"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed."
- Mohandas Gandhi

Canyoneers:

Larry The Mountain Man

Dingo Dog

El Lobo H. Grande

The Sycamore Canyon Wilderness, close to Sedona is relatively unknown and seldom visited. The defining feature is the canyon itself, which cuts through the Mogollon Rim, and winds for more than 20 miles. There are dozens of place names in Arizona containing the word sycamore, and when you find these places you find their name sake tree, the ghostly, pale barked Arizona Sycamore.

We chose to "cowboy up" and hike the remote, obscure, 11 mile(r/t) Dogie trail, where back in it's day, cowboys drove cattle through this spectacular Wilderness. 

"Dogie" is cowboy for a motherless calf. 

We caught magnificent views of sandstone ramparts and had a nice lunch at the junction with the Sycamore Basin Trail. The Dogie dips in and out of many drainages . Cottonwoods and willows lined the banks of a very dry Sycamore Creek. Little wildlife, were out in the heat of the day, only a couple of King Snakes.

We hiked for about 6 hours and ended it with our traditional camp chair/cerveza ritual at the trailhead. The back road (525C) to the trailhead requires a high clearance vehicle.

Our plans include returning for a winter backpack skirting the entire Wilderness.

BEAUTIFUL BLOOMS

LARRY THE MOUNTAIN MAN & DINGO LITTLE DOGGIE ON THE TRAIL SYCAMORE WILDERNESS

 

 

RED ROCK SANDSTONE FORMATIONS

 

QUITE A VARIETY OF WILDFLOWERS

CAN YOU IDENTIFY THESE WILDFLOWERS? OF COURSE LOBO CAN, BECAUSE HE IS A WORLD FAMOUS GUIDE.

 

 

MEN BEHAVING BADLY: (NOW THIS IS FUNNY! I DON'T CARE WHO YOU ARE!")

-DINGO FOR CALLING THE NATURE LOVING LOBO A "QUEER" BECAUSE THE SENSITIVE WOLF WAS ENJOYING THE DESERT WILDFLOWERS AND BUTTERFLIES.

-LORENZO FOR MISSING THIS TRIP AND SNEAKING OFF TO MEXICO WITH SECRET HIS PAL TONY. (NOTE IT IS RUMORED THAT ZO HAS A MEXICAN GIRL FRIEND IN SAN CARLOS THAT DOES NOT EXACTLY PUSH HERSELF AWAY FROM THE COMIDA.  LORENZO HAS HIRED A RODEO CLOWN TO DISTRACT HER WHEN HE BRINGS GROCERIES BACK TO THE CONDO.)

-MOUNTAIN MAN -LARRY, THE EASTERN LIBERAL FOR TORMENTING AND NEEDLING  DINGO  (OF THE JOHN BIRCH SOCIETY) THE WHOLE TRIP, " REPEATING  "ITS HARD WORK" "LET GET ER DONE"

-LOBO FOR SINGING  "GET ALONG LITTLE DOGGIE' FOR 3 MILES AND THEN "A PONY NAMED WILDFIRE" FOR 7  

-LOBO FOR HAVING CONSTANT ANXIETY ABOUT MISSING THE CELTICS/HAWKS GAME AND THEN HALUCINATING, HAVING A VISION JOE JOHNSON'S FACE IN A ROCK FORMATION.

-DINGO FOR TALKING SMACK ABOUT JUAN DA JACKAL'S  BAD, INCONSIDERATE  PRACTICE OF PROLIFIC TRAIL FARTING WHILE RIPPING THEM HIMSELF, ALL DAY.

-DINGO WHO ALWAYS WANTS TO GO EXPLORING AND PUT IN MORE UNNECESSARY MILAGE AND THEN COMPLAINED ABOUT THE LONG UPHILL HIKE  THE WHOLE WAY BACK.

-THE TRES AMIGOS FOR WOLFING DOWN HUGE PORTIONS OF  MEXICAN FOOD IN COTTONWOOD AND THEN WASHING IT DOWN WITH A PITCHER OF MARGARITAS.