28 C's Kelvin Helvin? Kevin Heaven?

 Hmmm, I suppose I should report on my 28 C's Kelven ride.  I'm not going to go too deep on this one as my Sunday got blown to pieces thanks to a car that broke down for my wife while I was riding Saturday.  So,  the car got more attention than you will I am afraid fair readers.  I will put up all my pictures though.
I officially started right at 4:30 from the convenience store across from Albertsons since the big A wasn't opened yet.   Temps were in mid 50's pretty much perfect.  They did get a bit cooler out towards Superior but not much.  It was pretty much a perfect morning to do this ride.  Winds were light and really not much of an issue the whole day.

 I brought some tunes to help pass the time and noticed the miles just seemed to fly by.   Us 60 was not too busy and I think they have repaved the shoulders on the way out since I rode this last as I recall it being a much more painful affair in the past.

So what ya wanna do?  I dunno,  what you wanna do?  Let's not start that again!

 Refilled water at Superior and plunked my Gu electolyte tablets into the bottles.  Juries out on these little guys,  liked the taste but I think they may have been involved in my issues after Florence but I don't know,  think I'm going to go back to what I know works and doesn't cause wierd pain- endurolytes.
Managed to drag my overweight keister, 3 full water bottles, and packed oversized seatpack up over the Superior side of the End of the World hill and all it's 10%+ glory.  Whew!  Need to lose a few pounds.

The End of the World!

 People were up and doing stuff in Kelvin.  I'm usually there before people are out of bed.   Looked like nice folks.   Not many folks on Florence Kelvin Highway today.  2 hikers,  a motorcycle and a couple of jeeps.   Freshly Graded this week by the looks of the road since it rained on Monday and the tracks were fresh.  Sweet, sweet, freshly graded road, almost able to keep pavement speed most of the way except a few short washboarded segments and the steep descent of course.  I was even able to use aero bars much of the way on the gradual descent.  I think 32C tires are the magical compromise for this route.  I had deflated them to around 40 psi and the ride was just right.  Think I might try this setup for the Dirty Mogollon Mormon Madness permanent I am thinking of at the end of June instead of going full mountain bike.

Stopped to pump up tires and mix some drink at start of pavement again.  No crazy headwind this time heading down to Florence.  Made it by 11:30.   Looks like a beach town with everyone in bikini's and absurdly short jeans,  looks like a Daisy Duke meets Sports Illustrated Swimsuit style convention.   Could swear there was a river or lake nearby by the way everyone is dressed at Gas Station and Sonic.  Weird.
12:00  finally off after the really slow service at Sonic finally got me two big waters and an ice cream cone.  Mistake-ice cream cone had some preservative or something that caused strange pain like I get when I eat Honey Buns.  Kind of a gotta pee someone kicked you in the marble sack type pain.  I think part of this was due to dehydration but I think I'm going to avoid sonic ice cream in the future.   I should have downed the rest of the second water while I was there but didn't.  That was my second mistake.

Steep start of Florence Kelvin Highway 14%!

 Because of the pain I couldn't get in the aero bars or even the hoods because it would get bad the more I leaned forward.   Really bizarre. Fortunately the winds were moving around so I never had bad headwinds for too long.  I started chugging water at the Gantzel market.  The pain would persist even after I knew the dehydration was gone and the ride was over.   Think I'm going to make a point of drinking extra fluids next long ride and hope it doesn't happen again.

Old Friends

Woo hoo!  At the top of the huge hill!

BP Man and Biker boy save the, oh ok, RIDE, El Tour De Mesa

Biker Boy in all his glory

A beautiful day in a a small desert town,  peaceful,  hmmm,  almost too peaceful.  What evil lurks in the backstreats of Mesa, Arizona and surrounding areas this fine day as nearly 1400 fine upstanding citizens dressed as super hero's line up at their choice of distances at El Tour de Mesa (72 or 28 mile)?   What stands between them and defeat?  What evil lies in their path?  What demons lay in wait to devour their resolve and results of many weeks of training?  Yes,  for though they have almost superhuman abilities of strength and endurance, what of the mechanical weaknesses of their trusty sidekicks?  What of a suddenly sunny day at the end of months of training in the cold and the electrolytic muscle cramping carnage that may ensue?  What of those nasty little wires from radial tires that are impossible to find when you have flatted?!  Oh the carnage!  Who can save them?

