| |
| 4th Annual New Year's Day Peak Celebration, AZ | | -
-
| |  |
|
1 |
-
| 1 label |  |
|
|
-
| 1 label |  |
|
|
-
-
| |  |
|
1 |
-
| |  |
|
3 |
-
| |  |
|
1 |
-
| 1 label |  |
|
|
-
|
| | 4th Annual New Year's Day Peak Celebration, AZ | | | |
|
|
4th Annual New Year's Day Peak Celebration, AZ
| | |
|
| Hiking | 2.70 Miles |
1,415 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.70 Miles | | | |
| 1,415 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| | | Met Larry (Widowmaker) for the first time and hit the road, arriving within 1 minute of my estimate - so far this year was going pretty well.
Rolled up and after intros and loading of recreational goods, we were on our way up Margies (AKA Skull). The ridge was mostly large granite boulders, with a few quartz veins and enough Cholla to keep you on your toes. Even with snow on the Cholla and boulders, the lack of wind made the temps near ideal.
The summit slowly populated, and when the family was complete, we cracked open 4 bottles of sparkly stuff. Pam's awesome cookies and chocolate-covered strawberries completed our well-rounded meal, registers got signed, the wind picked up, people shivered, attack snowballs were repurposed into a snowman, I politely asked people if they wanted noisemakers and then gently handed them to those interested (actually I just threw them at people - sorry about that), no one had the nerve to use the stripper pole on the summit, someone lit sparklers attached to their head, and people laughed and shivered some more.
On the way down I took the ravine east of the ridge for extra variety, the top third steep and loose, but the drainage itself 95% clear. Compared to the Cholla ridge, I liked it a bit better.
Chilled with Scott (Charger55 - AKA The Guy With The Interesting Job) at the "trailhead", the fastest had already departed, so we waited for a bit for a full head count. After a lively discussion of Arizona's inferior fishing opportunities, we thanked Pam for yet another great event and went our separate ways.
A few new faces and names for me, a cool peak with some serious quiet to the south, and snow on the Cholla - not too shabby. Once again I smiled at the fact that a bunch of friendly people would be inclined to clamber together up a jagged pile of pokey things and rocks far from the city and actually think it's fun. I'm glad there is such a thing as HAZ.
So far the year was going pretty well. |
| _____________________
The past, the present, and the future walked into a bar.
It was tense. |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
