My Journey

Arjan.....those dogs are great ! I love it when other members post their dog pictures. I'm a simple man.....travel, mountains and dogs are all that I seem to need to stay happy....thanks so much for sharing. We've been hanging out in some fairly obscure places.....the nights & mornings have been cold but so worth the sacrifice.....

sburks737.....I know what you mean. I can still remember sitting on the second floor of my office building in my cushy chair staring out the window and thinking how can I get myself out of here. That was over two decades ago for me. Hang in there.....it'll come one day.....



Next for us was climbing in the Mustang Mountain Range.....a small mountain range to the southeast of Tucson, Arizona.....

20250115_153011_copy_1600x747.jpg

We accessed the mountain range from the west taking a dual track sandy, rutted road to the base of the mountain chain. After passing through several metal gates we finally reached what I thought was our starting point (this climb would be complete bushwacking.....no trailhead).....

20250116_123726_copy_1600x747.jpg

Unfortunately we took the wrong road in and it was now 10:00 a.m so too late to start all over. Well, there was a peak to the north of us and several to the south.....so we chose to climb the northern peak and headed up North West Dome (6,145').....

20250116_105256_copy_1600x747.jpg
20250116_102906_copy_1600x747.jpg

I no longer remember how long this route was, the elevation gain or the time it took to summit.....I do know that it was a challenging climb.....

20250116_100232_copy_1600x747.jpg
20250116_110153_copy_349x747.jpg

We climbed up the south facing wall of the mountain so I'm guessing that the fact that the sun shined on it all day kept this south facing wall hot & dry cause the thorny plants thrived here.....

20250116_101500_copy_349x747.jpg

The pictures don't do much justice to the difficulty of the climb.....again, there was no route (trail), it was absolutely covered in cactus, and it was steep enough to make it challenging.....

20250116_100332_copy_349x747.jpg

Close to the summit we had to make our way through some significant rock walls.....

20250116_105458_copy_349x747.jpg

Tanner led the way.....sometimes a good thing.....sometimes not.....

20250116_110431_copy_349x747.jpg
 
Much of the stone was covered in a green moss (?) like plant.....shown here with the shadow of a world famous climbing dog.....

20250116_110446_copy_349x747.jpg

There was an antenna on the summit.....very small so not sure what it could have been for. In addition I found tons of old rusted cans strewned about.....obviously they'd been here for years.....

20250116_110733_copy_349x747.jpg

To the south I could see the highest peak that we had initially planned to climb that day (as well as several other prominent peaks).....

The highest peak in the background is called the Mustang Mountains High Point (6,469').....

The peak to the left is called Mustang Peak (6,317').....

The peak in the forefront is called UN 6199 (6,199')....

***We would eventually climb two of these peaks.....


20250116_110647_copy_1600x747.jpg

I took photographs from the summit.....looking north, east, south (shown above) and finally west.....

20250116_110652_copy_1600x747.jpg
20250116_110642_copy_1600x747.jpg
20250116_110636_copy_1600x747.jpg

From the summit I could see that the route we took was not the best route to use so on the way down we took the much gentler sloping east face down.....

20250116_112734_copy_349x747.jpg

There was much less cactus here and only a few small cliff bands to work around.....

20250116_112725_copy_1600x747.jpg

Of course this made the day a bit longer cause now we had to hike around the mountain and through a valley and back around to the Jeep that was on the west side of the mountain.....we took a rest under a Mesquite tree (?) along the mountains' eastern slope.....

20250116_112840_copy_349x747.jpg

Fortunately we found trails in the valley that had been troddened down by the cattle so we made fairly quick work of it.....and another fun day in the mountains was had.....

20250116_122621_copy_1600x747.jpg
 

Ace Brown

Retired Ol’ Fart
Canoeing and kayaking? I have yet to see that old canoe off the Jeep.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I didn’t mean to hit a nerve with Jerry. But at least it provides shade when bouncing around in the Jeep.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
the deputy.....the laundromat is the worst part of living on the road.....I despise the place.....



After each of our climbs in the Mustang Mountains we'd head over to the Las Cinegas National Conservation Area where we found this beautiful campsite, a secluded spot with incredible views.....