Fortunately among these good folks dressed as superheros, are some ordinary folk dressed in very un-hero like t-shirts.  Yes,  in a world dominated by platinum riders and spandex super hero's,  there is the t-shirt clad bike patrol,  the thin yellow line as it were,  ever on the patrol against evil in the pelaton.  Ever on the alert for the unwitting victims of mechanical tragedy or sudden disaster,  ever there for a cheery comment to brace up the wilting warrior! (yes I know a few super Bike Patrollers have those superhero spandex jerseys too but most don't)

Well,  this blogs post is of just such a ride good citizens of cyberspace.   I, BP Man, with my trusty sidekick, Biker Boy, lined up at the 28 mile start of El Tour de Mesa.  Not because Biker Boy was but 10 years old, no,  no, rather because we didn't want him to um,  uh......Show anyone up?  Is that believable?  no? uh, ok well, um, we knew!  yes,  we knew that great evil was waiting for the innocent superhero clad people of the 28 mile event! Yes,  that's it!    So we lined up with the 28 milers in order to be of most service!

As it turned out,  evil would not be long in attacking the good folk of the 28 mile event as Wayne Churchman,   no no no,  Wayne's not evil,  quit jumping to conclusions.  There are no finer people than the good folks at PBAA always on the lookout for helping people to good health through wholesome and fun events,  no the evil was insidious as somehow the events first mechanical was the device that was to play the melodious and harmonious voices of the "somebody or other sisters" singing the National Anthem.    Yes,  Doom may have been final and complete before we even began had it not been for Wayne's observance that there may be some good folk among the crowd who had secret powers of harmonization lurking deep inside.   Indeed, BP man himself had once masqueraded as mild mannered Paul,   a boy in a high school choir who sang bass on this same song at all the football games.   The day was saved as many lent their voices to the task at hand and without further ado Wayne released the sea of spandex upon the streets of Mesa.

Good riders heading towards Red Mountain

I took many opportunities now to remind Biker Boy of the dangers of following the evil "too fast for you guys", lest he overdo himself and end up in care of the paramedics as he did at Cochise last year (another long story which you shall have to leaf back to October's entries on this blog to read).  Amazingly Biker Boy listened and showed off his magnificent powers of paying attention which before now I did not know he possessed.  He has hidden those powers well over the years.

Biker Boy attacked "Little Kong" hill with calculated and patient vehemence but near the top he nearly succumbed to stopping.  I had become distracted by a few guys with a thrown chain behind me and went back down the hill to see if they needed help.  By the time I arrived they had resolved their situation but now the evil Mr. Traffic had trapped me on the far side of the road!   I was not able to get back to Biker Boy until he was nearly up the hill,  but I arrived in time to give him a word of encouragement and point out the downhill spots ahead.

Biker Boy apparently did not do as well with the Super Gummy Bear breakfast as he thought he might have. It turns out his super-stomache may be waning in it's ability to digest a full bag of Gummy Bears in one sitting just before exercising.   BP Man used his powerful words of encouragement powers and barely succeeded in bringing Biker Boy back from the brink of bad bear digestion induced bad attitude.  Either that or it may have been the start of the downhill,  in the interest of full disclosure,  the ever honest BP man must admit going downhill may have helped Biker Boy's attitude as well but he prefers to think it was his amazing super powers of motivation.

The rest stop was a much appreciated cookie, banana, and water break.   Soon Biker Boy would endure the great evil of the backside of Usery Pass.   This was a very dark hour for Biker Boy.   BP man used his amazing powers of motivation on many but his greatest efforts were pushing Biker Boy periodically to get him through tough spots and stopping to wait for him every so often as well.

Upon passing the pass it was evident that BP man would not pass and told Biker Boy to fly to the end and he would catch up.   BP man was the victim of unspeakable evil,  the evil Dr. Flat.   Not finding any thorn or glass BP Man decided to pump the tire up and hope it was a slow leak.   Alas, twould not be slow enough!

Faster than a speeding recumbent, BP man shot down the front side of Usery Pass in his desperation to catch his sidekick but fate would determine otherwise!   There on McDowell,  a rider was in need and BP man,  sworn upholder and defender of the riders,  had to stop and help.   I won't share detail for though this lighthearted ride report is a report of the ride it is not an official report,  and BP Man's mild manner alter ego works as a programmer in the medical field and the fear of HPAA is strong upon him and it just doesn't make sense to share more information in these matters than is necessary,  so,  using my incredible powers of HIPAA violation avoidance,  I will remain mum,  only that it wasn't anything crazy serious,  I'm just a cautious guy and it's nobody's business but the riders what went on.

So,  after a time,  BP man was off!  But the evil Dr. Flat was not to be ignored!  Fortunately, the next rest stop had a floor pump but a few miles down the road Dr. Flat completed his wicked plan and I had to confront him with my superior powers of flat resolution!  He had used his worst weapon!  It is rumored even the fabled Armadillo's cannot block a steal belted radial wire and he had plunged one deep within my tire.  It was now I discovered the BP Pliers had not made it into the mighty BP utility pannier.  Fortunately, another BP Man stopped and lent me his and the evil Dr. Flat was defeated.

