inReach message from Robert Danger Byrd
Trail finding is difficult. Trail is poorly marked and buried in snow. Maps show old trail which is impassable du to tree fall & snow
Trail finding is difficult. Trail is poorly marked and buried in snow. Maps show old trail which is impassable du to tree fall & snow
Added some cold weather layers so pack is a bit heavier. Snowing less now, leaving trailhead at 4:22AM.
So I’m at the snowed in trailhead, but much later than expected. The 2WD Toyota Camry was the wrong choice and constantly reminded me so with its racing engine and angrily flashing traction control light as I forced it up the snow covered mountain road.
I suspect that if it snows much more, I won’t be able to get this car back down the mountain and that has me a bit concerned.
But hey, it’s snowing, windy and cold at 21 degrees currently. In fact it’s a terrible day to climb a mountain, just the way I like it.
At 1:00 this morning I rolled out of bed, ate some yogurt, completed my foot taping ritual and headed out the door. Heeding the sage advice; “A good hiker is a lazy hiker”, I took the elevator down conserving five flights of energy.
I then hopped in the rental car, where I am now and left the Twin Arrows Resort which employs 1600 Navaho Indians who generally could care less if I was there or not.
Barring any freak tumbleweed accidents, I’ll be on the mountain within an hour.
Early tomorrow, I’ll be making a winter attempt of Humphreys Peak the Arizona state highpoint. Most folks climb this one in the summer, but I like winter climbing as it is typically more challenging and has air conditioning.
My work schedule has kept me from training as aggressively as I usually do lately, and I’ve been sick for the last week, so I’m not feeling particularly strong. But my pack despite containing snowshoes and all manner of winter equipment is relatively light at just over 30lbs.
I’m expecting a cold and windy climb, with some nice scenery. Hopefully I’ll get some nice photography to share with you.
Susan and I fly out this morning for a weekend trip to climb Humphreys Peak, the 12,637 ft. highpoint of Arizona. Its a one day climb, but there looks to be some snow and temps near zero high up on the mountain, so it should be a challenging climb.
Well be flying into Phoenix, then we’ll drive up to Flagstaff taking the scenic route through Sedona. I’ll make the climb on Saturday and then Sunday well spend a day exploring the amazing scenery in Sedona which I feel is some of Gods most spectacular Earth-Art before heading back to Phoenix and flying home.
This will be state #43 and I have until October 29th this year, so there are a more quick trips like this planned to whittle them down. As always I’ll be making random posts along the adventure.