My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Ace / Sierra Valley.....I just don't enjoy bouncing around in the Jeep. It's fine for getting me to places, but it's not fine for just cruising.....I don't even think the dogs like it either.....

JD.....we're all back to good health now and thanks.....I just love the skies and the mountains right now.....



Our daily walks in the desert.....no less than three per day were really a form of meditation. It was silent out there and the slow pace that comes with walking allowed me to see so much more.....



Nothing sensational here but extraordinary just the same. We learned that by walking in the washes, there was much less cactus to avoid (very important to the dogs) and less volcanic stone as well (also important to the dogs).....





The only wildlife that we spotted here was this single bird. I saw him Day One, and every day after. That bird was always in the same tree when we started our walks.....funny thing about that bird was that it started to follow us on our walks, just fluttering from tree to tree.....and it did that on every single walk. And that I thought was extraordinary.....a lonely bird in the desert.....



Our silence and solitude here was only interrupted once.....we had just returned from walking and this guy came into our world. DON'T DO THIS PLEASE ! Fortunately he decided to move after an hour of sheer torture to my brain.....why he came I'll never know.....



Now that my head hadn't exploded, I was able to get back to enjoying my skies.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We always took one last walk of the day when the sun was setting.....







.....and sometimes we'd roam around in the desert just to check out those dark skies.....









And sometimes I'd lay my book to my side, and I'd stick my head up through the skylight and watch as life passed us by.....





And that's how we spent five days of our lives at the base of the Snaggletooth rocks.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Now I'd been thinking lately that I needed to switch gears.....do something that was a bit less challenging. So we drove further south with plans to attend the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous in Quartzsite, Arizona.....



I had high hopes for this event.....the name (to me anyhow) implied that it would be attended by those out of the box thinkers. Guys with long pony tails, gals in long dresses, lots of tie dye tee shirts, and lots of weed (not that I smoke but I like the vibe). We stayed the first night just north of town in the Poloza Road BLM Camping Area.....one of thousands, if not tens of thousands, camped along that road.....it sucked.....



The following morning I was anxious to move on from our crowded desert campsite, and to get to Quartzsite, Arizona to see the big show.....it was not what I envisioned.....and 15 minutes after having arrived, we were long gone......



We drove west on Interstate 10 with plans to head back into California but we didn't go far that day, as we set up our next camp maybe 10 miles west of Quartzsite, Arizona in the Dome Rock BLM Camping Area.....



Well, that night I started thinking that we'd go to Mexico next, so the following day we reversed course and headed back into town, checked out a few of the swap meets that abound in this town.....



.....and then later in the day we drove further south, eventually stopping for the night at the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge....



This place was crowded too.....RV's and ATV's just about everywhere. We found one area where nobody camped so we pulled right in.....







Of course the circles had me curious so I checked Google Maps and found these circles to actually have a name.....Spiral Labyrinth which apparently has something to do with devil worship ? I guess that explained why nobody camped here and we too moved on.....can't be too careful I guess.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

That night I realized that I hadn't brought my passport along so I quickly deleted Mexico from our travel itinerary.....so here we were camped at the base of Signal Peak (4,877') , the mountain where Tanner had his near fatal fall 4 years prior.....



At this point I knew for sure that we were were not going north, not going south, and not going west, so we drove east, now back onto Interstate 10.....



That next night we stayed on the northern boundary of the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge....it was not good here.....much like the past 4 days.....



I had a standing invitation to vist friends in Phoenix, Arizona so I decided now was the time so that's where we went next.....but then a phone call changed those plans too....
a family emergency.....





We eneded up that next night camped at very busy Gold Canyon.....just to the southeast of Phoenix, Arizona.....



At this point I was thinking that life in the cabin sounded pretty darn good.....



That night I sat in the camper and thought long and hard.....I studied my atlas and I made new plans.....going home was not in our plans.....



If I was patient.....and made the best of what came my way.....



.....then the good times would be had again .....

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Did that atlas survive the fire?

