azbackpackr's Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Jul 19 2019

azbackpackr

Guides 26
Routes 365
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 720

66 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Flag-summer-Need

Trans-La Sal Trail, UT

Hiking		Jul 19 2019
		azbackpackr

Hiking	5.67 Miles	903 AEG

Hiking	5.67 Miles

	903 ft AEG

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Squaw Spring Trail #38

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This trail in the La Sal Mountains is close to Moab. The section of the Trans-La Sal Trail that I hiked is called the Squaw Springs Trail, off of Geyser Pass Road, a graded dirt road which is off of the paved La Sal Loop Road. The Trans-La Sal Trail links together several trails. It's astonishingly pretty, similar to Colorado mountain scenery. Very green, lots of flowers. The aspens were some of the largest I've ever seen.

Looks like it would be a fun backpacking trip, although I don't think you could make a loop out of it without some road walking. There was water in two places, although not many flat spots to camp, on the short distance I covered. It might be a little buggy. If I were going to do an overnight, I'd bring DEET and a shelter with mosquito netting. Wasn't bad during the day, though.

I have never seen so many wildflowers, especially lupine! There are great views out across the Canyonlands country. You could see Moab, also.

I had been river running for three days on the Colorado River (starting near Grand Junction) and I didn't have a day pack with me. I didn't expect to do any hiking, due to the lowland heat. So, I slung my purse over one shoulder, with a small lunch and GPS inside. I used a boating cam strap, a carabiner and Nalgene bottle for water, slung over the other shoulder. I did have some Altra shoes and a spare set of poles I've been keeping in the car.

The camera I brought along for the river runs was my cheap waterproof Fujifilm. I have to say, it's one of the worst cameras I've ever owned, but it's almost indestructible, so I take it on river trips. The photos are awful. I also took some with my cell phone--small improvement. I'll post those sometime later on.

The Manti-La Sal National Forest offers this pdf file of trails in the La Sals: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DO ... 291128.pdf
A guidebook to La Sal Mountains exists, but is out of print. Characteristic of out-of-print books, the sellers are asking upwards of $600 for a copy! It's called Canyon Country's La Sal Mountains: Hiking and Nature Handbook, by Jose Knighton. I perused the tables of contents of several guidebooks to the area, but they seem to focus on Arches and Canyonlands.

Flora

Green gentian Rocky Mountain Columbine Unidentified Lupine

Named place

Castle Rock

Wildflowers Observation Extreme

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

Jul 09 2019

azbackpackr

Guides 26
Routes 365
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 720

66 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Flag-summer-Need

Benham Trail #38

Flagstaff, AZ

Benham Trail #38

Flagstaff, AZ

Hiking		Jul 09 2019
		azbackpackr

Hiking	8.84 Miles	2,088 AEG

Hiking	8.84 Miles	6 Hrs 3 Mns	1.98 mph

	2,088 ft AEG	1 Hour 35 Mns Break

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I've always preferred this trail to the Bill Williams Mountain trail. It's more open, there are occasional views, and there are fewer people. I saw one hiker. It was a perfect day. I started at 7 a.m. When I reached the summit, unlike other times, it wasn't windy or chilly. I sat and ate my lunch by the fire tower. This time I didn't go up into the tower, and am not sure if the current occupant wants company, anyway. In the past there was a guy who would call down to you to come on up, because he loved to chat with hikers.

Flowers I noticed were: Yellow columbines, wild roses, Indian paintbrush, some sort of penstemon, and something that looked like sweet alyssum and had lots of bees on it.

I saw elk tracks, no elk.

Flora

Fendler Rose Yellow Columbine

Named place

Mingus Mountain

Wildflowers Observation Light
Yellow columbines, wild roses, Indian paintbrush, penstemon, alyssum?