Off to the finish line!  I roared along making good time and encouraging those I passed.   Biker Boy gave me a call on the BP Phone when I was still 4 to 5 miles out.   He must have gotten a super second wind going,  either that or he likes pedaling downhill a lot more.   Personally I think it was his amazing super powers of pedaling downhill.   I crossed the finish about 15 - 20 minutes after Biker Boy.   We picked up our medals and enjoyed the glorious spoils of the Great Arizona Bicycle Festival.  So ends another adventure of BP man and Biker boy!   Stay tuned for the Cochise Classic where they will be joined by Super Joe,   Same BP time same BP organizer!

Neighbors, Sons, and Sons of....well, lets just not finish that.

Josh Climbing Usery Pass

It's Spummer in Mesa good readers.   Spummer is a short season where it is cool enough that you aren't sweating buckets and yet you don't need arm or leg warmers.   Such a season mimics what the rest of the world calls summer but only lasts a few short weeks.   I can't in good faith call it Spring,  Spring follows winter and we don't have Winter here in the Valley of the sun.  We have Fring,  which is basically Fall Spring,  it gets cold at night but is nice during the day.

Well,  my neighbor across the street who works at DNA Cycles invited me on their Saturday ride and as I did not have anything set in stone,  I decided to give it a go.   My neighbor has been doing a lot of Mountain Biking lately and looking at his times on Strava, and adding to the fact he is a lot closer to perfect cycling bmi than I am, I was a bit intimidated.   I managed to stay with him to the shop despite breathing a little harder than I should for a warm up.   It went well though.   We've been talking of riding since he moved in over a year ago and it's funny it took this long for our schedules to hook up.

We rode out to the beeline and back with a trip over the backside and I am proud to say I was not last up the hills and was even third getting up little Kong.  Of course I was further towards the back on the other hills but I am not unhappy with the results.

In the afternoon I took Josh up to the Usery Pass Visitor's center for his last big training ride for Tour de Mesa next week.   He did good with only a minimum of complaining and stopping.  He'll do good when we mix in all the people to distract him next week and he just goes.   He has really picked up his pace this year and I am finding him quite pleasant to ride with.   Of course this might just be because I go all out in the morning and by the time I take him out that is just the pace I am comfy with.  No matter, he's a lot funner to ride with now that he can hold 15 mph or so.   Nice to finally average over 10 mph and not stop ever 3 or 4 miles.

Ah,  the title mentioned Sons of,  um,  well, I'm not a big swearer I'm afraid, but those of you who are can fill in whatever terms you like for my father in-law's boss that fired him because he was too old this week.   He's been my ride home this last year as I've been riding the bike 20 miles to work and then riding 3 miles over to meet him for a ride home at Az Mills Mall.   I'll spare you all the details but it all amounts to a 66 year old guy that can't afford to retire and lives to work by choice (yeah I know,  not my thing either,  I'd love to retire and ride all the time but different spokes for different folks) getting the ax so the company can pay a younger person less money.   I'll be putting in a lot more miles soon after he finishes training his replacement since I'll be riding both ways as I'm faster than the bus. Wish I had enough money to give him so he could just tell his boss to train the replacement himself and leave.

I should have lots of miles in the bank by the time the Mother Road 300k rolls around in May.   Nobody else is registered so far.  Hope I'm not soloing the brevet in May.  Oh well, if I go it alone I guess I go it alone.   Wish I didn't have a schedule conflict for the Mines to Pines this month,  looks like a good group of riders have signed up.

Commuting thoughts on a sunny beautiful 60 degree morning.

To the fellow in the surprisingly wide chromed Lamborghini in the contruction zone who passed me so close,  if I ever see you passing me again I shall empty my nasal cavity with surprising force in your direction and considering you have a convertible, the contents might contact you and your pricey car.   Something to think about.  What?   How will I know it is you?   Um,  you do of course realize there are a limited supply of Lamborghini's in Mesa, Arizona right?   The other one is Yellow but you probably know that I am sure.  For the record,  if you give me the 3 feet of passing distance the law requires it is a very slim chance I would have the range to get nasal discharge on your car,  I haven't been training lately and my range is just not what it used to be.

To the little fellow (I assume he's a little fellow at least in his own introspection) whose little compact has a tailpipe louder than an obnoxious Harley.   You know,  you are only making people think about the things you are compensating for when you try so hard to call attention to yourself.  Why not take up a nice hobby like cycling?  Perhaps the comradery would do your self esteem some good and give you something to really be proud of.

