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| | Car Camping | | 5 Days | | |
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| no partners | | Way Overdue to get back down to my Favorite Mountain Range...This last week was the week to do it. Planned some short Hikes that I have not done before and I was ready to go!!! Lots of Fauna, Wildflowers, and Weather on this Trip...Went Hiking, Fishing and some Scenic Driving to enjoy it all...Randy was thinking about joining me during the latter part of the Trip, but dumped me in favor of a Hiking Group...  
Day 1
Got to Safford late Afternoon and stopped by Roper Lake to drop off something for Chad, then decided to go ahead and get a Line wet...Fished for about an hour or so, only getting one Bite, that I missed...  But really just enjoyed being there again...At Dusk, I pulled out to go up the Mountain and Camp...Saw two White-Tailed Deer on the way up, one was a nice looking Buck...Got to the Undeveloped Campground I had chosen, and was actually surprised to see people there on a Monday...I remember last time I was here during the Week, I had the place to myself for 3 days...Got settled in a less than Prime Spot and hit the Sack.
Day 2
Got up and just enjoyed the Campsite for awhile, getting a few Bird pics and then headed to my Hikes for the Day...(Separate Triplog) Got back after a nice Hike, got a Fire started, had some dinner and hit the Sack again...
Day 3
Ice wasn't staying very well in the Cooler...I wasn't very High in Elevation yet and realized I wouldn't have enough Ice to last the Trip, so I went back down the Mountain, got Ice and stopped at Roper and visited with Chad a bit, then figured I might as well Shower while I was there...Got Ice and headed back up, this time going almost all the way to the end, after getting in a couple of Hikes...(Separate Triplog) The Weather was starting to turn and it threatened to Rain on me once I got back up there...Saw a couple of more Deer driving around and one of them was nice enough to pose for me once it got off the Road...Found that my Favorite area and spots were already occupied...On a Wednesday...Hmmm, most people I've ever seen on this Mountain during the Week...Went down the Road a bit further and settled for another Undeveloped Site that I had to myself...A little close to the Swift Trail, but it was a nice Site (once I cleaned it up), and I stayed there for the next two Nights...Started Sprinkling on me a little, so I had to get the Tarp set up as I am still sleeping in the Escape...Tried to start a Fire, but it was almost impossible, everything was really, really damp...Even my Newspaper had absorbed the Humidity...I gave up once it started spitting Rain and just went without on this Night...During the Night, a Skunk kept me company on and off...Didn't really surprise me, as I have seen them in this area before...Couldn't get any Pictures, every time it would see the Light, it would jack up that Tail and clear the area in a hurry...
Day 4
Got up to very Gray Skies, threatening Rain...Hung around Camp for a bit and it really didn't seem to be doing much, so I headed down the Road towards Riggs Lake...It just kept getting darker and darker and so I drove to the end of the Swift Trail to the Clark Peak TH just to check out the Overlook there...Holy cow, was that Cool!!! I found myself literally in a Cloud!!! Got to the Overlook and it was awesome!!! The Clouds were moving over the Top of the Mountain and then literally "falling" down the Slope!!! I have Video as well as Pictures, it was that Cool!!! Wandered a bit in the area, just enjoying the "Foggy" Landscape and then decided to check out Riggs Lake to see how it looked...Ha! Completely Socked in...Couldn't even see the Water when I got there...Decided to do a Hike around and then, when it finally cleared off, I did another Hike in the area...(Separate Triplog) By the time I got done with the 2nd Hike, it had cleared up rather nicely...Headed back to Camp and did another short Hike in that area....Got back, managed to get a Fire started after some serious struggle, and then just enjoyed a Starry Sky that night...My Skunk Friend was a No-Show as far as I know...Maybe the Fire deterred him, or just the fact that my Camp had nothing to offer... 
Day 5
Got up and it was Gray Skies with lots of Rumbling going on...Decided not to "Hike" today, but the Clouds offered up numerous Photo opportunities...I had several places I wanted to hit, since the Coneflowers were going so strong, so I packed up Camp, and headed on down the Road...Stopped at a bunch of my favorite places for Photo Ops, with Storms being very Dark and Noisy following me down...I never really got Rained on though until I was around the Northeast Side of the Mountain...But the Clouds and Vistas were very Cool...I ended up making a lot more stops than I had planned on, the Ops were that good...It took me 4 1/2 Hours to get down the Mountain... It was still early Afternoon and the Temperature wasn't bad down by Safford, so I opted to visit with Chad at Roper Lake some more and then I went and checked out Dankworth...(Separate Triplog)...It threatened Rain while I was down there too, but since it was 85 Degrees and Muggy, it would have been Welcome!!! Never really got Rained on down there either....Went back to Roper Lake and visited some more, taking in one incredible Sunset, then headed home....
Photos...Ha! Downloaded over 800...Combined the Car Camp and the Scenic Drive on Friday and got it down to 30...
Video of the "Falling Cloud".... http://youtu.be/yz2dmjlTprY
Another great Trip to my Favorite part of the State!!! It just never disappoints!!!  |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
Majority of Blooms were Coneflowers in the Meadows, but other Blooms in less quantity were also present. |
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Grant Creek |
Pools to trickle |
Pools to trickle |
| | | At Swift Trail Crossing |
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Jacobson Canyon |
Light flow |
Light flow |
| | | Jacobson Creek had small Flow at Swift Trail Crossing.... |
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Soldier Creek |
Pools to trickle |
Pools to trickle |
| | | At Swift Trail Crossing |
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Wet Canyon |
Light flow |
Light flow |
| | | At the Swift Trail Crossing.... | | _____________________
| Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty & well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out & proclaiming, "Wow What a Ride!" |
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