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

May 05 2019

azbackpackr

Guides 26
Routes 365
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 720

66 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Flag-summer-Need

Mormon Mountain Trail #58

Flagstaff, AZ

Mormon Mountain Trail #58

Flagstaff, AZ

Hiking		May 05 2019
		azbackpackr

Hiking	6.66 Miles	1,460 AEG

Hiking	6.66 Miles	3 Hrs 47 Mns	1.78 mph

	1,460 ft AEG	2 Mns Break

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My first hike of the high country season. I live in Flagstaff for a seasonal job during the summers. Decided to start my higher altitude hikes with an easy peak. As you can see from the photo, Mormon Lake is pretty full this year. A few patches of snow linger in the old growth forest above 8,000 feet. In some places they cover the trail, so you have to either walk over them or around them.

I patted myself on the back all the way up the mountain, "Wow, amazing, no aches or pains!" But then, partway down, my right knee started aching quite a bit. Sigh...

After the hike I drove over to Mormon Lake Village, to find out if there is easy access to the lake for kayaking, but I didn't see any. There is definitely enough water in it to put a shallow-draft boat in. But I couldn't figure out an easy way to get to the water's edge. As far as I could see, you'd either have to lower the boat down a bluff, or walk it out at least a quarter mile across some flats. And there is a lot of private property along it, as well. I'm going to make some calls...

Named place

Mormon Lake

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

Apr 19 2019

azbackpackr

Guides 26
Routes 365
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 720

66 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Flag-summer-Need

Whitmore Trail

Northwest, AZ

Whitmore Trail

Northwest, AZ

Hiking		Apr 19 2019
		azbackpackr

Hiking	2.18 Miles	1,039 AEG

Hiking	2.18 Miles	2 Hrs 6 Mns	1.15 mph

	1,039 ft AEG	12 Mns Break

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Looks like I'm the first one to post this trail on HAZ. Starting from the river, our boating party hiked up the trail, almost, but not quite, to the trailhead. From a hilltop we could see quite a few ATVs parked at the roadend there, belonging to a large extended family of Mormons who were hiking down to the river. They were leaving plastic Easter eggs for their kids to find on the way back up. It was a couple of days before Easter. Since it was already midday, some of those folks and little kids looked pretty sunburned and tired, but they were very friendly to us.

The trail passes some interesting volcanic formations. I didn't get photos of all of them, sorry. The views of the river are tremendous. This must be just about the shortest and easiest trail to the bottom of Grand Canyon, bar none. But I think the driving route to the trailhead is pretty long, and requires 4WD.

I took a little waterproof camera on the river trip, a Fujifilm. I'm not too happy with it. I knew that beforehand, anyway. This was my 4th river trip in 7 years, so I've taken most of the photos I'm going to take, anyway. After a while you just live in the experience, and the photos are less important. At least, for me.

I'll post more hikes and info about the river trip a little at a time. It was my first commercial river trip, (having only done non-commercial DIY trips before). Also my first trip in the spring. I went as a crew member, and washed a lot of dishes, chopped a lot of onions, schlepped a lot of gear. 20 guests, 7 crew members, 16 days, 5 oar rafts, one dory.

Wildflowers Observation Substantial
Wildflowers everywhere. Loads of brittlebush, of course.

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

Apr 10 2019

azbackpackr

Guides 26
Routes 365
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 720

66 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Flag-summer-Need

Seventy-five Mile Canyon, AZ

Hiking		Apr 10 2019
		azbackpackr

Hiking	1.20 Miles	200 AEG

Hiking	1.20 Miles

	200 ft AEG

no routes

Linked

linked

Escalante Route

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This was a hike from a river camp called "Upper Nevills," just above Nevills Rapid. We hiked up Seventy-five Mile Canyon to the Escalante Route trail. Walking along the trail, we went out to the rim of the platform it's on and got a nice view of Nevills Rapid, and up and down the gorge. Since I have hiked the Escalante Route, I had been to that canyon before.

It was just a quick afternoon hike. I had to get back to camp to help with cooking dinner for 27 people--this was a commercial river trip. I thought I had GPS'd the hike. (In fact, I thought I had GPS'd all of the hikes on my trip, but some of them are missing.) Oh, well. Looking at the map, I guesstimated the distance and elevation gain.

Some of our guests went further up the canyon after topping over the ledge and said there was a nice waterfall there, but I was on dinner duty that night. My notes say that I made apple crisp in the Dutch oven. Yum! I do remember making the apple crisp, but I didn't write down what else we cooked for dinner.

