Sunday, December 11/2011

early morning moon

sunrise

sunrise

walking path to Vulture Peak

Teddy Bear Chola - acres of this along the trail

Saguaro Cactus along the trail

Looking down on the way to the top of Vulture Peak

Almost at the top.  Standing on the "saddle" close to the peak.  Only
250 more feet to go but this is a vertical crawl to the peak!!

FINALLY on the top of Vulture Peak!!

Trueman's mine - view from the peak

Wickenburg,  Arizona - view from the peak

Yea, I really did make it to the peak!!

Keith and Charlotte - at the peak

Our campsite - from the peak

I slept in a bit this morning as the sun had already come over the hill!! I did notice that the moon was still out and I managed to take a few pics of it so hopefully at least one of them will look decent and will be posted.
The birds were busy and it was a treat to watch them.
Today, Keith and Charlotte want to climb Vulture Peak and have asked me to go with them.  I agreed but mentioned that I am sorely out of shape and may not be able to do the whole hike (which would totally suck) but they are good with that.  I think I may have to take some tylenol before I leave and maybe some for the trail and for sure some for after the trail.  I have warned John that he may have to carry me to bed and bring me all sorts of treats and he simply shakes his head and thinks I have lost my mind.  He wondered last night just how I would manage this herculean task since I had not really been walking much lately.  Go Big Or Go Home I say!!  I might not be so smart by the end of the day!!
The three of us were on the trail by noon and the day was absolutely lovely.  There was a minor breeze blowing - one that would guarantee to help when Charlotte's and my "moments" chose to rear their ugly heads!!  We walked through some old growth Teddy Bear Cholla and Saguaro and it was rather surreal to see the acres and acres of this vegetation.  Being too cold for the venomous  creatures (rattlesnakes, scorpions and spiders) we walked with the confidence of knowing that we would most likely not see anything like that.  The first part of the climb was relatively easy and not too steep.  Keith, with his "bad" ankles found this part to be the hardest.  Charlotte and I found that once the trail became steep, it was rather tough going for us.  There were several large boulders along the route and believe me, I took every chance I found to rest my screaming knees!!  We were not the only hikers on the trail today and I met a fellow from Edmonton.  It truly is a small world!!  We continued our steady climb, stopping to chat and take pictures along the way all the time marvelling at just how far we had climbed.  Vulture Peak is between 3660 and 4320 feet high (depending on what google site you access) and the real hard part is yet to come.  This includes many stair steps that are all different heights and can be difficult to maneuver.  I wasn't looking forward to this part of the trail!! My knees and hips were definitely getting a workout!!   Eventually we made it to the "saddle" where we took the opportunity to rest and prepare for the final 250 feet of vertical climb.  This is a hand over hand climb and one needs to be alert and careful.  Falling at this point on the trail is not an option!!  We slowly picked our route to the top and eventually reached the summit!!  Woo Hoo !!  We all snapped some photos then prepared for the climb off the summit.  This would actually be harder than the climb up as we were now heading pretty much straight down and it is one thing to climb up, but the climb down is a whole new ball game!!   We picked our path and at one point, were all taking separate routes down.  We all made it back to the saddle - all body parts intact!!
The remainder of the descent was pretty uneventful although one did have to be careful with the placement of their foot as there were several areas where the trail was nothing but loose rubble and that can cause a foot to slide, an ankle to turn and even a fall.  None of which holds any appeal!!
By the time the three of us got back to the trailhead, four hours had elapsed and we were the walking wounded.  Keith's ankles were toast and Charlotte's and my knees had had enough!!  All of us were glad to have successfully completed the trail and the climb to the peak!!  Time to go home and pop some tylenol!!
John and Hogan arrived back at the bus about 20 minutes after we arrived - they had been in town and gassed up the jeep.  Hogan was panting hard and had just completed his mile and a half run from the highway!!
It was good to be home and now it was time to relax.  Leftovers for supper then relaxing in bed - Life is good!!