Hiking to Humphrey's Peak

So we started the "Trail to Humphrey's Peak" back in March or so - training up for South America with the culmination being a hike to the top of Humphrey's. So we arrived in Flagstaff last Friday night - eyeballing the mountain and saying, "yeah, it's high, but we'll make it! Yes, I'm AWESOME!"

So we hit the trail around 10 AM on Saturday morning, gasping in the thin air, but ready to climb, climb, and climb some more. We went through a few patches of snow, but thought we should be all right since the trail goes up the Southwest face of the mountain. Ummm, yeah, right. That didn't happen.

After getting caught in a Thundersleet storm, digging our way through non-existant paths in the woods, we gave up after 2 miles or so. (About halfway, we think, but there was no way to tell. Even the two other groups with GPS didn't have any waypoints marked on the trail - they didn't know). With no crampons or hiking poles, we thought this would be the smartest thing to do. We decided to try again in July or August, when the snow should be gone - most likely.

So we climbed back down the mountain, had a nice chat with a KSU grad from 1984 (he noticed the powercat on my hiking hat!), and then proceeding to cook dinner in a downpour back at camp. We stayed dry in our tent, though, and many thanks to Ed for hosting us that evening. We won't have a chance to hike anymore before our trip, but I think with acclimatization in Puno and Cusco we should do OK on the trail.

I plan to post a few pictures of our new roof, but after that you won't hear much until we get back from South America. Then hopefully I'll have LOTS of pics and stories to post.... and lots of time, too, since I won't have a job. Oh well.

Take care and stay cool everybody!

Silent J

This is the start of Humphrey's peak trail, which crosses this meadow and then goes up, and up, and up - to the peak you see in the distance. We didn't make it because of the snow...

This is the highest we got on Humphrey's - somewhere around 10,800 feet. Well below treeline, but we are planning to go back and try again. Here's the question - can YOU find the trail in this picture? We couldn't!

The thunderstorms on Saturday night added a few inches of snow to the tops of the San Francisco mountains. Unusual weather for June in Flagstaff!

Fossil Springs - Our first Backpacking trip!

Our first trip was a success! What better place to spend a hot memorial day weekend than next to a natural spring gushing 1 million gallons of water per hour? I can't think of a better place to go - though the biting bugs and the scorpions were kind of freaking me out.

The trail is 4 miles one way - down into a canyon. Which means you have to hike it right back out when you're done camping. We did really well - 2 hours each way. We hiked down on Saturday, hiked up a side canyon on Sunday, then hiked out on Monday. I was pretty tired after that, but all in all, we felt good about it. Hopefully we do this well on the Inca Trail in July!

Check out the photos below - the whole place was gorgeous, and the cool water felt great in the afternoon. I'll be posting pics from our failed attempt to scale Humphrey's peak in Flagstaff next.

JRW

Travis at our campsite near fossil springs. We were about 100 feet from the stream, but the canyon walls behind us gave us the place to ourselves!

This is at the top of the falls leading to the swimming hole at Fossil Springs. Ah, gorgeous!

Our friend Ed swinging off the rope at the swimming hole - whew that's cold!

Ed living the good life.

This is a shot of fossil creek on our Sunday hike. Everything was so lush and green!

Fossil Creek

A very cool tree along the way - perfect for framing a photo op!

Flashback to Sedona...

Here is a snapshot from our recent hike in Oak Creek Canyon - West Fork trail. It's pretty hard to take a bad photo in Sedona - even when we're in it!

The West Fork of Oak Creek

We did a great hike a few weeks ago in Sedona - the West Fork of Oak Creek. The total hike is 7 miles, out and back, or if you want to swim, I believe you can go 12 miles total (one-way). Billie and Adam joined us on the hike, and were willing to get their feet wet - thanks for being such good sports! It was a great weekend to go camping, and we're looking forward to backpacking to Fossil Springs this weekend. Anything's better than 110 in an urban heat island!

I'll post more photos next week after our trip. It should be fun!

Jenny

A gorgeous view of the creek and canyon- you can't take a bad photo in Sedona!

A picturesque waterfall on the creek - the water was really high, thanks to a 2" rain a couple of days prior...

Our group at the halfway point - 3.5 miles into the West Fork of Oak Creek.

The end of our hike - you have to swim from this point!

The most beautiful rock in Oak Creek canyon

Job search... installment #1

So I went on my first interview last Friday... overall the situation was pretty good. The only bad this was that sticky question about why my contract wasn't being renewed. "Because my boss doesn't like me" didn't sound that keen, so I went with the re-organization angle. I said she's a new director and is dissolving my position - farming out my schools to another manager, commodity processing to a classified employee, and going with Assisted NuMenus (meaning an outside company plans them.) The Child Nutrition director made the comment, "That seems really odd that they would get rid of YOUR position..." Gee, because I'm the only registered dietitian in the district and we have to have a Wellness Program for next year? Hmmmm, could be!

I'm sending out emails left and right, and contacting everyone I know in school foodservice. I don't want to go to food sales or anything, so I guess I'm pretty picky at the moment. If something doesn't materialize soon, I may put off the full-scale job seeking efforts until after I get back from South America.

Well, it's hot here - 105 today - and we're all trying not to melt. I'm gonna post some pics and catch y'all later.

Peace out,
J