Nebraska & Kansas

Nebrask is not boring!!!When you think of adventures you do not often include the midwest-HoweverGerand I had a great long weekend in the heart of the USA.We spent 2 days at the Arbor Day farm in Nebraska city. The Lied ConferenceCenter is a beautiful state of the art environmentally friendly structure.The National Arbor day foundation is dedicated to tree planting andenvironmental stewardship.The Arbor day farm is a National Historic Landmark and it's grounds includearboretums, windbreaks, agroforestry demo area, apple orchards, hazlenutresearch field, and a fuelwood plantation. This is a virtual forrest inthemiddle of the prairie!On Sunday morning I had a beautiful run in the sunshine through thecornfields.ANOTHER STATE BITES THE DUSTEl Lobo added Kansas to his lifetime lists of states. Three more left-NDakota/Teddy Roosevelt National Park scheduled in late August and SouthCarolina, Arkansas to be scheduled."Goin to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come""They got some crazy little women there and I'm going to get me one" Wilbur Harrisson1958On our way to Kansa City Missouri we stopped in Laurence and toured the KUcampus. We went to the arena where Wilt and JO JO played. It's animpressivecampus with many architectually interesting buildings. Great little collegetown.In Kansa city we visited the Negro leagues Baseball Hall of Fame museum inthe historic section at 18th and Vine. This museum is of the Smithsoniancaliber-World Class. EL Lobo is addicted to all souveneir shops and treatedhimself to an Atlanta Black Crackers baseball hat.The Nego leagues history and exhibits are a moving experience. Theseplayersendured incredable hardship in segregated America.We also visited the Jazz hall of Fame -it's OK, worth seeing.Kansas City Jazz clubs are legendary and we were fortunate to be thereduringthe Jazz festival. We loved the music and the junk food-barbeque, cajunetc.El Lobo enjoyed 3 oilcans of Fosters and spilled barbeque sauce all overhisshorts and shirt. Even El Lobo was slightly embarassed to be walking aroundpretty like that. Gerry of course was thoroughly disgusted.On Monday morning Ger headed to a meeting in Washington at the White houseand I headed back for Phoenix.

Buzzard's Highline Route

On Friday Dan Shapiro, (proud father of a new baby boy-Cole) Mooseman andLobo headed north for Lee's Ferry. We arrived close to noon and went downCathedral Wash a couple of miles to the river and had our lunch on thebeach. This is an easy river route with only a couple of pour offs thatrequire some negotiation. We also hiked up to Lonely Dell Ranch close tothe Paria River and to the Lee's Ferry cemetery. This area is rich inhistory and trout fishing in this part of the Colorado is world class dueto the cold water from the Glen Canyon Dam.Later we hooked up with Bob Audretsch and Bruce MCintyre at the MarbleCanyon Lodge for some pre trip planning. The Marble Canyon Lodge has anexcellent selection of books on the Southwest and the Grand Canyon andseveral were purchased for home libraries.We met an NP young fella that was tracking condors. There were two nestedclose to Navajo bridge. There are thirty-four in this area.We then took headed for the backroads on Navajo land and camped on a bluffoverlooking the Colorado across the River from Lee's Ferry.Lobo spent a sleepless evening within the confines of his bivy sack. A loudowl, the full moon, and foul smells assisted the insomnia. We rose at 4:30A.M. and drove Dan's vehicle on a very bad road requiring four wheel drive,in the dark to the start of the CCC route.We started up the Echo Cliffs with headlamps. It took a while to find theill defined route but thanks to some excellent navigation skills providedby various members of the group we were able to locate the passage. Thisroute was constructed by Civilian Conservation Corps workmen during the30s. It apparently was built so that the Navajos could more easily movetheir livestock to the bottom lands at Lee's Ferry.Cresting the Echo Cliffs we enjoyed extraordinary views of the VermilionCliffs, Marble Canyon and the snow capped North Rim of the Grand Canyon.Our plans were to hook up with Buzzard's Highline trail on the South andeast sides of the Echo peaks and then travel down a long sand slope back tothe river and follow the Stanton Road back to the cars. The onlydocumentation we could find on Buzzard's Highline reported that the routeis extremely faint and difficult to follow, consequently not recommendedfor hikers. Apparently this route was used infrequently by white men cominginto Lee's Ferry in the early 1900s.The group had much difficulty locating the Buzzard's Highline connectionbut again excellent navigation, provided primarily by the Mooseman got uson the route.Along the way we observed a very large bird on the top of one of EchoPeaks. There was much discussion as to whether it was an eagle or condor.After observing it's flight it was generally agreed that it was an eagle.The East side provided views of Glen Canyon, Lake Powell and the smokestacks of that nasty coal burning Navajo plant.When we crossed the ridge and got our first view of Lee's Ferry there was alarge pile of stones A battle between Navajos and Utes happened here.Subsequently, Navajos that passed through would throw a rock on the pile.The descent down the sand dunes was fun and we enjoyed fantastic riverviews up Glen Canyon. The rest of the trip was high above the river, apersonal favorite hiking position of El Lobo's.The Mooseman and Lobo walked an additional couple of mile while the rest ofthe group took a vehicle to retrieve Dan's shuttled vehicle. This ran themileage to about ten miles.Cervezas were at the car and we also stopped back at Marble Canyon Lodgefor a group beer.Dan, road warrior extraordinary got us home by 10:00 P.M. Thanks to Dan fordriving and to Bob Audretsch for organizing the trip.Men Behaving BadlyAll, I will spare the details.LoboWhen relating crude details of the trip to his son Jake, Dean Coreyrequested that El Lobo:"Eleminate the tone, and still remain informal and fun." ???????????Sunday evening Gerry and I enjoyed a superb gourmet candlelight dinner(steak, scallops, wine and carrot cake) hosted by the Sheas in their desertcampsite. We had a lot of fun observing the stars with Bob's new telescopeas coyotes yipped in the distance.Life is good.