It was a remarkably nice camp, in the trees. It had been pretty windy, with some rain, and we were tired of the wind, and were glad to fit our many tents into small spaces amongst the tamarisk trees.

Flora

Grand Canyon Beavertail pricklypear Mariposa Lily

Geology

Shinumo Quartzite

Named place

Nevills Rapids

Wildflowers Observation Substantial
Mariposa lilies, beavertail cactus, brittlebush, etc. etc.

Seventyfive Mile Creek

Light flow

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

Mar 30 2019

azbackpackr

Guides 26
Routes 365
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 720

66 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Flag-summer-Need

Bridge Canyon Wilderness, NV

Hiking		Mar 30 2019
		azbackpackr

Hiking	7.20 Miles	1,229 AEG

Hiking	7.20 Miles	4 Hrs 2 Mns	1.85 mph

	1,229 ft AEG	8 Mns Break

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Grapevine Canyon

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Granite formations in all shapes and sizes, with caves, hoodoos, windows, and other features make the Bridge Canyon Wilderness a place you can keep going back to for exploration. Most people reach it via the better-known Grapevine Canyon, off of Christmas Tree Pass Road, but last Saturday my friends and I went in via Bridge Canyon Road. Best to have four wheel drive, or at least high clearance, for this road. Eventually you get to the edge of the wilderness area, and then continue on foot. (See GPS route.)

Once in the wilderness area, we did a road walk of a couple miles or so, taking a side hike up a little canyon with a trickling stream and little waterfalls (because of recent rains). We went back onto the road, walked a ways more, and then we started scrambling, exploring big piles of granite boulders. I realized I had been into one of the cave-like formations a couple of years ago, from a different direction. Every time we go out here we decide we have to come back to explore some more of the granite outcroppings.

On the GPS route, the drop-down menu for maps gives an option of a 1930 topo map. I was surprised to see that Spirit Mountain used to be called Dead Man Mountain. Same idea, I guess.

Wildflowers Observation Light
This area is higher in elevation than the surrounding desert. The flowers were just beginning to bloom. Saw a lot of yucca flowers

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

Mar 25 2019

azbackpackr

Guides 26
Routes 365
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 720

66 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Flag-summer-Need

Boundary Cone Flower Hike, AZ

Hiking		Mar 25 2019
		azbackpackr

Hiking	3.97 Miles	404 AEG

Hiking	3.97 Miles	1 Hour 58 Mns	2.09 mph

	404 ft AEG	4 Mns Break

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My friend said she knew where the poppies were, and she did. In this part of the world, most areas do not have any poppies at all. Over around Needles we've seen a lot of lupine, scorpion weed, and some yellow flowers I don't know the name of. But no poppies. So we went hiking near Boundary Cone, a volcanic plug type mountain. Just walking around on the Jeep roads was good enough. Nice day, and plenty of poppies.

Wildflowers Observation Substantial
Poppies, lupine, scorpion weed, creosote.

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

Mar 23 2019

azbackpackr

Guides 26
Routes 365
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 720

66 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Flag-summer-Need

Grapevine Canyon

Vegas, NV

Grapevine Canyon

Vegas, NV

Hiking		Mar 23 2019
		azbackpackr

Hiking	3.86 Miles	702 AEG

Hiking	3.86 Miles	3 Hrs 2 Mns	1.34 mph

	702 ft AEG	9 Mns Break

Linked

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My birthday hike, with my daughter. After stopping to look at the petroglyphs (somewhat crowded with tourists), we went up as far as where it boxes up, with the little waterfall, which was trickling. Found out from some other hikers that it might be worthwhile to go up further. We started up, but decided we didn't want to do more this day. We watched for bighorns, but it was the wrong time of day.

Wildflowers Observation Moderate
At this elevation, back up in the canyon, another week or two should be better for flowers.

