My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

PNWY.....for sure.....



It was almost exactly one year ago that we first visited Madera Canyon (page 339). Last year there was a considerable amount of snow on the higher peaks that kept us from summitting (wrong boots, no crampons & 2 dogs) so we settled for a couple of the lower peaks on that trip but this time was entirely different. There's been no precipitation for maybe 160 +/- days in this area. Everything was & is incredibly dry right now.....



We set up our camp about 6 miles from the canyon entrance.....



I think that maybe we had the best site for miles and miles.....it sat high above the canyon floor so our views were limitless.....




As best that I recall we rested up for a couple of days before taking on Mount Wrightson (9,456').....the highest peak in that mountain range.....




My All Trails ap states that this is a hard climb.....



.....it actually is not (in my opinion). It's long.....yes.....10.6 miles.....there's lots of elevation gain.....yes.....3,969 feet.....average time on the trail 7 hours 14 minutes (not even close).....




But the trail is so well groomed and so well maintained and even so well laid out (hundreds of switchbacks to lessen the slope) that it's actually an easy climb.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

As we gained elevation on the mountain, the views from the trail were absolutely outstanding.....



I remember thinking that they were actually better along that rocky trail than they were on the summit.....




Eventually we sat on the summit and ate our lunch and snacks and got ourselves hydrated.....




We stayed up there for maybe 30 minutes.....chatted with some other hikers.....it was a busy day on the summit.....



I got my dog summit pictures.....look at those dogs ! Those are happy faces.....



The downclimb was uneventful.....we took a few days rest.....chewed on the bones that we found in the desert.....before attempting another mountain summit.....



Enjoyed a few more sunsets.....

 

[yfarm]

Bicycle inner tubes make good dog boots, several videos about how to make them. I fell backward a year ago into a patch of prickly pear cactus. Had multiple layers on, spikes and glochids went thru like butter. Had to peal off the layers with the thorns remaining embedded. Found out later that duck tape works well to remove the glochids which are hairlike but hard to see. Did learn that my snakeboots are impervious to cactus.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

yfarm.....I've given up hope when it comes to the cactus and the many injuries that befall me.....




My hands, my arms, my legs.....they're filled with cuts, punctures and bruises.....




My love for climbing mountains is so strong that I'll make whatever sacrifice that I need to.....so that I can carry on.....




Over the decades I've got into canoeing & kayaking.....




I've jumped from airplanes and I've explored deep into caves.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

I've tried long distance cycling spending days & nights on the road.....




I was once crazy for deep, cold water dives to shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean.....




Rock climbing & ice climbing too.....



I've traveled to many places around the world.....




But there's nothing like climbing mountains with my two best friends.....



This sequence of pictures is us as we climbed McCleary Peak (8,357').....just a few days after our last climbed mountain posted here. This mountain is the second highest peak in the Santa Rita Mountain Range. The All Trails Ap says that it is 11.0 miles with 4,330 feet of elevation gain. This mountain was so much more difficult than the last one that we climbed (Mount Wrightson 9,456') ......especially the last half mile which is basically bushwacking across a boulder field. And somewhere along that boulder field, with both dogs on leash, I got yanked into a boulder, cracked a rib and sustained a deep gash in my elbow.....blood ran all the way down to the end of my fingers. But we summitted and we took in all the glory.....and I've suffered ever since.....

But this is what we love.....



There's that since of accomplishment.....or maybe it's just being alone on top of a mountain with two best friends.....and it's as simple as that.....

 

[ITTOG]

Oh man, that sucks. Rib injuries can take so long to heal. I hope it goes quickly and smoothly for you.

 

[Ace Brown]

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


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[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

ITTOG.....it's been incredibly painful but it hasn't slowed us down. Just yesterday we climbed what I believe to be the 11th mountain of this trip. It seems like pain & illness has plaqued this trip almost from the start (not quite).....now I'm off to my 4:00 p.m. appointment with the dentist.....

Ace.....that's funny. I grew up in an aluminum canoe. It's where I learned to hate fishing. I've "only " been posting on XP for 12 years now. I am quite a bit older than that. I would imagine that I have thousands of adventures that aren't posted on this site and never will be. You'll never see my white water kayaking adventures in Alaska while still a young man. You'll never see me in a dugout canoe in the Amazon jungle either, also as a young man. I still maintain fond memories of many of my adventures but most now have disappeared from my mind due to my many years of living life.....

Regarding that canoe on top of my Jeep, it's true that I've never used it and because you have mentioned it several times in the past as well as now, I'll just let you know that I have no plans to ever use it. It's not a good canoe, it's not even a safe canoe. I bought it without researching it.....I got it cheap.....no big deal. In addition to that, I have no desire to canoe again, at least for now. If and when I ever do, I'll simply buy another......so there's no need to worry any longer about that canoe that lives on top of my Jeep.....

By the way, if you really want to see a dog in a kayak picture on this thread, I'll bet you a cup of coffee that you can find at least one (and probably more) somewhere amongst these 371 pages of nonsense.....


To the larger crowd.....

