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| Hiking | 6.10 Miles |
1,667 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.10 Miles | 4 Hrs 4 Mns | | 1.53 mph |
| 1,667 ft AEG | 5 Mns Break | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Day Two:
After the Pinyon hike yesterday I didn't feel much like doing anything of effort so I decided to skip the whole camping routine and sleep in the car. Not pitching a tent meant no need to transfer all my sleeping gear into the tent.
(Due to my ongoing lower back issues, sleeping on-the-ground requires a number of specifically-shaped pillows... thus the reason I don't backpack with Tracey, I just facilitate transportation to/from trailheads.)
That said, one would think it would be a painful experience sleeping in the car, but weirdly enough I found in both the 2007 4Runner and this 2018 4Runner the passenger front seat can be made quite comfortable using a few small pillows and just the right seat-back adjustment. In fact I never woke in pain with a need to change positions like is usual in the tent and actually felt well-rested.
Having gone through more than I should have of my food provisions last night, my only choice was eat almost everything left with nothing during the hike, or a lighter-than-normal breakfast and carry two PB&J sandwiches in my pack for my lunch-time-with-Tracey... I can't have her eating alone now, can I?
Enough of that, it's time to hit the trail!
It was a bit of a surprise to get a text from Tracey when she was setting out from her camp near Walnut Spring, which meant we both had cell service at the same time. With that knowledge and her average speed I had a good idea where we would meet and frankly didn't want to go quite that far so I pulled out my tablet and read for a half-hour before setting out. When I did set out, I was in no hurry, and thus my mealy 1.7 mph pace over the course of the hike.
Around a mile out the trail began its descent, bringing back not-so-fond memories of our return climb up the slope a decade ago. And I thought, just like back then, it would be slow-going, particularly for Tracey... especially since she texted "I'm dying!" while traversing "The Ditch" (1K descent & 1K ascent along AZT #19).
On my FS Topo map I noticed the old trail was off to the West, sometimes a hundred yards, other times even farther, so at a point where the old barbed-wire fence was down I took a side-trip out to the old route and due to being closer to the edge of the ridge, I found the view better than along the existing route. So why not still use this old route? Maybe because it appeared to be steeper and no switchbacks? Not that there were any true switchbacks on the existing trail, just winding a bit.
Ok, now time to climb up the other side. As I crossed a series of drainages I took a look at my FS Topo map and noted the old trail had climbed sooner on an easier slope before following a higher contour, which appeared high enough to avoid the deep drainage crossings. When I reached the saddle I glanced back and could almost make out where the old trail may have come across and thought it would have saved the extra climbing.
I remembered from 2014, this is the saddle where we had dropped back to in hopes of camping but gave up due to no-see'ums and a host of other reasons. Based on my pace I thought I'd have met Tracey by now, only to realize I was still a quarter-mile short of the waypoint of our actual turn-around spot. And wouldn't you know it, less than a quarter-mile later I meet up with Tracey.
After a short early lunch break, we set off on the return leg. Nothing too eventful, just a descent, spotting a few deer on a ridge spying on us, the long slow ascent up the rocky slope and following the contour around Pinyon Mountain back to the Two Bar TH. At some point my GPS quit due to 'new' Energizer MAX batteries giving up in less than 3 hours of use! I had installed them at the start of the day because my rechargeable batteries from the day before were a bit too low for the whole hike. I guess I should have left them in and carried the 'new' batteries as the spares.
(When I got home I checked the rest of the 8-pack of Energizers and they are all below spec. I only had them a month, but of course without a receipt I guess from here on I should test new batteries right away)
The back down Forest Road #83 was nothing near the slow crawl up except for one sharp turn at a drainage, which due to the approach from the opposite direction made for the distinctly uncomfortable about-to-tip-over feeling. But in just one quick sphincter-tightening moment it was over and the rest was just slow-and-easy.
All in all, I'm sure this is the last time we'll ever be back to this trailhead. Twice, each a decade apart is enough. |
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