To Les,  the intrepid commuter on the cyclocross bike who I played tag with halfway across Mesa.  So nice to see another rider out there getting to work under their own power.  You can drop into my draft anytime.  Keep it up.

White Rabbit

Turn Around at Saguaro

Twas Brillig in the slithy toves and the Two Wheel Jones riders did wire and gimble in the wabe.    Yes twas brillig indeed and all the toves save a few were bedecked in arm and leg warmers not to mention jackets.  I had determined since I found myself with such unheard of nonsense as a few hours free in the morning and having retired early the night before that I would show up to the Two Wheel Jones ride for a ride up to the beeline and back.

Stephen would be the one late,  well maybe not so late,  for a very important date as I chased his taillight in the distance down the rabbit hole of baseline to Signal Butte road.  It took awhile for all the usual suspects to gather but eventually we were off and I mid to rear pack figuring I'd get dropped quick and shouldn't get to A,  but not enough B to yo yo at the lights.   Twas to be a strange morning though.

For some reason the A riders didn't seem to be in that much of a hurry.  We moved along up to Usery and I kept wondering when I would get dropped.    About halfway up usery frontside though some guys at the back decided they had had enough of sustainable paces,  at least for me and took off.   Then I got the "ask Alice" song stuck in my head,  one rider, takes you slow,  and one might lead you fast,  while a guy sucking your wheel,   attacks and moves right past.......    After that the 8 riders in front of me took off and I couldn't hang on no matter how hard I breathed so,  alas,  despite not having trained and gained some weight,  I am still an A- rider,  who'd a thunk it?  Still,   I got to the regroup and had time to chat with Travis before we took off.

I hung on real good along the Bush highway and then we hit Godzilla and of course I dropped back.   I'd spent a lot of energy racing up Usery and so didn't have a lot of oomph left.   I decided since I was in back again and worried about getting back before 10:45 I'd turn around at Saguaro lake.   Turns out I had plenty of time.  Next time I get the chance I'll go all the way.

Climbing out of the boat parking lot I was passed by the Cheshire cat.   I've never seen another road cyclist down by the lake so it was funny getting passed climbing out.  He would be ever present just far enough in front of me to see until I got to the top of Usery on my way home and then he disappeared.

Despite the brilligness of the morning is was a beautiful day to be out in the desert wonderland on a bicycle.   I only wished I'd have gone all the way as I ended up having plenty of time.  Oh well.

Friends in High Places

Cliffs at Water Users Recreation Area

So,  it appears to have been some time since I posted anything bike related on this blog.   Well,  blogs are kind of funny things,  as are cyclists who also may have many other facets to their lives.  Of course this blog has been stuck on my last backpacking trip for sometime,  what a last post to leave the blog stuck on huh?  Not even cycling related.  Well, we're back.   Not entirely mind you,  but I do hope to complete the Mines to Pines  200k at least and maybe the Route 66 thing they are doing.  We'll see.  Anything is progress at this point.

The last week of December I did something I probably shouldn't have done  and I should have known better,   Randonneuring being 70% physical and 80% mental and all.    I attempted to ride my Apache Trail 200k with Steve,  Carlton and Mike of Southern Arizona Randonneurs fame.  Well, I haven't been keeping a record of all the junk going on in my life but suffice it to say I have had some family issues going on with kids in the psychiatric ward for a few weeks and other family related issues.  It was a very tough December and I've decided I'm going to celebrate Christmas the week after Thanksgiving this year so that December will not ruin it this year but I digress.   I missed El Tour in Nov.  too and that was quite a mental blow,  I really do look forward to that as part of my year and so the end of last year dealt me a couple of haymakers mentally and my miles went way down not to mention my will to ride.  To cut to the chase,  by the time we were to Tortilla flat after 50 miles I was totally blasted and the other 3 were nice and strong and I had to bow out.  Just wasn't there physically or mentally.   As an extension,  I had to miss the 200k because my bro. was in town from back east,  I had intended to ride the 300k but bagged it due to not feeling up to snuff,  partially because of my terrible showing at the Apache 200k.  Since my wife's friend had offered to watch the boys for her while I was out of town,  we decided we would spend the day together.   I think it was time well spent but still think perhaps I might have had a nice day riding with the moderate or slower riders at the 300k and could have finished.   Oh well,  we will never know now,  Marriage wise though I think I have come out ahead in the deal, so no regrets.

The most important thing as far as this blog is concerned is that I think my desire is coming back.  My neighbor got me onto this STRAVA thing and though I don't get to ride with others too often,  I get to see kind of how I measure up.    At least along my commute route,  I measure up quite well having 2nd place and a few King of the Mountain's status's.   That cheered me up considerable and has me pushing the heartrate up again.   Of course,  the segments I ride on the weekend which non-commuters / racers  ride have me placing much lower but then again those are hilly areas and I have admittedly gained weight which I have now got some incentive to lose again.