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

Mar 15 2019

azbackpackr

Guides 26
Routes 365
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 720

66 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Flag-summer-Need

Lower Grapevine Canyon, NV

Hiking		Mar 15 2019
		azbackpackr

Hiking	2.98 Miles	709 AEG

Hiking	2.98 Miles	1 Hour 58 Mns	1.54 mph

	709 ft AEG	2 Mns Break

Linked

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Grapevine Canyon

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HikedUP

We hiked down Grapevine Canyon. This is the same Grapevine Canyon where the tourist hikers go to see all the petroglyphs, but we didn't go to that part. We hiked downstream instead of up. The canyon crosses the road and eventually runs into Lake Mohave (formerly known as the Colorado River.)

The weather was kind of chilly and quite windy. We wore jackets the whole time.

Very soon we ran into a vertical pour-off of at least 50 feet. My friends tried climbing up and around. For some reason, I was off my game today, and I elected to sit and wait, because I figured they'd come back. They did. We went around the other way (see track) and one of my friends did make it all the way to the bottom. I just wasn't up for it. It was really steep and slippery, a lot of decomposed granite. Rock handholds that broke off in your hand, stuff like that. I'm getting too old for this kind of shoeshine. I'm still glad I went.

Next step is to drive to a place called Nevada Telephone Cove, a nice big beach on Lake Mohave, and hike the same canyon upstream, to see if that pour-off can be reached, or if there are others blocking the way.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

1 archive

Mar 10 2019

azbackpackr

Guides 26
Routes 365
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 720

66 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Flag-summer-Need

Pipe Spr to Dripping Spr - Newberry Mtns., NV

Hiking		Mar 10 2019
		azbackpackr

Hiking	5.10 Miles	907 AEG

Hiking	5.10 Miles	3 Hrs 29 Mns	1.60 mph

	907 ft AEG	18 Mns Break

Linked

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no linked trail guides

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HikedUP

This area is off Christmas Tree Pass near Laughlin, Nevada. The next big drainage to the north is Grapevine Canyon, well-known for its petroglyphs. Oddly, Pipe Springs Canyon, where we started, is not the same as Pipe Spring Canyon, less than 5 miles to the north. Only the difference of an "s" in their names. We hiked that one a couple of weeks ago.

Typical of the Newberry Mountains, we found several interesting granite outcroppings. Although a lot of the hike was easy wash-walking, there were a few dicey sections of climbing.

I almost got a photo of a striped gecko. Close doesn't count, I guess.

Named place

Dripping Spring

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
The big wildflower bloom right now seems to be at a lower elevation. Maybe this area will catch up in a couple of weeks. It was covered in snow during the last storm.

Dripping Spring

Dripping

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

1 archive

Mar 06 2019

azbackpackr

Guides 26
Routes 365
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 720

66 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Flag-summer-Need

Lake Havasu Boat-in Hike, AZ

Hiking		Mar 06 2019
		azbackpackr

Hiking	1.32 Miles	433 AEG

Hiking	1.32 Miles	1 Hour 7 Mns	1.24 mph

	433 ft AEG	3 Mns Break

Linked

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Lake Havasu State Park

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From a BLM boat-in campsite across from Parker Dam, I hiked to the top of this hill, which had a very nice view from the top. I could see up the arm of the lake known as Bill Williams River (where the lake inundates the original creek bed). I could see Parker Dam, which impounds the Colorado River, creating Lake Havasu. And I could see up the lake (or upriver, if you prefer) quite a distance.

A friend and I camped a couple of nights at the boat-in campsite. There are over 100 of these sites on the Arizona side of the lake, south of the city. They mostly all have pit toilets, picnic tables, trash cans, a bit of Bermuda grass lawn, a sandy beach, etc. Very comfy. $10 a night into the "iron ranger." Unlike Lakes Mead and Powell, Lake Havasu is never maintained at a super low level. It is basically always full. This makes it a much more pleasant place to visit--no bathtub ring, no nasty, goopy beaches full of dirty silt. Here are some nice sunset photos and a trip log about the camping and paddling part of the adventure: [ photoset ]

Lake Havasu State Park also shares some territory in this area. It looks as though I hiked into the park land from the BLM land.

