Training Log Archive: cmorse

Arizona Day 6 - lots of short hikes to explore indian ruins in Wupatki NM and then some hiking in a lava flow at Sunset Crater Volcano NM. Wanted to also visit Walnut Canyon NM but ran out of time.. Sunny and windy again...

Arizona Day 5 - Hiking at Tuzigoot NM

AOWN - second hike there was on a short, paved nature trail out along a ridge overlooking a marshy area (former oxbox in the verde river) - on the way back Hayden and I were walking along and watching downslope for coyote or javelina when all of a sudden I hear a really loud rattling at my feet - yikes!! big ass white fangs eyeing my calves less than a foot from me. And at that range the rattle is really loud!! I jumped out of range and Hayden ran back to Ellen, Jackson & Anna about 20m back. We carefully skirted it and went back to the ranger station to report it. The ranger got his stuff and came out to collect it for scientific measurement and noted that it was the first rattler they had seen this year - about 4 footer and freshly gorged on something tasty. Put him in the bucket and wandered back along the trail chatting with Mr. Ranger dude and shortly noticed another rattler stretched out along the trail - this one smaller, but much more aggressive - helped ranger dude put him in the bucket with the other one and two rattlers in one bucket make a hell of a racket... Two snakes in 5 minutes is enough for me....

Later on spent about 90 minutes walking a combination of trails in Red Rocks SP in Sedona.... gorgeous!!

Arizona Day 4 - a lower key day - spent the AM in the pool with the kids, then in the afternoon we did a few short hikes in the Williams area - one near Clovis Ruin and another to Keyhole Sink - a neat little box canyon with a lot of indian petroglyphs. Overcast and cool, but no rain.

Arizona Day 3 - Grand Canyon - more short hikes including a fossil walk and about a half mile down bright angel trail into the canyon (less than 5% of GC visitors ever venture below the rim). Nice day, less wind.

Some sub-moron decided to ignore the signs and fences and managed to climb out on an exposed pinnacle and had a very obviously broken ankle - even at 50+m one could see it was at a very abnormal angle. When we left the rangers were roping up and discussing exactly how this guy got out there and how they were going to get him back.

Arizona Day 2 - Grand Canyon - Combination of multiple shorter hikes mostly along various portions of rim trail. Winds gusting in excess of 50mph made some of the exposed portions of trail a little vertiginous so we opted to hike cross country a ways back from the rim proper.

Family vacation in Arizona. Estimated total hiking time at Aqua Fria National Monument, Montezuma Castle NM & Montezuma Well.

AOWN - a couple muskrats were frolicking in the limestone sink at Montezuma well.