Which brings us to yesterday's ride!  At long last you say,  a blog about one man's demons and his will to bike maketh not the most interesting reading I am sure.    I was orginally going to try and catch the Two Wheel Jones folk at 7:30 but the boys didn't go to bed without a fight Friday night and I ended up sleeping in to 8 AM on Saturday so it was up to me to ride the road alone,  but it was not without friends.

I skipped arm warmers and went with wind vest and leg warmers (shorts and jersey a given of course).   I was the least dressed person I saw with most having jackets or at least arm warmers.   If I did it over I think I would have done the arms.  Anyway,  with the idea of perhaps getting into the brevets this year with the mines to pines I decided to go over Usery Pass to the scenic cliffs at water users and back for a nice 1700 feet of climbing.

It was very cold but I pushed hard up Usery and tried to work hard along the Bush highway.   I saw a few of the Two Wheel Jones folks climbing the backside.   Didn't see anyone out on the Bush on the way back to Water Users,   not a lot of folks doing the beeline loop I guess.   I snapped a picture at Water Users but got numb fingers and decided it would be best to head back and get the furnace heating my under clothed body again.

I had an interesting time climbing the back of Usery as I turned after two other guys and was making good progress on catching them when the one must have told his friend he would wait at the top for him and took off.   I soon passed his friend and the person in front of him that he passed.    From then on I would stay about 100 feet behind this bright orange figure who tortured me all the way up the hill.   I was pedally at maximum sustainability and couldn't gain on him.   We just pushed like that all the way up the hill as though he were taunting me.    Well,   after we passed the NRA pit I finally made a final push and caught him and upon saying hello I discovered it was David from Southern Arizona Randonneurs fame!  He mentioned he'd done the 300k last week and knowing I kept up with him up the hill gave me some hope.   Maybe I could have finished it.   Anyway,  we had a good chat and I asked him about his rides and how they were going and I mentioned my intention to do the Mines to Pines.    It was awesome to have run into someone I know out here,  and even a randonneur at that!   He had to wait at the top for his friend and I headed off for home.

Really funny how running into someone you know can make the ride so much better.    I may not have placed very high on the segments out on that route compared to all the racer fold but I think I did pretty good for me and am quite pleased with the results.

Royal Arch Route

Ok,  this is not technically cycling related but it does fit into the "Wanderer/Adventure"  side of Randonneuring.  This is the record of my trip around the Royal Arch Route in the Grand Canyon a few weeks back.



View from South Bass Trailhead.



Here is a brief (well ok, not so brief) report of my trip in the Grand Canyon via the Royal Arch Route.

I've had my eyes set on the Royal Arch Route for a long time. Since I was 14 actually, when I learned there was a trail in the Grand Canyon with a rappell on it. I use the word trail loosely here. There is a footpath much of the way but easy walking it is not. Last year I spent 3 rainy and snowy days in the canyon with two friends and upon learning that they would like to do another backpack trip in the canyon after that was over, well, I thought perhaps, here are two hardy fellows who wouldn't laugh me to scorn if I suggested the Royal Arch Route. They didn't, and were even enthusuastic. I realize of course that introducing two guys to canyon hiking with first, a long trip across the tonto from Grandview trail to the Kaibab trail, and then dumping them into the Royal Arch Route might not be the standard way of getting people into canyon hiking, but hey, I had waited a long time and I knew their pain tolerance was high from the first trip so it was a go!
Tues the 23rd of Oct.

We met at Jamie's house after a flurry of last minute preparation which I thought I had already taken care of. Our 5 PM departure turned into a just before 7 departure. Still, 7 PM is a lot earlier than when we left last year. We had a long way to go. I should break in here with a list of who our band consisted of. Originally we were going to number five but a few nervous wives dropped the number to three. Quite frankly it's probably not necessarily a bad thing for one of those. This was a gruelling trip. Very rewarding, but gruelling and the three of us were in pretty good shape.
Not much was open in Flagstaff at 10 PM so we snacked at Sonic and stopped for gas along Fort Valley road where we would get one of the 2 theme songs for the trip stuck in our heads. Yes, we had Bob Dylan's, "Lay Lady Lay" etched into the grey matter as the last song we heard before embarking on a 4 day Backpack trip. Dan, also got us going with Disco Inferno which he had stuck in his head most of the time as well.

I had always heard it was tough to navigate to the South Bass trailhead but honestly, if you don't muck about with entering the park and just take a left on the dirt road before the park entrance, the road takes you straight there (just about, maps are still your friend though) with a right turn made a mile or two after entering the Havasupai Indian reservation. We got to the trailhead between 1:30 and 2:00 AM with 1 truck in the lot and decided to take a "Nap" before we started the day's hike.
Wed. 24th of Oct.