Wildflowers Observation Substantial

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

2 archives

Mar 05 2019

azbackpackr

Guides 26
Routes 365
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 720

66 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Flag-summer-Need

Bill Williams River & Lake Havasu Kayak Camp, AZ

Kayak		Mar 05 2019
		azbackpackr

Kayak	13.06 Miles

Kayak	13.06 Miles	1 Day 4 Hrs 46 Mns

Linked

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Parker Dam

Bill Williams River NWR

Havasu National Wildlife Refuge

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This paddling (see GPS route) was over a couple of days. I went on a very relaxed two-night campout on the lake with a friend, who turned out to not be feeling very well, and wasn't up to doing much kayaking at all, just wanted to sit in camp and read a book. So, after setting up the camp in one of the "boat-in only" BLM campsites on the lakeshore, ($10 a night, paid in an iron ranger) I paddled up to Bill Williams River by myself on the first day, the 5th. On the second day I paddled the opposite direction with the idea of inspecting all the other BLM boat-in campsites nearby, to see which ones were particularly nice. I also spent a lot of time reading a book and playing my ukulele in camp. Very relaxing and enjoyable, except for the lack of shade. We put up a tarp, which helped a lot. We had a nice time, it just was not as active as I would have preferred.

Here's the hike I took on the second day of the camp-out: [ photoset ]

Bill Williams River is part of the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge. People do rave about the place. (If you know me, you know I'm usually immune to other people's ravings.) If you are a very serious birder, have oodles of patience and very good binoculars it is worth visiting. Many, many species have been seen there. But as a pure paddler's destination, it's way too short. It's pretty, but nothing to really rave about, in my opinion. There's nowhere to get out of your boat and stretch out on a beach, unlike the rest of Lake Havasu. No place to park the boat and go for a hike, unless you want to crash through a whole bunch of mud and brush. And a serious paddler is going to say, "is this it?" because it's only two miles long!

And calling it a "river" is a misnomer, really. It's an arm of Lake Havasu. There used to be a small desert creek which flowed in that area, called Bill Williams River. But the lake has drowned it. Further upstream, you can backpack down the Bill Williams River below the Alamo Dam. They let water out of the dam at a steady rate to create an unnatural riparian area that would not exist if it weren't for the steady stream of water. But further down the drainage that water seeps underground. The two areas, upper and lower Bill Williams River, are not easily connectable, even on foot, because there is a ranch in the middle.

Wildflowers Observation Light

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

2 archives

Feb 28 2019

azbackpackr

Guides 26
Routes 365
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 720

66 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Flag-summer-Need

Bike Tour to Lake Mohave, NV

Mtn Biking		Feb 28 2019
		azbackpackr

Mtn Biking	46.39 Miles	2,348 AEG

Mtn Biking	46.39 Miles	1 Day 4 Hrs 24 Mns

	2,348 ft AEG

Linked

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Colorado River Heritage Trails

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This was a two-day camping tour on my mountain bike, all on pavement, pulling a one-wheel BOB trailer, from Avi Casino, Nevada, to Laughlin, NV, then up the river path. This paved path crosses Davis Dam into Arizona. From there I rode to Katherine Landing, which is on Lake Mohave, in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. I camped in the South Campground there.

This was kind of a test of this equipment, and of myself. It turned out to be pretty hard for me, especially on the second day, when I was already tired, and had three long hills to climb. Welcome to bike touring! I really hit the wall after the third hill. At the end of the ride, I had four miles of flat terrain to ride, with a light headwind, and I had to stop every mile to rest. I was never so glad to see my car! However, this problem should resolve a bit with more riding.

At some point I will probably get a different bike, maybe a hardtail that will hold "bikepacking" gear on the frame, and/or a regular touring bike with panniers. The trailer is not a real BOB, but an $89 knock-off. It works pretty well, though. So, this is what I have now. Not going to sit home and wish I had better gear. Also, I am not sitting home worrying about a hamstring injury that is keeping me from doing a big backpacking trip with PLC92084 on the Gems in Grand Canyon.

. I'm biking instead. So, there! Old age isn't going to take me without a big fight. I will be 66 this month.

Wildlife, not much: Some birds, including a very hungry roadrunner. I heard a bighorn sheep say "Baa-aa" during the night when I was in my tent. I said "Baa-aa" back.