Idaho Oregon Eagle Cap Wilderness

I am not writing the trip report. "Tooth" (Sawtooth) and "Teet" (Tetons) myIdaho backpacking companions were tasked with that responsibility. They arelate and as a result have both been issued demerits by Lobo. (Monikersbestowed by El Lobo)They will eventually get around to writing it. Last year's River of NoReturn trip report came six months later. When it does arrive, El Loboexpects to get massacred in the Men Behaving Badly Section.I will provide some preliminary information.On the way to Oregon I met the boy's cousins in Idaho at every stop alongthe way. They were all named Cletus or Jethro. Their neck's were all ashade of red.The concept of backpacking light has apparently not yet reached Idaho. Theboys started out from the West Eagle trailhead carrying sidearms, 2 sixpacks of tecate, as well as bottles of tequila, rum and brandy. To ensurethat they had enough nourishment they packed close to five pounds ofshelled peanuts and kit kat bars. Each pack weighed at least 70 lbs, justright for a 3000' climb over 55 switchbacks to Echo and Traverse Lakes.The Eagle Cap is Oregon's largest Wilderness, an area of alpine lakes andmeadows, steep glaciered valleys. I found it topographically similar to theDesolation Wilderness in Northern California.After one night's stay in hail and rain flurries, Traverse Lake wasabandoned in favor of warmer weather. We packed out and headed for thedeepest gorge in North America-Hell's Canyon.This also gave us theopportunity to pick up more beer and tequila.In the Hell's Canyon Wilderness we did a fifteen mile loop that involvedCanyoneering down Mcgraw Creek. Wildlife appeared everywhere. At one pointa prairie rattler scooted over El Lobo's boot. We saw numerous othersnakes and a plethora of bear scat.That evening in camp we celebrated our Hell's Canyon survival with a feastof junk food and straight shots of tequila. With a quarter of the bottleleft, one of the party drained it, let out an Apache war scream andshamelessly tossed it into the Snake River. Later, while sleeping,(passedout) a skunk came into camp and got into the garbage that was not hung up.This gives you the flavor of the trip. It was great fun and very badbehavior. A detailed report will be forwarded at a later date.SequelTonight Gerry and I attended a lecture given by Robert Kennedy Jr. at ASUas part of the Jonathan & Maxine Marshall distinguished lecture series. Youmay have heard of the John Marshall Wilderness in Montana.RFK Jr. has been a resolute defender of the environment and was quiteimpressive.My kind of guy!He is responsible for a litany of successful legal actions, includingprosecuting governments and companies for polluting the Hudson River andLong Island Sound.He has worked on environmental issues across the Americas and has assistedseveral indigenous tribes in Latin America and Canada in negotiatingtreaties protecting their traditional homelands He also is credited withleading the fight to protect New York City's water supply. He establishedthe "River Keepers" and has provided legal representation for poorfishermen, against the nation's most notorious corporate polluters. Heappears to be much like his father, always fighting for the down trodden.During the lecture El Lobo reflected on the ugly tequila bottle incidentand hung his head.

