Where To, Next?

I've decided that I want, no, am going to hike the Grand Canyon. I thought at first about going down Bright Angel Trail to Phantom Ranch and back up to the South Rim, but a conversation with the Guide we hung out with in Sedona last weekend changed my mind....to change the location to Havasupai.

So here's the thing that made me change the location; Bright Angel is about 9 miles down and 9 MILES UP! Havasupai is a little longer, about 12 miles to the bottom and about $85 gets me a ride back up in a helicopter. Talk about Cheap Thrills! Add to this beautiful blue green waters and the chance to see Havasu Falls and Mooney Falls in person, Nirvana, ahhhhh!

I'll have to really train for this. I'm up to about 4 miles now and figure I'll have to add a mile a month to be able to do this hike by next Fall. I'd love to have your help with training tips for this, what will be the longest hike so far.

By User:Moondigger (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

Those Campfire Recipes - Easy Chilequiles

My Mother taught me how to make this easy version of this so good Mexican breakfast. I like it in the campground because once you start with the basic ingredients of tortillas and eggs you can add variations from cheese to beans and always have something warm and good.

This is one of those recipes that I just start throwing stuff in the pan...no measuring, just warm goodness. You'll need the following:

Eggs
Tortillas (corn or flour ok, works well with tortilla chips, too)
Butter

Your choice of:
Shredded cheddar cheese
Salsa or hot sauce
Chopped Tomatoes
Chopped Bacon or Some Sausage
Refried Beans

Start by melting some butter in your frying pan...you'll want a generous amount as the tortillas really absorb the butter and your pan will dry out causing the eggs to stick if you don't keep adding it. Tear up your tortillas and fry in the butter. Once they are crisp, add scrambled raw eggs and any other ingredients except beans and stir until the eggs are cooked. Top with beans and warmed salsa and enjoy.

Tortilla Chips, Eggs, Shredded Cheddar and Salsa.                                                                           ©Marcia Mauskopf 2011

To The Summit - Lookout Mountain

 So the day started like any other Saturday, a big breakfast followed by a drive to a trailhead. We chose Lookout Mountain Circumference Trail. 2.3 miles with 180 feet elevation change.

The trail starts with an incline of about 30 feet....cool, I thought, that takes care of a chunk of the elevation change. A short walk from the start is the fork in the road, a split that gives you the choice of circling the park or going straight up to the summit. Coming down the summit trail was a couple with a little white maltipoo. I figured if that cute little thing with his four inch legs could make it to the top then how hard could it be? That theory might have been just a little bit flawed.

A Little Slip and Slide on loose rock never hurt anyone, right?       ©Marcia Mauskopf 2011

It's a little under a mile round trip with an elevation gain of 436 feet. So we decided to go for it and see how far we could get. The trail started as a moderate uphill climb on loose rock, challenging for me but not a complete screamer, just enough to offer a false sense of confidence. It quickly turned into switchbacks that narrowed into small walls negotiated by stepping into cracks and pulling myself up by rocks along the next wall. We eventually made it to the saddle between the two peaks, the lowest point at the top and an incredible view of the surrounding mountains as well as downtown Phoenix. Noticing just one more trail marker that pointed straight up, we looked at each other and agreed, why not, Never tried anything that steep but slow and easy....

Up on my ledge between two peaks.                                                                                               ©Marcia Mauskopf 2011

WTH was I thinking???? The view was spectacular. Looking up I could see my fingers clutching a couple inches of rock and below my toes were hanging on to 3 inches here and there. In between  my knees were doing the Mambo while my mind went a million places, mostly to a short ledge and lots of feet of sharp loose rock below me....did you see the episode of Sarah Palin's Alaska where she gets stuck rock climbing and whines like crazy with a guide above her on a rope? That was me, sans rope.

While I was considering the best way to get down J. was twenty feet above..."hey, do you mind if I go up to the top?" "Yeah, naw, you go ahead, I'll just uh, hang out here.

I finally managed to claw my way down and called my best friend The Backpacker. "Hey, I made it to the top of a mountain!" "Cool, going out"....