Absolutely Gorgeous day. Sun was up, sky was blue. Highs in the 60's lows in upper 40's. No complaints to the weatherman this trip. Had a breakfast of Pop Tarts and then got all packed up and ready. We were on the trail before 8 and in not too long were down at the well marked trail split. The South Bass trail may not have signage like some of the other backcountry trails I have hiked but folks have setup rock paths and Cairns well to mark the junctions of the Tonto and the Apache/Royal Arch route.

Dan traversing the Esplanade.

After Caching a gallon of water (very glad we did that) I put my map in my pocket (had read lots of accounts of folks getting lost as they didn't read their map) and we started our stroll across the easy portion of the esplanade. The trail would be pretty smooth and pleasant for a canyon or two but as we approached the canyon before Montezuma point my fears of a scramble were realized as the flat portion of the Esplanade gave way to the "walk across a landslide" portion of the Esplanade. The last canyon would take us as long to cross as the previous two and then some. There were several places where we momentarily lost the trail but we never got more than 20 - 30 feet from it or burned more than a minute or two before getting back on. This section was just tediously long. The goal was to eat lunch at the east arm of Royal Arch Creek at Noon and we missed that a bit.



We made good time after rounding Montezuma point mind you, we just happened to have fatigued a bit crossing that last canyon. We had fairly nice walking back to the creek intersection but despite our best efforts it was closer to 1:30 when we got there for a well deserved lunch. Lunch made me aware that my knees were getting annoyed with me. All this scrambling was starting to cause pings of pain in my knee so I would baby it for the next bit as we hopped down the ledges of Royal Arch creek. There were side trails that meandered all over the left side of the creek to bypass a few pour offs but we opted right and got to get our hands dirty with a little scrambling and one spot where I had to take my backpack off (the front guy always has it tough as there is no one to spot him).

Dan walking down Royal Arch Creek.

We passed pools of water in the sandstone periodically which gave me reassurance. In hindsight we should have filled up at one of them but oh well, hindsight is what it is. It was a rather nice combination of walking interrupted periodically by fairly easy scrambles down pouroffs until we in late afternoon arrived at the "Impassable Pouroff" the NPS talks about in their leaflet. A lady at REI had told Dan when they went down a few weeks previously that despite their best scouting efforts they could not find the route on the right that bypassed the scary Ledge on the left. I knew that the secret was looking for the cairns 50 or 60 yards upstream from the pouroff and they were easily spotted and we got onto the easy (er) bypass on the right without so much as a pause and quickly climbed up to the next band of cliffs and arrived at the familiar "Rabbit hole" I had seen in pictures.

Dan coming through the "rabbit hole"

We passed packs through the rabbit hole and after I accidently stepped on/bent Dan's hiking pole and a quick photo op of me on the ledge (the bypass ledge, not the tippy toe one), we were off to hunt for the cairns that led you down to the bottom of the canyon. These were a bit tricky to spot but since I was looking for them we didn't miss them but if I hadn't been on the watch, it would not have looked like a way you could get down if you didn't see the little cairns.

Dan and Jamie sitting down canyon of the rabbit hole.

There is a shoulder height drop or two to a largish ledge and then a short walk back under the cliff and you then find yourself looking down a cool looking crack that takes you most of the rest of the way through the cliff band with one or two more shoulder height drops down to the talus slope, none of this is visible from above on the rabbit hole ledge though so watch for those cairns!

Paul standing on the Sissy ledge just past the Rabbit hole.

It's pretty straightforward following the cairns to the canyon floor from there.
The sun cast it's shadow on us as I waited for the others to get down and we would spend the rest of the afternoon in the deep shade of the redwall narrows of Royal Arch Creek. Somewhere in here the walk turned into a death march. This canyon went on forever! I swear it seemed like it was twice the listed mileage as we meandered through the canyon narrows scrambling over endless boulders and rocks, downclimbing periodic 20-30 ft high dry falls. Wondering what we would do for water. We did pass a fetid pool or two but the others weren't willing to drink it and we pushed on hoping to see the cairns that marked where the route left the creek so we could setup camp. Just as dusk was starting to get serious we found a spot which coincidentally was that last camping spot before those cairns but we did not know it until we had dropped the packs and I looked ahead and saw a trail up on the canyon wall on the right a few hundred yards down canyon.

Jamie in the "Crack"  below the sissy ledge.

Since we had enough water to make dinner I suggested we get water in the morning on the way to the arch and then eat breakfast when we got back from the Arch. This was agreed upon with very little dissent as everyone was footsore and just wanted to climb into bed and lie in misery after consuming a quick meal.