When I speak of fond memories.....I think of trips like this. Here's a couple of pictures starting out on my first trip ever to South America.....hitchhiking around Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama.....if any young people stumble across this post, that backpack in the forefront is a metal exterior model.....and that thing in the background is called a television set.....



The long haired guy in the forefront of the next picture is the friend that I hitchhiked to South America with. Unfortunately (or fortunately) he returned home after a week or so. The remainder of the trip was alone.....the best way to go.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We camped here below the Santa Rita Mountain Range for an entire week.....alone in the high desert.....



If we weren't hiking or climbing, we kept busy in other ways. Of course there's reading and watching YouTube.....I found the energy to work on my dogs' training.....something I often wish that I'd done more of in the past.....




I mostly hadn't spoken to anyone during that week.....a short chat at a mountain summit. The day that we came down from the second summit, we were relaxing in the camper when I heard an engine near the camper and when I opened the door there was a Sprinter van in my campsite. A short conversation went something like this:

Me:"What are you doing ?"

Woman: "We're camping here ?"

Me: "What are you talking about ?"

Woman: "We can't find a campsite so we're camping here."

Me: "I just came from the trailhead and I noticed several sites open."

Woman: "We didn't see them."

Me: "Get out of here. You're not camping here. This is my campsite."

Woman slams her door and off they go. It's one thing to ask permission or to accept an offer, it's another to make demands. Was this a perfect example of the old, white entitled people that I sometimes moan about and who seem to frequent Arizona ?

Picture taken from my camper door.....



We had some beautiful sunrises.....



And we had some beautiful sunsets.....




One day when the winds blew near hurricane force on the west coast, we had gusts of 50 MPH here. We still got out and explored in the washes where we were mostly hidden from the high winds. We found spots where illegal immigrants had also been hiding.....just not from the high winds. Backpacks, blankets, water bottles, and clothes were strewned about the high desert floor.....



And up on the mountain summits the clouds seemed to stick to them. I can't even begin to imagine the wind speeds on those summits.....



If we weren't in the canyons or on the mountains, we were wandering along the dusty roads.....and then finally one day, we had had enough solitude and we packed camp and headed back for Tucson, Arizona.....

 

[wyowandering]

I just cannot understand the mentality of people who think its perfectly OK to park right next to you and camp. The BDR in Wyoming has brought an influx of this behavior since it was announced. Everybody heads to the places that someone has pinned and talked about online and sets up camp right on top of each other.

 

[Ace Brown]

I just cannot understand the mentality of people who think its perfectly OK to park right next to you and camp. The BDR in Wyoming has brought an influx of this behavior since it was announced. Everybody heads to the places that someone has pinned and talked about online and sets up camp right on top of each other.

We did the WYBDR in 2023 and saw only a handful of motos the whole trip. Except for the first day when we met in a campground, saw no one camping near us nor we near anyone else. But we picked sites totally at random, not because somebody had recommended it. I have done several BDRs and believe Wyoming was the quietest, and most difficult.


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[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

wyowandering.....it could be what you suggest but there's definitely an attitude with many of the old, white people in the southwest. I've seen it so many times. I've experienced it mostly in cities like Las Vegas or Phoenix, and most of the southwestern parts of Arizona. It blows me away how rude and entitled acting some of these people are.....just my opinion.....



We next spent a few days regrouping in the city.....daily hot showers, more restaurant food, and hanging out at Reid Park (this is a great place to waste the day away).....one morning we walked (hiked ?) up to the summit of Sentinel Peak (2,890'). This is a small mountain on the western fringes of Tucson, Arizona.....



I guess we got lucky here as the gate to the summit road was locked.....I later was told that it's closed one day per week for the walkers.....



It was totally uneventful.....not even the least bit challenging.....but honestly.....the views overlooking the city were pretty darn good so that alone made it worth it.....



After a few days of city life, we headed back out into the wilderness.....we spent a night camped along Highway 83.....and the following morning we took a long hike into the hills of Oak Tree Canyon.....



It's amazing how beautiful the entire area south of Tucson, Arizona actually is.....when I think of Arizona, I dont think of places like this.....



Then we moved further south.....visited the small, touristy town called Patagonia.....really not much to see here.....




I found a small mountain on Google Maps just south of town.....Red Mountain (6,373').....so I decided that we'd climb it the following day.....



The beauty of this mountain was that there was a stone road that led us almost right to the summit.....this was important.....cause we were still in a healing mode.....



The road was a huge help....but it was still steep and I'll admit that it was a good challenge.....and it felt good to be making a comeback.....after all the pain.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

The last quarter mile to the summit was bushwacking up small cliff bands and through lots of cactus plants.....the views from the summit were outstanding.....we could see far into Mexico as we were only a few miles from the border.....





It was odd that the road continued on to another mountain.....higher than Red Mountain. I gave thought to climbing it as well but didn't as it was covered in communication towers.....the reason for the road I assume.....



I took my dog summit shots.....



And then we headed back down the mountain.....and then drove east.....to.....of course.....explore another mountain range.....




Getting ready for the next climb.....they sure are great friends.....