Alone........no more

My own personal version of “Alone” (a favourite outdoor challenge TV series of ours on the History channel) has come to an end. My sweetheart and I have been re-united after a month of self-inflicted, somewhat solitary confinement, since I headed south in our camper van in search of warmer weather and strenuous hikes (moderate to difficult, 10+ km's), while Pocahontas got her fill of skiing with girlfriends back home. While she has been a good hiker companion in the past, she is starting to show a preference for mountains that have a chairlift that will take you to the top and then let gravity bring you back down.

Since my last posting I completed two more exciting hikes in the Superstition Mountains on the east side of Phoenix, an area that my parents used to enjoy following retirement many years ago. The first one involved a climb (lots of tough, steep rock scrambling) to the top of the Flatiron, one of the highest summits that can be reached in the range (2800' elevation gain to almost 6,000'). The next day I approached from the south side and hiked to Weaver's Needle (a tall, eroded volcanic remnant), a picturesque sight that is not visible until you reach a mountain saddle 5 km's from the trailhead. Feeling a little leg weary the next day, I opted for a baseball game on the day that the Cactus League spring training season started, finding a spot on the outfield grass to relax and watch the L.A. Angels defeat the Milwaukee Brewers 2-0. Then it was off to Eloy for re-visit with Calgary friends but not before some excitement on my way. During the one hour drive south from Phoenix I had a rear tire that exploded while I was on the busy Interstate 10 where the speed limit is 75 mph. Fortunately I was travelling in the outside lane so I was able to pull over onto the shoulder fairly quickly and not damage my wheel rim. I started to get out the tools I would need to replace the tire but had second thoughts when the 18 wheelers were passing by the van less than a metre away from my vehicle and the van shaking a little every time they did.......not sure if the van was also afraid or if it was the wind. While I was still mulling that over, a highway patrol vehicle pulled up behind the van with it's lights flashing in order to create a more safe situation. Not having a cell phone with me, the officer called AAA on my behalf and advised them it was an urgent situation, to which they promised to be on-site within an hour (I was 30 minutes south of Phoenix at the time). The officer had to respond to another call so he left but I felt more comfortable knowing help was on the way. I waited outside the van, about 25 metres off the road, since I didn't feel it would be smart to wait inside the vehicle in case it got hit by a fast moving truck. After an hour and a half with no sign of AAA I tried to flag down some vehicles with no luck so I continued my wait. When 5 pm approached (3.5 hours later) and concerned about darkness setting in, I made the decision to change the tire myself. It was a slow and tiring process since the damaged tire had blocked the easiest path to the wheel well for the jack and I had to crawl underneath the van to find an alternative route. I successfully completed the task just before the sun went down and was back on my way. I called the AAA after arriving in Eloy (30 minutes later) and spoke with a supervisor who promised to look into the matter and get back to me......a week later I have still not heard back from them......strike two.

Pocahontas arrived in time to join in on the McKenzie Lake re-union in Eloy so she had a good chance to visit with our friends before we headed south to Green Valley (purchasing two new van tires along the way). While in Eloy, we played a round of golf on the well maintained local course, visited the nearby renowned skydiving centre, and had a fabulous dinner at an historic home in Casa Grande (BeDillions). After dinner Lorne steered us to the Thirsty Donkey sports bar where we caught the last period of the Flames game (OT winners) on one of their 28 TV's while listening to the play-by-play on a wireless speaker that was delivered to our table. The pub also featured 40 self-serve beers on tap, unlocked and tracked by a wristband provided to each customer......both are wonderful concepts that I'm sure will catch on quickly (fyi - the ladies moved to the table next to us and requested a non-sports channel with their own speaker). Tubac, an artsy village, was the primary destination when we left Green Valley and we supported the local economy by making several purchases before heading off to Benson and a lengthy tour of the amazing Big Room in the Kartchner Caverns. The beautiful stalagmite (from the ground up) and stalactite (from the ceiling down) formations were impressive enough but the discovery and preservation story about two college students (cavers), who discovered the caverns and then kept it quiet for over 10 years until they could work out a deal between the land owner and the State Parks organization to ensure the caves were protected for future generations to enjoy, without profiting themselves, make this place a must-see if you happen to be in the area (1 hour east of Tucson). No cameras were allowed in the cave so you will have to visit yourselves, or check some on-line photos published by the State Park, to appreciate the beauty of the Kartchner Caverns.

Today we arrived back in Apache Junction where we will complete a few 'moderate' hikes, catch a few more spring training baseball games, and perhaps a round or two of golf.

Initial hike in the Superstition Mountains, a favourite place for my parents to visit when they spent their retirement winters in Apache Junction. The trailhead for this hike was in Lost Dutchman State Park, with the Flatiron summit in the deep background. This is the Basin, a turnaround spot one-third into the trail where many hikers decide they have had enough.

A view from the summit of the Flatiron where I enjoyed an energy snack before heading back down the mountain to the trailhead in the background.

The hike leading to the rock top where Weavers Needle was finally visible.

Weavers Needle where most hikers turn around. I continued to the base of the Needle searching for the "not-very-well-marked" side trail to another canyon where the park ranger advised I could find a different way to return to the parking lot. When i could not clearly find an alternate path I made the wise decision to return the same way since I was on my own.

My lawn view of the L.A. Angels home game in Tempe vs. the Milwaukee Brewers. Even though it was game one of spring training the Angels players were all standing on the dugout steps like it was game one of the World Series.

My I-10 tire blow-out......wished I had taken a picture while it was still on the van since it looked much worse than this with the weight of the van on it, but I had other things (and worries) on my mind at the time. It was a Michelin tire with good tread still on it so I'm still not clear on what caused the minor explosion.

The Skydive Arizona (Eloy) loading spot for the skydivers taxi out to the plane. British and Canadian skydiving teams not only performed aerial exercises before opening their parachutes but after landing (smoothly, on their feet) in a field in front of us, they quickly gathered up their chutes and ran into the re-packing area where specialists re-packed the chutes for them while they grabbed a second chute (already packed) and ran over to the shuttle to catch the next plane out. We were told they were doing 10+ jumps every day. There was also a wind tunnel to practice routines and for wannabees. I shall return.