark. It didn't really matter that we didn't make it down the Reef as we all had a blast. Plus, it just means that someday we'll have to try again! |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
