Ace.....I don't know how that guy could have self rescued but you probably know much more about that than I ever will. Matt's Offroad Recovery videos (which I absolutely love) and my love for hiking keep me in check.....
the deputy.....I sure don't miss the winter- duldrums that I experience back home. Here the days are an hour longer and the milder temperatures make life so much easier.....by the way, thanks for following along.....
"sit a spell" is currently not on my to do list.....
Foy.....you nailed it again as we all would have expected. You add a special angle to this thread and I'm certain that I can speak for all of XP.....we are all so appreciative of your vast knowledge.....thanks again.....
On February 19, 2019, Tanner and I set out to summit
Signal Peak (4,877').....a lovely peak located in the
Kofa National Wildlife Refuge in southwest
Arizona (page 115). On that fateful day Tanner was blown off the mountain summit by incredibly fierce winds.....of all my days that I've spent in the mountains (that must be in the many thousands), I can easily say that that day ranks as #1 the most terrified I've ever been while up in the mountains. I thought he died for sure. But luckily he survived that fall, but if he hadn't, well, I just dont know.....
Fast forward to December 19, 2024.....
That afternoon we drove further south and then to the east.....now fairly close to
Phoenix, Arizona. We set up our camp just to the north of
Lake Pleasant.....also just to the northeast of
Phoenix, Arizona.....
I had made plans for us to climb yet another mountain in the desert the following day so that evening we just hung out and rested in the camper.....
.....and watched the sun as it set over the lake.....
.....as well as over the nearby mountains.....
And the next day we headed out to climb a small mountain in the
Hieroglyphic Mountain Range.....
.....and more specifically.....to climb
Francis Rogers Mountain (2,757').....
Now.....the first thing that needs to be said about this mountain is that there really isn't a real trail to the summit but instead someone has built small stone cairns that lead you to the summit.....so instead of a well troddened trail to the summit, we'd find spots of a trail here & there, and then they'd just as quickly disappear.....
That means that route finding was difficult.....and really was outright dangerous in a certain way due to all the thorny plants that thrive in that desert environment.....
So it's probably needless to say that the dogs & I weren't huge fans of this climb. Periodically we'd have to make stops to yank thorns from the dog's paws.....but it was still doable (says the guy with Vibram soles on his boots).....