 

[Riversdad]

I'm like you Jerry, If I go someplace and there are a lot of people I immediately leave for greener pastures. It doesn't matter how beautiful the area, once you add in people it becomes undesirable.

 

[halseyt]

I spent some time around Quartzsite in november.. stayed at roadrunner blm south of town. Very few people then and met a fun couple from BC. Excellent meatloaf at the coyote market. Good place for supplies. Made an unplanned return to Alberta... hoping to go south again for a couple months. I'll keep an eye out for your rig...

 

[AbleGuy]

That night I sat in the camper and thought long and hard.....I studied my atlas and I made new plans.....going home was not in our plans.....

“If I was patient.....and made the best of what came my way...then the good times would be had again .....”

These beautifully, simply written posts continue to inspire. And if one pays attention, you’ll see some wonderful, deep philosophical thoughts shared with you in this thread.

And, here’s to Jerry and all the many other old school guys who still love to use paper maps and enjoy perusing them late at night in camp, planning tomorrow one day at a time🍻

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

PNWY.....it sure did. That fire took most everything in that camper except for some books and my cherished 2004 Road Atlas.....sure am thankful for that.....

Riversdad.....that place was a zoo. I've been there before and maybe I just don't remember how bad it was then, therefore I returned. Never again.....

halseyt.....I suspect that it was the annual RV show that attracted the crowds. I'm not exaggerating when I say there were tens of thousands of RV's camped there. Like I said.....a real zoo.....

Able Guy.....thanks so much for the kind words. The book idea comes up from time to time, but I'm so low profile that I could never do that. I have no social media and no desire for notoriety. I enjoy posting here where the crowd is small and friendly. That's all that the dogs and I require in life....."Keep on truckin" Able Guy.....




Knowing that the good times won't come while sitting in a truck camper, we decided to try climbing another mountain.....but a real small one this time.....the weather was perfect that day that we hit the road.....



So our goal for the day was to climb Dromedary Peak (3,919').....



No trails here.....yet one more bushwack to add to our list.....



The approach was not long.....and the hiking was not strenuous.....the cacti were incredibly challenging.....



When we reached the saddle between the twin peaks, we came across the skeleton and the skull from what appeared to be a small calf.....I can't help but wonder what animal could have taken that calf down.....I do have my suspicions.....



We continued towards the peak and climbed until we reached a band of cliffs.....



I decided not to challenge my pulled groin muscle by climbing on these rocks, so I decided that we'd turn around here.....maybe 100 vertical feet or so from the actual summit.....



The views from this point were still outstanding.....summits are always optional anymore.....we just don't care.....



So no summit dog picture on that day.....just a crazy dog on the side of a small mountain in eastern Arizona picture.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Clouds began to roll in later that afternoon and a substantial rain was in the forecast......so we needed to find a campsite along our new planned route to hole up for a few days.....we ended up camping in the Ironwood Forest National Monument.....



Due to the amount of rain in the upcoming forecast, I decided to set up our camp right at the entrance gate to the property.....good decision by me no doubt.....



Fortunately for us, we had adequate time to get out and explore before the rain fell.....real pretty environment to see here.....



But then those rains came.....and they just kept on coming.....



When there was a lull in the storms.....out we went to see what we could see.....





And what we saw was a desert floor that couldn't absorb the water that came down so quickly.....





The roads became small rivers with a pretty good current.....I'm not sure of the depth, but I'd guess at least 6 inches deep.....maybe more.....



We spent two nights camped here before the rain clouds finally cleared out & we then moved on to higher ground.....and I sure was grateful for my campsite next to the entrance gate.....and I sure felt bad for the ones that were camped further in.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We drove through Saguaro National Park, then into Tucson, Arizona to load up with supplies and grab the all important hot shower. Then it was onto the interstate, continued driving south, eventually ending up in the Coronado National Forest where we set up our next long term camp.....the following morning we were ready for a challenging hike.....



The forecast was good.....the mountains were shrouded in early morning clouds.....



