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| Hiking | 21.22 Miles |
5,040 AEG |
| | Hiking | 21.22 Miles | 19 Hrs 14 Mns | | 1.41 mph |
| 5,040 ft AEG | 4 Hrs 10 Mns Break | | | |
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[ show ]
| partners | | Synopsis: The Dislocation Debacle (TL;DR Version)
Hiked with @joebartels for the first time on the Lion Mountain/Copper loop that he completed last month. Planned on a 10-12 hour hike, first portion was relatively smooth sailing up to 4608, across the ridge to 4570, and back down the mountain. Second portion less smooth: storm passed through and drenched us, Joe dislocated his shoulder and couldn't get it popped back in, I accidentally discharged some bear spray, we missed a key turn to leave the creek bed, then had a slow hike out in the dark that finally ended after midnight, missing our 10-12 hour target by an hour...or eight.
Full Version
Well, that didn't go as expected...this was my first time meeting and hiking with Joe, and what we'd optimistically hoped would be a 10 to 12-hour day took over 19 hours. I'd had Lion Mountain on my list for a while, and Joe can't seem to stay away after two trips in November  . When he posted plans for a return trip on HAZ, I was in. He completed this loop solo in ~14 hours a few weeks ago [ photoset ] , and we figured with his knowledge of the route and two of us navigating, we could shave a few hours off that.
We left the valley at ~3AM and took off from Mormon Grove Trailhead just before 5AM with our headlamps on and clear, starry skies overhead. We cruised through the early miles and were around to the northwest side of Saddle Mountain on Copper Camp Trail for the sunrise, then Lion Mountain came into view a little farther along as the peak got hit with the first sunlight of the morning.
We left the trail after ~8.5 miles and started working our way down among the drainages into a new area of the Mazatzals for me, one with geology that reminded me of parts of the Superstitions. Joe and I took a break at the base of Lion Mountain and ate a snack before we started the ascent, and at that point we were a few hours ahead of Joe's previous time, having also started earlier than he did last time.
Dream Ridge had two cliff bands to navigate, a lighter lower one and a darker upper band, but there was only one spot that required a minor scramble, and we stayed left of both bands and made good progress despite the steep grade. Closer to the ridgeline, I made a regrettable route choice and took a more direct route at the peak than Joe's 11/13 route. Shorter distance-wise, but that took us through a lot of steep, loose scree and ultimately slowed us both down. Still, we reached the top of Lion around noon.
There was a large cairn on top, but no summit register that we found. We spent ~40 minutes on top eating lunch and enjoying the awesome panoramic views--Bartlett and Horseshoe are both visible, many of the Mazatzal landmarks (Saddle, Peeley, Sheep, Catherine, Davenport, etc.), Four Peaks, Ord, SB, the Superstition Ridgeline, Weaver's Needle, Red Mountain, and more. Some clouds started to gather, and it looked like rain was falling to the north, but the forecast that morning had said clear skies.
Lion 4608: [ youtube video ]
We followed Lion Ridge over to Peak 4570...nice views, but the peak isn't as prominent as 4608, and it's not immediately obvious where the high point is [ youtube video ] . From there, we dropped down the ravine on the southeast side of the mountain. No major obstacles there, but slow going with steep terrain and lots of cactus, loose rock, and some brush. Clouds gathered and started sprinkling on us as we got to the creek bed at the bottom, and then it poured as we approached the South Fork of Sheep Creek, soaking us pretty good with 6+ miles to go. Fortunately, the heavy rain only lasted a few minutes.
We still had a shot at making it out around sunset, but the wheels came off as we approached the confluence of Tournament Creek/Sheep Creek. There was water in the creek bed in areas it had been dry for Joe on his 11/13 loop, so we had a few minor creek crossings to deal with. One spot had a tricky, uneven landing spot on the far side, and Joe asked for a hand for stability as he crossed. I took his right hand and pulled as he stepped across, and he went down: dislocated shoulder. Excruciating pain.
He spent some time trying to pop it back in and had me push and pull at different angles, but it wasn't going back in. We still had 4-5 miles to go, most of it off-trail, and Joe was in extreme pain and had no good arms with plenty of scrambling and rough/brushy terrain between us and the trailhead. But he felt like if we could get out of the creek bed, he'd be able to make it out.
With water in the creek that would require wading to reach our exit point, I scrambled up the south bank to scout out a possible shortcut and thought I found one. With a lot of pain, effort, and scratches, Joe was able to join me up on south bank of the creek, but something didn't look right. As the sun set, Joe realized we were heading down Sheep Creek when our exit point out of the creek bed was on the side opposite us, starting up Tournament Creek...the HAZ topo map in that part of the Mazatzals is shifted ~210', which added to the confusion when we were studying Route Scout. We'd just wasted a lot of time and effort climbing up that bank and would have to backtrack.
I had my backpack on and Joe's pack slung over my shoulder...in hindsight, a little too close to a cannister of bear spray on my belt. When I stumbled into some brush, his pack knocked the safety clip off the bear spray, and it discharged. Luckily, it sprayed directly into my side, and we only got a whiff of spray with no ill effects, but I had a burning sensation on my skin for the rest of the night. I didn't realize it until later, but somewhere in the darkness and chaos around there, I also lost a pair of sunglasses.
We regrouped, pulled out the headlamps, and worked our way slowly back down the rocky bank, waded east, and Joe found the correct exit point from Tournament Creek. I helped brace him and support his weight so he could avoid putting pressure on the dislocated shoulder as we climbed up a short wall, and we worked our way up the 100' ascent out of the creek and continued east. We settled into our rhythm for the next few hours: Joe took the lead, I brought up the rear with the packs on my back and both our phones out, plugged into portable chargers, navigating with Route Scout and directing Joe while trying not to snag phone cords on brush in the dark.
Before the next big obstacle, we had cell reception and sent some "don't send S&R" texts to people back home. Then we tackled the 400' climb up to 4642, which took over an hour to cover the steep, loose ~0.25-mile. We went up side-by-side, one step at a time with me bracing Joe under his left arm and taking careful steps to make sure we both stayed upright. It was a relief to get that one behind us, then we had a major brush battle and some navigation challenges getting around Chalk Spring, and the clippers came out again as we pushed/cut through some thick areas.
We finally had some easier hiking as we picked up horse trail near Marion Spring and eventually connected with Little Saddle Mountain Trail to complete our loop, back at Joe's truck just after midnight. After a few more unsuccessful attempts to pop Joe's shoulder back in, we started the drive, with Joe still in agony. When we arrived back in the valley ~2AM, I'd been awake for more than 24 hours straight.
Not the experience I'd imagined for my first hike with Joe--I didn't expect we'd both set personal records for longest day-hikes and that I'd literally spend the entire day with him . But I was happy we were able to get ourselves out and tremendously impressed that Joe finished the loop with a dislocated shoulder in that terrain in the dark  . It's a beautiful area and a day I'm sure we'll never forget, even if there are parts we'd like to . Great meeting Joe and a huge thank you for organizing the hike and doing the hard work establishing the route last month. Despite the obvious setbacks, I enjoyed the day! |
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Tournament Creek |
Medium flow |
Medium flow |
| |  Flowing after recent rain, otherwise occasional pools | | | |
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