When I got to Katherine, I was too tired to even ride my bike down to the lake shore from camp! It wasn't that important to me to see it, since I have kayaked there many times. In the late afternoon I rested comfortably in my camp, played my ukulele, did a crossword puzzle and read a book. The campground has showers, so I took advantage of that.

I originally had planned to ride the River Mountains Loop Trail up by Boulder City/Henderson, and camp at Boulder Beach on Lake Mead, but the forecast called for 30 mph wind in that area, so I came up with this idea instead. It seemed relatively safe to leave my car at a 24-hour casino that has security, and it was. When I ride the River Mountains trail I'm going to park at Railroad Pass Casino.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Lots of brittlebush. Lupine along the roadsides.

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

Feb 16 2019

azbackpackr

Guides 26
Routes 365
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 720

66 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Flag-summer-Need

Union Pass Scramble, AZ

Hiking		Feb 16 2019
		azbackpackr

Hiking	3.04 Miles	885 AEG

Hiking	3.04 Miles	3 Hrs 51 Mns	0.91 mph

	885 ft AEG	30 Mns Break

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

partners

HikedUP

This area is in the Black Mountains, off of SR 68 between Bullhead City and Golden Valley. It's a fantastic maze of rugged rocky canyons, a gargoylesque wonderland. We started out skirting the edge of the area, which gave us wonderful views to the south and east, Golden Valley and the Cerbat Mountains. We scrambled up several gullies looking for an entrance into the area, finally finding it by going north around the end of a line of volcanic tuff cliffs. It can get pretty dicey in there, very steep. We climbed up and over, and finally into the interior of Fantasia. There was a running creek, due to recent rains, and a spring. Lots of windows. You'll see a few smallish live oak trees and junipers as well, where there is plenty of protection and water for them. We walked along the creek and eventually back to the highway, making a loop.

The desert out here doesn't get a lot of wildflowers, even in really good years. This area was no exception. I personally think if they got rid of the danged burros we'd have a lot more wildflowers. Lots of burro poo out here, but we didn't see any of the cute-but-pesky critters.

I don't have the photoset arranged chronologically.

Glad to have found a nice group to hike with. A problem with my hip (hamstring attachment injury) continues, but if I just keep it to shorter hikes I'm fine, and I do need to walk and/or hike several days a week, which should help it in the long run as long as I keep it short. Scrambling doesn't bother me. I'm keeping my fitness up via the bike.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

1 archive

Feb 10 2019

azbackpackr

Guides 26
Routes 365
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 720

66 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Flag-summer-Need

Rt 66 - Mtn Springs Rd to Essex, CA

Mtn Biking		Feb 10 2019
		azbackpackr

Mtn Biking	17.02 Miles	685 AEG

Mtn Biking	17.02 Miles	3 Hrs 18 Mns	8.10 mph

	685 ft AEG	1 Hour 12 Mns Break

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

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no partners

This section of Route 66, off I-40 west of Needles, is closed to all but local traffic. I wasn't sure what the pavement would be like, so I took my mountain bike. It turns out that riding a road bike would have been fine as well. The ride took me downhill the entire time, so I turned around after 8.5 miles because I wasn't sure how I was going to do going back up. Next time I will park near Essex and ride uphill first! Along the way I found the reason for the closure is a washed-out bridge. I don't know if there are any plans to fix it. Apparently, California is too broke to take care of all its roads. This has been closed for at least two or three years, that I know of.

Route 66 is closed right now all the way to Amboy, I believe, plus a spur of it is closed between Fenner and Essex. I saw four vehicles on my ride. Basically I had the highway to myself. It was great! Nice day, not too windy, but quite chilly to start out with. A sign at the beginning of the closure says "Residents Only."

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

1 archive

Feb 09 2019

azbackpackr

Guides 26
Routes 365
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 720

66 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Flag-summer-Need

Pipe Spring Canyon, NV

Canyoneering		Feb 09 2019
		azbackpackr

Canyoneering	8.07 Miles	1,176 AEG

Canyoneering	8.07 Miles	4 Hrs 43 Mns	2.21 mph

	1,176 ft AEG	1 Hour 4 Mns Break

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Granite and gneiss, with some schist at the base, form the sides of this canyon in the Newberry Mountains, near Lake Mohave and Laughlin. It's in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, but isn't very close to Lake Mead. Starting out, you think it's going to be all straightforward hiking, but we encountered several pour-offs which required a bit of negotiation. In fact, I soon changed my plans to do it as a solo backpacking trip. Hiking back out I found I needed a hand a couple of times to climb up the very slick granite.

