Friday, December 10/2010

Today, I am off to hike Vulture Peak Trail with Ben and John. Our start time was 9:00 and we headed down the trail. John said the hike would be about 2 hours. It is a 5 mile roundtrip trail. He first wanted to take us through a canyon called Gary's Canyon and eventually hook back up to main trail. As we walked, we chatted and of course me being a rather social person, had lots of questions. Ben is a 66 year old civil engineer and John is a 75 year old physicist. He certainly did not look 75 and he walked like he was 20!! They were a real delight to walk with. We decided last night not to take the dogs as this area is full of teddybear cholla and would be brutal on the dog's paws. It was bad enough for us as we had to stop several times, get the needle nose pliers out and pull the little balls of thorns out of our legs, socks and shoes. They are nasty little devils and really must be removed as quick as you can because they will work their way right through your shoes. Believe me when I say, this desert is armed!!

We walked down a wash and eventually entered a small canyon which in fact was not the one John had wanted so, had to make our way over to the main trail "off road"!! Ben found a few interesting rocks along the way and stashed them in his backpack.

Now, Vulture Peak is a prominent landmark south of Wickenburg and I have taken many pictures of it for this blog. The trail to the peak passes through some of the most beautiful scenery. We walked through stands of Saguaro Cactus and past ocotillo, palo verde, jojoba, mesquite, cholla and many other varieties of cactus. As you can see by the pics, some of these cactus seem to be growing right out of the rock!! The trail head begins at approx 2400 feet of elevation and ends at the "Saddle" at 3420 feet. The saddle is the area between the actual peak and a shorter rock formation behind it. The hike above the saddle requires a hand-over-foot scramble up the steep rocky gully to reach the peak at 3660 feet.

Once we reached the actual trail we started the climb to the saddle. The hiking got much tougher when we actually reached the point where we had to start climbing to the saddle. It was steep and even though the switchbacks helped to cut some of the steepness, my knees were screaming. After several much needed stops, we finally made it and I was thrilled. Please remember that I was hiking with two much older men and although Ben (66) was feeling the climb, John (75) was not!! Ben did remind me though that John hikes everyday.

We rested at the saddle and here John persuaded me to climb to the summit. He said it would have been a shame for me to get this far and not complete the climb. I knew that I would be kicking my ass tonight if I didn't reach the top. Ben said he would climb with me because it would be a shame for him not to complete his climb either. John had been to the peak several times and said he would wait for us.

Up we climbed and let me tell you, I was mountaineering and it felt great. Although the peak was only 240 feet higher, it took us about an hour to go up and then climb back down - which was another feat in itself!! I came down on my ass in a few places because of the steepness!! Once back down at the saddle, we rested again and prepared for the walk back to the trailhead. I mentioned that it was going to be a lot easier going down than it was up and was quickly corrected by both John and Ben. I was told it was harder on your knees and your toes and as knowledge comes with experience, they were most definitely right. Although I didn't notice the descent as much in my knees, it was my hips that caught all the grief. And yes, the constant downward grade slammed my toes into the front of my hiking boots so they were not too pleased either. We eventually made it back to the vehicle and although I was tired (more like exhausted), I was thrilled that I had completed the journey. OMG, I don't think I will be able to move tomorrow!! Our 2 hour hike had turned into 6 hours!!

Back at the bus, John had been mucking with the Jeep and was wondering if I was ever going to get home. He had heard that we were going for a 2 hour hike as well and was wondering if something may have happened. Not to worry, all went well and I was in time for Happy Hour!!

Needless to say, I was in bed early, loaded with tylenol and ibuprofen but not before I took pics of yet another beautiful sunset. The first one has Vulture Peak in it. Did I mention I climbed that sucker!!