Dan descending a waterfall in the Redwall Narrows of Royal Arch Creek.

Among the boulders there were patches of sand large enough for a sleeping bag or two here and there so we were seperated by 5-10 feet and Dan managed to find a tent sized patch over a largish boulder and down 10ft from where I was at. I was able to hang my hammock off a boulder and my walking sticks.
It was a gorgeous night. The few times I woke up I just stared at the brilliant stars until I could get sleepy again. Within the band of sky visible between the tall canyon walls (after the moon set of course) I could see 6 of the Pleaides quite clearly as well as make out the orion nebula as I rocked gently in the evening breeze in my hammock.

Thurs 25th October

We managed to get behind on our schedule on Thursday. Of course, this trip was slower going than originally expected but I had confidence we could still finish it in the 4 days alloted. First order of business was of course water. I scarfed a pop tart and each of us gingerly made our way down the canyon to water and not too far further, Royal Arch itself.
Being semi-fresh after a 11-12 hour sleep, the morning's hike did seem to go a little faster than the previous evening's death march. We very thankfully did hit the spring that feeds Elves Chasm at around 45 minutes of walking down canyon. We sat down and filtered and drank, and filtered and drank some more, and filled all the bottles full of water.



Dan and Jamie in Royal Arch Creek just below the spring.



The Arch of course was magnificent but I can see how people could walk right under it and not see it as the best view is from down canyon where things open up a bit and let you get a nice view of it. It towers over head and right next to it is a massive monument which has the unfortunate conincedence of being located next to the largest arch in the Grand Canyon so it really doesn't get any of it's own top billing though it is a rather impressive spectacle itself. The area from the spring down to the arch/natural bridge is one of the most beautiful stretches of the trip. Theres just something relaxing and energizing about gurgling water and creekside foliage and hanging gardens.

Monument below Royal Arch

Oh, I forgot to mention, scrambling over boulders in this section I split 1 of my two pairs of pants on this trip wide open. Yes, the long hours of sliding down boulders on my butt on day 1 had taken it's toll on my backpacking pants. I was happy Dan decided to go pickup his sewing kit before we left when I asked him about it (mental note to self, toss a sewing kit in the backpack). Fortunately, there was not a soul in this part of the canyon. We would actually not see anyone until day 3 and that was a few souls from a river party.

Dan and Jamie under Royal Arch

At camp I heated up my scrambled eggs and thoroughly enjoyed them. By the time all was said and done we didn't get out of camp until around 11. Garnet canyon was pretty much a no go at that point and we decided we'd just camp at Toltec beach below the rappell. That would take a lot of stress off of day 2 and allow us some recovery sort of.
Climbing out of Royal Arch Creek was interesting. THere was quite a bit of exposure, which we were not new to of course, having completed day 1. The path wandered among rocks and slopes on a ledge high up on the canyon wall as it worked it's way over to a slope above the tapeats by Elves Chasm. When out on the slope, after getting out into the sun we almost stepped on a Rattlesnake which warned us he was there and then quickly moved off into the brush. Glad I didn't step on him. He was about 4 feet long and a pretty impressive looking snake.



Rattlesnake



We hit the rappell later in the afternoon and took our time negotiating it. I made everyone wear a backup chest coil belay, using the rope we had brought, in case the primary rope or harness failed. This worked pretty good. It was a bit of a safety ninny measure I'll allow but this would be a very bad place for an accident. Not a lot of rescue options.
We had a few more shoulder height drops to get down to the talus slope from the base of the rappell and then we were on our way to the bottom. Dan lagged in here for some reason which I can't remember. Jamie and I cruised on down to the beach and dropped the packs and started getting lunch out.
After a late lunch we hung the food up and decided we would make a go of seeing Elves Chasm before dark as it was 4 PM and a 1.5 mile walk to the Chasm. 1.5 miles of scrambling mind you, not normal walking. We ended up doing it in aound 50 minutes there and pretty much the same on the way back. It was interesting walking in places where bits of the vishnu Schist and Zoraster Granite popped up into the strata to make things interesting and add variety to the journey and give you a break from the sharp rocks that were otherwise the norm.