We saw several bighorn sheep way up on a ridge. Just their outlines were visible.

Due to recent rain there is a little water in the drainage, but very little running water.

We started hiking just before sunrise. The day started out chilly and overcast, but it was nice and sunny by the time we completed the hike.

My hip ached pretty badly the last several miles. I'm told that my hamstring attachment to the piriformis is damaged somewhat. I stopped to do yoga stretches several times, which helped briefly. Also took Aleve and Tylenol, with only a little effect.

So, anyway, scratching the backpacking plan, I've decided to see the lower end of this canyon via kayaking to its mouth on Lake Mohave. I'll beach the boat and then hike up the canyon as far as I can. I'll have to wait for a good weather window in order to accomplish this, because the wind on Lake Mohave can be a bit unforgiving for small craft. From Princess Cove boat ramp it would be a short distance north and across the lake. After that hike I can paddle to a perfect beach and camp overnight.

Wildflowers Observation Light
Some brittle bush, lupine, a few poppies. Lots of green grass.

Pipe Spring

Dripping

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

3 archives

Jan 31 2019

azbackpackr

Guides 26
Routes 365
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 720

66 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Flag-summer-Need

Black Mountains - Oatman Radio Towers, AZ

Hiking		Jan 31 2019
		azbackpackr

Hiking	2.19 Miles	825 AEG

Hiking	2.19 Miles	1 Hour 30 Mns	1.58 mph

	825 ft AEG	7 Mns Break

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I went looking for a reasonable workout hike in my area. Most anything you'd want to climb around here is off-trail. But sometimes I just want a quick workout on a steep trail. The closest steep trails to where I'm staying are over by Kingman in the Hualapais, about an hour's drive, and also kind of chilly a lot of the time in winter. So, anyway, I spotted this radio tower road near Oatman, last year when I hiked up Mount Nutt.

Anyway, this will do for the time being. There are several old roads leading uphill off of this one, so I can vary the hike. It's quite a bit closer than the Hualapais.

There seems to be a Grand Canyon "Gems" hike in my future (the last week in March), and I'd like to be in shape for it. I've been going mountain biking quite a bit, but it's just not the same kind of exercise.

Named place

Boundary Cone Mount Nutt

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

Jan 11 2019

azbackpackr

Guides 26
Routes 365
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 720

66 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Flag-summer-Need

Black Mountains, AZ

Hiking		Jan 11 2019
		azbackpackr

Hiking	2.74 Miles	536 AEG

Hiking	2.74 Miles	2 Hrs 45 Mns	1.16 mph

	536 ft AEG	23 Mns Break

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This was an off trail hike on the west side of the Black Mountains. We saw 5 bighorn ewes. We also had a donkey encounter by the side of Rt. 66 on our way to the hike! (See photos.) This is close enough to Oatman that the burros around here are pretty tame, and looking for a handout.

My hip really ached again. Took Gabapentin and Tylenol just to get through this little hike.

Fauna

Bighorn Sheep

Named place

Black Mountains

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Brittlebush

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

3 archives

Jan 10 2019

azbackpackr

Guides 26
Routes 365
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 720

66 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Flag-summer-Need

Old Mine in Sacramento Mountains, CA

Hiking		Jan 10 2019
		azbackpackr

Hiking	10.37 Miles	824 AEG

Hiking	10.37 Miles	4 Hrs 46 Mns	2.45 mph

	824 ft AEG	32 Mns Break

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This was a long walk from my riverbank spot in Needles, up Route 66 to a rough road, BLM 094, then crossing under I-40 and over the BNSF Railway tracks, and then on up to BLM 090 leading up a small canyon in the Sacramento Mountains. I hiked to where 090 ends at an old mine. The terrain is a typical bajada of the Mojave Desert region. I saw no animals or birds. There isn't any water around, as far as I know.