We took the Jeep to the trailhead in Madera Canyon....yet another majical place that we had somehow stumbled onto.....



Sometimes it's hard to believe that places like this actually exist in Arizona .....the land of deserts.....



The well groomed trail (what a nice change that was !) led us into the Wrightson Wilderness Area.....



The canyon apparently is well known in the birding community.....I spotted a large gathering of Elegant Trogon in and on a hollowed out tree.....their favorite spot.....my picture sucks but Google this one......what a beautiful, rare bird it is.....



We continued our ascent along the Old Baldy Trail.....



We had two summits in mind for that planned very long day.....the first was Old Baldy at an elevation of (8,088').....and next would be the highest point of the Santa Rita Mountains.....Mount Wrightson (9,456').....



We first encountered spotty snow at an elevation of 6,700' and I immediately began to think that I was going to need to alter our plans for the day.....we continued upwards and it was at the Josephine Saddle (7,100') that I changed our plans for that day.....



Now we headed for Jack Mountain (7,448') exchanging this lower peak for Mount Wrightson (9,456').....due to the snow that I knew was coming our way.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

For our first summit of the day, we departed the well groomed trail and began a bushwack up the mountain.....





I believe there was about 300 feet of elevation gain from the trail to that summit.....lots of snow along that unmarked route.....





Eventually we got our first summit of the day..... Jack Mountain (7,448')....





The mountain summit was mostly covered in dense forests but we were able to eke out a few views from up there.....the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory seen here.....





After our first summit of the day, we backtracked, stopped at the Josephine Saddle (7,100') for a quick lunch, and then headed towards Old Baldy (8,088')....



Now the route became a bit dicey.....the trail mostly ran along a northern slope.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

.....and the north slope sees little sun.....just enough to melt the surface during the day and to refreeze each and every night.....





Now I was really struggling to see a mountain ahead of us within the distance that the AllTrails ap seemed to indicate. We passed this huge outcropping.....but it wasn't a peak.....



So we continued on......the hiking / climbing just getting more dicey with every step.....





We came to the next outcropping of rocks and these were located almost exactly where Old Baldy (8,088') should have been.....but there was no summit. To this day, I still haven't figured this one out. My AllTrails ap showed us at roughly 8,200', yet we saw no peak that day.....



At this point I decided we'd head back down.....it'd been a long day and we still had many miles of hiking / climbing left to return to the Jeep.....



Summits are optional......like I recently said.....it felt good to get off that icey trail and back onto rock and dirt.....



On the way down we took the Super Trail which is where I noticed to the northwest the massive Sierrita Copper Mine.....what a mess that is.....



But it was a great day that we had way up in the Santa Rita Mountains.....

 

[longhorn1]

We always took one last walk of the day when the sun was setting.....

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.....and sometimes we'd roam around in the desert just to check out those dark skies.....

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And sometimes I'd lay my book to my side, and I'd stick my head up through the skylight and watch as life passed us by.....

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And that's how we spent five days of our lives at the base of the Snaggletooth rocks.....

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2 buds enjoying each other's company 🐾🐾

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

JD.....they are indeed the best of buds.....


We spent an entire week camped in the Coronado National Forest so of course there's one more "epic climb" that we did while we were camped here. Both of our "epic climbs" exceeded 4,000' of elevation gain and both of our "epic climbs" were in the range of 14 mile days.....therefore I feel comfortable calling these "epic climbs".....they killed me.....



The most fascinating part of climbing in this environment, is the ever changing ecosystems that you experience as you gain altitude.....



Much like our first "epic climb", we once again entered into the Mount Wrightson Wilderness Area as we gained altitude.....



Soon enough we entered a forest filled with old growth pines.....





And once again we encountered snow at about 6,700' above sea level.....





After a few hours of climbing we could see glimpses of the peaks that we had hoped to summit....



And once again we had two peaks in mind for another very long planned day.....Mount Wrightson (9,456') and Florida Peak (8,180'). We reached a saddle along the ridgeline and headed for Mount Wrightson first.....