Horsetail Falls Desolation Wilderness

Subject: Horsetail Falls/Desolation Wilderness trip report (Embedded image moved to file: pic24482.jpg)Fellow Veteran Cosmic Travelers,In documenting the adventures of a well travelled Lobo, my trip reportshavehad the same theme whenever Gerry is not my companion:-We climb-We do adventure-We pass wind-We drink beer-WE ARE MEN-WE ARE STUDSWhen Gerry is along the report usually reflects the beauty, serenity, andsimplicity of our original natural environment or the cultural andartisticwonders of our civilization.The female gender is clearly the more healthy of our species.This trip includes all the macho aspects of adventure but I will try tofocuson the raw and dramatic Wilderness-Desolation Wilderness.Desolation Wilderness lies above the jewel of the Sierras-Lake Tahoe. Youcanfind over 130 Alpine lakes packed into 100 miles of mountain scenery. ThePacific Crest trail crosses the heart of this granatic rock environmentthatincorporates the best features found in the high Sierra. As much time as Ihave spent in this compact Wonderland, I have yet to visit all the lakes.My old friend and roomate Hannu Haarma picked me up from the train stationin Hillsdale after work on Friday. I used to commute to the city on Caltrainand was delighted to see that the old mean witch of a train was still onthe5:40.Hannu is a champion orienteer and we were able to find our way to theRoseville residence of friend James Cabanas with whom I had shared a GrandCanyon adventure last week.That evening we went to the great eating establishment of ex 49er DannyBunz-"The Tackle", referring to his famous tackle in the Cincinnati SuperBowl. Pitchers of Sierra Nevadas were liberally shared.The next morning we started up a steeply slabbed trail to Horsetail Fall,roaring as it plunged 100 feet into a pool. The route was basically crosscountry, boulder hopping 1700 ft up to Avalanche lake. We then climbed toPitt and Ropi lakes.James had backpacked into this area the past summer. This is the quickestaccess into the Desolation Wilderness.The temperature was unseasonably warm, you could have spent the day on thebeach at Tahoe.This hike is rated a 9.5. It was a refreshing change from the harsh GrandCanyon habitat.The afternoon was spent at Apple Hill and El Dorado wine country.We alsotook a tour of our property and both James and Hannu agreed that weshouldbuild at the top of the lot and take advantage of the Majestic SierraNevadaview. We startled several small deer that were bedded down in the tallgrass.We stayed at James's beautiful new home that night and returned to theEastBay the next afternoon for a flight out of Oakland. Ger and Lucy picked meup at the airport and we arrived home in time for the trick or treatersthatnever came.Next weekend- Ger and I will take in Lake Quinalt and Kaloch Lodges-OlympicNational Park Washington and Vancouver Island/Victoria before returning toSeattle for the week.

Hannu & Barking

This trip got off to a delayed start, due to our hometown airline (AW)havingone of their mission critical systems down for 12 hours on Thursday. It wastotal caos at the airport, all flights were cancelled and over 1000 peoplespent the night enjoying the Phoenix airport. I was supposed to interview agentlemen in San Francisco whom had flown in that afternoon. I missed him,he spent the night in a nice hotel and enjoyed a great fish dinner-all onAmerican Golf.I was able to get out the next morning and met my old buddy Rey Javier fromWorldCom for lunch at the M&M taven and Grill. It was great seeing Rey andpaying for his lunch.That evening I took Cal train down the penninsula and met my friend HannuHaarma. Beer and popcorn made for a more enjoyable train ride. We had aniceevening at the Elephant Bar & Grill in Burlingame.The 30 oz. Sierra Nevadas that Hannu poured down me put me to sleep overtheSan Mateo bridge while the great orienteer guided us home to San Ramone.The next morning we picked up my old friend and roomate Eric Redmond inHalfMoon Bay and drove the coast to Santa Cruz and stopped at Niesen Mark statepark for a 13 mile hike in the Redwoods. This is a beautiful park. We hikedto a spot where we had excellent views of Monterey Bay.After returning to the Redmond Estate we were treated to San Miguel beersandsnacks. Joal Redmond recommended Ketch Joann's casual (hole in the wall)seafront restaraunt and we were quite pleased with her recommendation. Thefood and atmosphere was excellent. It was a fun place; however not everyone in the restaraunt wanted to have fun:For some reason, one of the waitresses objected to my mode ofcommunicationsand lectured me on the rudeness of a barking gesture.When I explained to her that it was a friendly bark and that barking was anexcellent way to communicate she again repeated '"you know that a barkinggesture is rude".I then explained to her that we should all respect other species besidesthehuman species and their mode of communications. She again repeated thatbarking is a rude communications gesture. My only option at this point wastoalso get on my high horse and explain that good customer service andpracticing tolerance meant acceptance of a customer that barked. She heldfast. Another waitress intervened and said that she would be delighted toserve barking customers. Sooo we continued to try to have fun when anotheruptight lady in the booth next to us leaned over and interupted Hannu'srapiddescription of the scenery on Venice beach with "Sir, you are very loud andscaring my little boy"! The little spoiled brat didn't look scared to me?Hannu is a gentle soul, how could he scare anyone?In spite of these rude people's behavior we had a great dinner and numerousNegro Modello cervezas.Hannu again navigated us over the bridge to safety.