Waterfall in Elves Chasm

Elves is in the top 10 of prettiest places I have been. Partly because it is such a chore to get there which makes for a ready soul once one arrives. The pink rock and the hanging gardens next to the cascading waterfalls and travertine is just beautiful and to see it in the early evening was just a perfect time of day for it. The pools were tinted turquise and reminded me a little of havasupai. I tried to wade in past my knees but the water was frigid. I managed to snap a nice picture of it before we headed back to camp.
Back at camp dark set pretty quickly but we had a much better evening as everyone was not at the point of collapse this night and good conversation and sewing projects ensued. We also discovered the mice of the beach were not very timid and had no qualms about searching packs while being watched. Fortunately we hung the food up. Unfortunately the branch of the tamarisk bush holding my food snapped during the night and the mice would get a a good portion of my wheat tortilla's. Still there was plently left after I ripped off the part the mice had got and stored the unspoiled portion in another ziplock baggie.
It was another beautiful starfilled night in the hammock by the colorado. So glad I didn't leave the hammock behind on this trip. Between boulders and my Walking sticks I really didn't need any trees and not having to sleep on the ground was very nice for an aching body.

Hiking poles and a boulder make great hammock anchors.

Fri 26th Oct

The hopes of finally getting to a trail that offered some semblence of a walking surface was a big motivator on Friday. We got off fairly early so as to keep options open, and we would need them. In the section between Toltec and Garnet (which seemed to take forever) we ran into a few river runners that had hiked up to the trail to check out a rock with fossils on it sitting by a salt encrusted pool of water. We didn't stop long. I had hung some of the underwear I had washed that morning on my pack to dry and had I been thinking about it I would have stowed it before we got to this spot. People probably thought I was weird.

Anyway, we wandered along above the river on the small footpath that went around and over every large boulder in the way, and slowly climbed up to the base of the Tapeats by the time we finally got to Garnet canyon. There wasn't much in Garnet. I'm kind of glad we camped at Toltec. in fact, were I to do it again I think I would do it the same way.

The climb up onto the Tonto was interesting as we climbed the shoulder high ledges just at the top of the cliff layer that had to be conquered to gain the tonto Platform. Once on the platform we did in fact have a trail which gave us some mighty fine walking. No more scrambling over boulders and such, mostly nice walking with a few spots of exposure for good measure.

Dan and Jamie at the extreme west end of the Tonto above Garnet Canyon

I remembered folks tend to mistake other canyons the tonto meanders through for Copper canyon before getting to it so we did not fall for that. We were looking for pools of water as we had decided not to hike down to the Colorado for that night's camp and in fact were even considering Copper Canyon. We found a pool but the filter which we had broken that morning was unfixable and we decided to move on to something without mosquito larva in it.
We hit Copper Canyon about an hour before dark and one went upstream and two of us went down in the search for waterpockets. I took my bottles plus 2 garbage bags and about 30 minutes down the creek at the edge of the inner Gorge I found a nice set of pools with good size frogs in them. I filled my bottles and scooped 3 or 4 gallons of beautiful brown water into my garbage bags and was just getting ready to head back when Jamie found me. Since he was quite a bit more spry at this point (he's a personal trainer) I let him carry the garbage bag.
We found a nice spot to camp just above the trail and setup for the night and I pigged out on everything resembling dinner in my pack, since it was the last night after all.

Incidentally, Dan didn't find any water upstream, but lots of copper/turquisish colored rocks he tells us.
That night I got to use a combination of a boulder and a tree and the walking poles to hang the hammoc and it worked pretty good. The foam pad I put under me sure kept me nice and warm. Another night of brilliant stars after the moon sunk behind the redwall.

Sat 27th
Final day in the canyon. Beautiful morning. All we had to do was walk out of Copper canyon and up the South Bass, sounds easy no? In all fairness, compared to the preceding days, the last day was a walk in the park by every definition of the word, pun intended.
Tonto was good walking back to the South Bass trail and the South Bass was wonderful. Temps were absolutely perfect and the shade in Bass Canyon was much appreciated when we got there. Our goal was to eat lunch at the water cache on the Esplanade.
We spent the remainder of the morning working our way up through the redwall. In the redwall we ran into the only other people we would see in the four days. A group of hikers that originally were going to do the Royal Arch route but due to car issues had to alter their plan and were heading towards Copper Canyon that night and were appreciative of our news of water down canyon.

Good conversation was had most of the way up. Dan fell behind a bit in the last section but we waited for him where the trail topped the Esplanade and once we were all back together made short work of returning to the point we had been 3 days earlier stashing water. We hit it around 2.

I have to say the Peanut Butter, Jelly, and wheat tortillas (what was left of them) really hit the spot. Fresh water was nice too. Not that iodine water isn't the tastiest but cool clear water is always appreciated in the desert any time of year.

Dan said we could go ahead in the last section if we wanted to and Jamie and I managed to cover the last 1.7 miles in 45 minutes. Dan came trooping into the parking lot 30 minutes later. There were quite a few more vehicles in the lot this time around. After a bit of freshening up and stowing the gear we were off for Flagstaff and a giant dinner at La Fonda!