The mine is somewhat interesting. There's a lot of malachite lying around, but nothing spectacular of course. This area is easily accessible to ATV and Jeep enthusiasts. The mine opening itself appears to me to be deathly dangerous, since it seems to be a vertical shaft. Yet there is a very steep and slippery trail leading down to timbers that are jumbled up in the opening. Yikes. I kept my distance! (See photos.)

These dirt roads are pretty good for mountain bikes as well, although they can have some very loose gravel. I ride them a lot, and sometimes wish I had really fat tires.

A friend and I are planning a Grand Canyon "Gems" 6-day backpack in late March, assuming the government will get itself going again and issue his permit. The government shut down just as it was in the process of being issued! Anyway, I haven't been hiking much at all over the past 4 months, ever since I moved down here from Flagstaff. I've been riding my bikes and paddling. So, I needed to find out how I would do with a 10-mile walk. I was mostly concerned about all my various aches and pains: feet, knee, back and hip. Not worried about doing anything steep just yet. I am pretty cardio fit from cycling, anyway. I'll hike in the Hualapai Mtns. later on. So, I found out what hurts when walking! I had better go to the chiropractor, or hope the hip joint heals itself, because on the way back my right hip hurt a lot. Ugh. But on the bright side, nothing else hurt! And no sore muscles at all the next day!

I'm going hiking again today (the next day) anyway, because a friend invited me, but it'll be shorter.

Flora

Brittlebush

Geology

Malachite

Culture

Diesel Locomotive Mine Shaft Mining Equipment Railroad Freight Car Railroad Right-of-Way

Named place

Black Mountains Sacramento Mountains

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Brittle bush

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

Oct 22 2018

azbackpackr

Guides 26
Routes 365
Photos 4,732
Triplogs 720

66 female

Joined Jan 21 2006
Flag-summer-Need

Upriver Paddle, AZ

Kayak		Oct 22 2018
		azbackpackr

Kayak	5.88 Miles

Kayak	5.88 Miles	3 Hrs 7 Mns	2.52 mph

		47 Mns Break

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Havasu National Wildlife Refuge

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Such a perfect day. White puffy clouds, light breeze, temperature in the 80's. I launched from the "secret spot" which allows locals to get into Topock Gorge without paying a fee to one of the marinas. This is within the wildlife refuge. However, I paddled upriver, and out of the refuge, not down into the Gorge. I passed under the Old Trails Bridge, which used to carry Route 66 from 1916 to 1947. Since then it has carried a gas line. I then passed under the modern I-40 bridge and the railway bridge. Lots of rumbling going on overhead. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Trails_Bridge

Interestingly, there are two very expensive homes next to the bridges. They have a lovely view down the Topock Gorge, plus waterfront and launch ramps, white sand beaches, big shade structures, etc. However, the rumbling noise never stops. It is never quiet outside at their homes, because I-40 never stops, and the tracks carry an average of 87 trains a day!

I kept paddling upstream, into the current and into the wind. Good workout. I passed the opening into the Topock 66 Marina. Just upstream from here is where the terrible boating accident happened during Labor Day, in which four people were killed. One of them, a young woman, has not been found, and the Sheriff's Dept. hosted a big search in the Gorge, and down in Lake Havasu, this past weekend.

I crossed to the California side, passing a couple more white sand beaches. I passed the entrance to Pirate's Cove Resort, another marina. It used to be called Park Moabi. It belongs to San Bernardino County, but after the concessionaire took it over, they made it less for the public, and more for their idea of who they can get away with excluding. Very expensive. Seems odd they are allowed to get away with this. They now have "Private Property" signs on all the beaches along there.

I didn't have time to paddle 5 miles up, as I had wanted to, because my landlady needed me to work in the afternoon, so I turned around after about 3 miles. I spent a bit of time chatting with a family on the shore. Pirates Cove Resort has a long stretch of white sand beaches, broken by small jetties, with RV spaces on the jetties. Very pretty places to camp.

After chatting a bit with the folks, I turned around and headed back downriver. Much easier!

Named place

Old Trails Bridge Park Moabi

_____________________

There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

1 archive

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WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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