20250121_094222_copy_1200x560.jpg


There was nobody here.....and I do mean nobody.....it seemed like the entire valley was ours.....

20250121_094236_copy_1200x560.jpg

At night we'd go out for walks and occasionally we'd get lucky and we would hear the barking and the howls of the coyotes while we stared at the stars overhead.....sensational.....

20250120_184404_copy_1200x560.jpg

On off days we continued to work on our dog training.....it's become a thing.....

20250121_100038_copy_1200x560.jpg
20250121_160357_copy_1200x2570.jpg

And then it was back to the mountains to climb some more.....

20250117_091300_copy_1200x560.jpg

Our next summit was the Mustang Mountains High Point (6,496').....

20250117_092011_copy_1200x560.jpg

This time we took the correct road as far as we could go.....almost to the base of the mountain range.....

20250117_092006_copy_1200x2570.jpg

From that signpost to the summit, it was once again bushwacking all the way.....

20250117_123811_copy_1200x2570.jpg

On this one I found some route information on my Google search but honestly it didn't help much.....Tanner led the way and Trapper and I just followed. Both my dogs know the word "up" and up they'll go when I make the call....we've done it together so many times in the past.....it's just what they know.....

***In the picture below you see the Santa Rita Mountain Range to the northwest and the tallest peak is Mount Wrightson (9,456').....

20250117_123823_copy_1200x560.jpg
 
This mountain was on the opposite side of the valley from the first mountain that we had climbed.....so this time we climbed up the north face of the mountain.....

20250117_111004_copy_1200x560.jpg

What I found most interesting here was the difference in vegetation between the two mountains. The south facing mountainside was covered in cactus but this north facing mountainside had little. It was covered in grasses and trees.....same elevations and probably not a mile apart.....

20250117_103945_copy_1200x560.jpg

And that of course made the climbing so much more enjoyable here.....not just the lack of plants with the unwelcomed thorns but also the added comfort that we got from climbing in the shade.....signs of deer were everywhere here so they too must have loved this type of vegetation.....

20250117_110957_copy_1200x560.jpg
20250117_103145_copy_1200x560.jpg

This plant (below).....I have no idea it's name.....was strikingly beautiful.....

20250117_115305_copy_1200x560.jpg
20250117_115313_copy_1200x2570.jpg

On this summit we did what we almost always do.....found ourselves a comfy spot in the rocks and ate lunch, treats, and drank a couple of bottles of water. Then a few summit pics with the dogs.....

20250117_110924_copy_1200x560.jpg
20250117_110939_copy_1200x2570.jpg

And then a few without dogs.....the downclimb was uneventful.....

20250117_110953_copy_1200x560.jpg
20250117_111001_copy_1200x560.jpg
 
Millions of Americans did not vote for this.....including me. Before I post about another mountain climbed.....I submit this.....

👍

View attachment 868729

👍

View attachment 868730

👍

View attachment 868731
I voted for it and proud to say I did. Its time other countries start paying their fair share and start investing in the United States as much as the US has invested in them. We've allowed both a trade imbalance and a NATO imbalance for far too long.
 
wyowandering.....that's great ! As you know I live in a red state so the majority of my friends & acquaintances think similar to you. I don't let that interfere with my friendships. We all have the right to our opinions & beliefs. I don't judge people for their opinions & beliefs if they are opposite to what I believe and I hope for the same towards me. Because this is an international community, I felt compelled to let people from foreign countries know that I'm not in agreement with our current government. Not a big deal. I know for a fact that there are Canadians & Europeans that follow this thread. I wish there were more from the international community. Now back to traveling.....
 
Ghostdancer.....I watched that video when it dropped.....it's so,so sad. He's so young. It seems as though we may have lost another favorite YouTuber (hopefully not).....Desert Drifter was first class.....

****(Iojan Gueorguiev.....the Bike Wanderer died by suicide.....David Lama a renowned climber.....died in an avalanche.....I miss those guys).....



The last mountain that we climbed here was UN 6199 (6,199').....