Well, maybe not impressive to anyone else, but I'm pretty full of myself. A year ago I would never have left the parking lot to go up a mountain, in fact that first 30 feet or so would have been enough to send me back to a book in the passenger seat...never would I have guessed back then that I would have been hanging by my fingertips yesterday morning.

Tired, but happy.                                                                            ©Jeff Felske 2011

How To Get There
Take Greenway Parkway to 16th Street and drive south to the trailhead. Be aware, that there isn't a lot of parking, no bathrooms and no water so make sure that you are prepared. Dogs are allowed but must be leashed.

Deadman's Pass Trail, Sedona

Why a name like Deadman's Pass? Just Red Rock romance or is there a back story? Turns out there is. According to Jean Matthews Kindig, author of Sedona Area Names & Place, a Native American grave was found in the area....I don't know if that is enough to scare anyone off, but the morning we slipped and slid over this trail there was no one else in sight.

This is a short and easy trail, just right for me at three miles round trip. The morning we went out was after a recent snow, making the trail slick with ice and mud, surrounded by mini snowfields and trickling melt.

Agave and Snow ©Jeff Felske 2011

On this particular morning it was about 40º and so still you could hear the sounds of the occasional bird moving from branch to branch. We set out to where the Boynton Canyon trail intersects with Deadman's and almost immediately started crossing snow. Once on Deadman's Pass we had incredible Red Rock views and the feeling of solitude.

Snow, ice and mud on the trail. ©Jeff Felske 2011

The trail intersects with Long Canyon Trail giving the option of going another six miles round trip. On this day we turned around and headed back to get to the next part of my Birthday adventure, a Mystic Tour....



How To Get There
Take 89A out to Dry Creek Road and go North. Turn left at Long Canyon Rd. then right on FR152C. The trailhead and parking area (with restrooms) are on your right. You will need a Red Rock Pass to park here. If you are going to go to Sedona more than 3 times in a year you'll save by purchasing the $20 Annual Pass.

Those Campfire Recipes - One Eyed Jacks

This is one of my favorite recipes at the camp kitchen and at my own kitchen, too....mouthwatering buttery goodness, protein, and, if cooked til the yolk is firm, a one handed One Eyed treat ;-)

You'll need the following for each "Jack":

• one egg
• one slice bread (I like sourdough with this)
• one generous pat of butter

This is the easiest recipe in the world. Melt the butter in your pan. Take the slice of bread and tear a hole in the middle about the size of the average egg yolk. Start frying the bread in the pan and break the egg over it so that the yolk hits the hole. Slowly fry/toast the bread until golden and the egg is cooked on the bottom, then flip and fry until the egg is completely cooked.

I like mine runny so it stays on a plate with a fork but if you cook until the yolk is hard you can eat this with one hand making it a perfect run around the campground food.

One Eyed Jacks Sizzling In The Pan ;-)

Diary Of A Hiking Virgin

Why is it that the first time you do ANYTHING it's the hardest? I've been blogging for years and years about my photography and can do it in my sleep but writing about hiking???? Well, here goes:

I guess the place to start is by introducing myself and my place in the hiking world. I didn't have one. I was the girl that when everyone else said "let's see what's on the other side of that hill..." I said, " uh, yeahhhhhhh, you go on ahead and I'll just, hmmm, sit in the car and read. I mean, I used to like to go up in the hills a bit back home in Santa Barbara, but breaking a sweat???? Then I moved here...To North Scottsdale and only an hour and a half from magical Sedona, and I got intrigued by the landscape. It started with little walks around Airport Mesa and then one day last year we parked at Bell Rock, I stared at the opening to the trail and took a deep breath....and did it.

...and I never felt more alive.

Deadman's Pass, Sedona AZ

So this is the place that my journey began and my journal begins...I'll be posting about different hikes and camping trips future and past. My experiences with trails, trail foods and equipment. I invite your comments, conversations and tips as I chronicle my little life with bigger and littler hikes.