20250122_103246_copy_1600x747.jpg

Here we used the same "trailhead" as we did for North West Dome (6,145').....now for UN 6199 (6,199') we used an approach starting from the northwest. It was funny in that the vegetation was a mix of the other two mountains that we'd climbed in the Mustang Mountain Range.....some shade, some cactus.....still challenging.....

20250122_114559_copy_1600x747.jpg
20250122_112218_copy_1600x747.jpg

The summit was easily achieved once we got higher up.....less cactus the higher we climbed.....

20250122_122310_copy_349x747.jpg

We spent maybe an hour up there eating, drinking, and just enjoying the views. It was yet one more outstanding weather day to be on a mountain summit in Arizona.....there was no reason to hurry down.....

20250122_120605_copy_1600x747.jpg
20250122_120550_copy_349x747.jpg

Looking to the north was North West Dome (6,145').....

20250122_121242_copy_1600x747.jpg

.....and looking to the east was Mustang Peak (6,317').....

20250122_121246_copy_1600x747.jpg

.....and looking to the south was the Mustang Mountains High Point (6,469').....

20250122_121250_copy_1600x747.jpg

.....and to the west was the valley.....

20250122_121255_copy_1600x747.jpg
 
Riversdad.....I agree with you whole heartedly.....

Screenshot_20250205_131839_Gallery_copy_1600x746.jpg

When I made that post, I knew that it would get negative reactions from some members but I felt it important at this time to share my thoughts with the international community. I suspect that some members now will stop liking my posts, or even stop following our travels which is fine by me. I've never been here to accumulate hits or likes. In reality, I probably don't even want people with such narrow minds and restricted views to follow our travels.....

One of the greatest aspects of travel is its' diversity. Mountains or canyons ? Forests or deserts ? Oceans or rivers ? Black people or white people ? Asian people or black people ? Native American people or Latino people ? It's all good.....

To be a real traveler one has to have an open mind. Sure you can go to a resort or board a cruise ship, stick to your kind, but in my mind, that is not travel. Travel is to immerse oneself into other people's lives.....their community.....their environment. And embrace it.....don't attempt to change it.....

Years ago when I was in the Peace Corps I saw missionaries come into the jungle where I worked to "save" the indigenous people that were happily living their lives, and in my opinion, didn't need saving. I despised the missionaries back then.....and honestly, my views haven't changed one bit.....

Mark Twain said it best (of course he would !).....

Screenshot_20250205_131951_Gallery_copy_1600x746.jpg
 
Last edited:

ITTOG

Well-known member
Riversdad.....I agree with you whole heartedly.....

View attachment 869108

When I made that post, I knew that it would get negative reactions from some members but I felt it important at this time to share my thoughts with the international community. I suspect that some members now will stop liking my posts, or even stop following our travels which is fine by me. I've never been here to accumulate hits or likes. In reality, I probably don't even want people with such narrow minds and restricted views to follow our travels.....

One of the greatest aspects of travel is its' diversity. Mountains or canyons ? Forests or deserts ? Oceans or rivers ? Black people or white people ? Asian people or black people ? Native American people or Latino people ? It's all good.....

To be a real traveler one has to have an open mind. Sure you can go to a resort or board a cruise ship, stick to your kind, but in my mind, that is not travel. Travel is to immerse oneself into other people's lives.....their community.....their environment. And embrace it.....don't attempt to change it.....

Years ago when I was in the Peace Corps I saw missionaries come into the jungle where I worked to "save" the indigenous people that were happily living their lives, and in my opinion, didn't need saving. I despised the missionaries back then.....and honestly, my views haven't changed one bit.....

Mark Twain said it best (of course he would !).....

View attachment 869109
Oh man, great post. I completely agree.

Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro XL using Tapatalk
 

Arjan

Fossil Overlander
I looked at your Mark Twain reference and really don't see why that would be considered offence - or what ever.. But then again, I'm from a different country (while it lasts) and Continent so things are different here..

Love your posts, love the dogs and in general it gives me, as said before, a view to parts of the US I'd never see otherwise. Many many thanks and please keep posting.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
188,480
Messages
2,905,467
Members
230,494
Latest member
Sophia Lopez
Top