Great Basin National Park

This latest trip started and finished stressfully, however the quality inbetween was superb!!!Dealing with some serious work crisis and my Bosses boss caused me to makeamad dash from North Phoenix to pick up Ger in Tempe and make it to theairportin a 1/2 hour in order to make our Friday afternoon flight to Las Vegas.Fortunately the plane was late so we made it to the gate 5 minutes beforetakeoff. I was still on my cellular working when we were on the runway andpicked it back up at the LV airport upon arrival.We drove 4 1/2 hours to Baker Nv on Friday night and stayed at the BorderInnfor $29.00. The Border Inn is a nice little slice of life. I loved theplace!!On Saturday we hiked in Great Basin NP to a couple of alpine lakes and aglacier(actually an icefield) and to the Bristlecone pine forrest. Bristleconesarethe oldest living things on earth, reaching more than 6,000 years. TheWheelericefield is the only permanent icefield in the Great Basin region betweentheSierras and Wasatchmountains. This was a very nice hike.Great Basin NP is the least frequented park in the system and is truly aremarkablegem. It is over 300 miles from the closest major airport in LV or SaltLake.Baker is a state of mind when things were simpler, it is in a time warp. Ithasn't changed much since it was founded in the 1880s. It has unusualartworkall about.In the afternoon we visited Lehman caves, paleing in comparison to Carlsbadbut was still worth touring.The Mt. Moriah Wilderness is just North of Great Basin. We did not get upthere but I understand that this is one fine Wilderness to find yourselfallalone in large Aspen groves.We had a fun dinner at one of Baker's 2 cafes, retired early and then gotupat firstlight to start up 13,063 foot Mt. Wheeler. This was a fantastic hike,starting in meadows we saw many deer and quickly ascended above 3 alpinelakes. This is a 4.2 mile trail climbing from 10,000 to 13,000. It wasquiteeasy with the exception of the last mile that was quite steep. There wasstilla lot of snow on the mountain but we did not have to hike in much of it.Infact it snowed here three weeks ago. The sun was very intense on top. Theviews were panoramic covering some of the prettiest scenery that you willeverlay your eyes on. We started down at 9:15 which was fortunate asThunderheadsrolled in shortly after and chased us down the mountain in the rain.This was really a special hike for me. Tto complete Wheeler NM and WheelerNVon successive weekends and to be able to return to the Nevada high desertthatI love really made it worthwhile.The road back to LV turned out to be a lot more stressful than the hike.I turned the wheel over to Gerry in Caliente (hot) famous for its boysreformschool- to catch a little shuteye and within 10 minutes she managed toattractthe rador of the Nevada Highway patrol while she was passing another carthatwas also speeding. After retrieving a whopping $270 ticket -98 in a 70zone-Lobo took back the wheel. Next, instead of getting gas like I usually do Ideferred to the gas gage that read 1/2 and my wife's insistance that wehadplenty of gas. Just as we passed the sign that read no services for 93milesthe gas gage took a plunge much like my stock at work this week, andregistered at 1/8 of a tank. It was over a 100 out and we coasted into N LVonfumes with the out of gas alarm giving me its third and final warning.I found all this a little stressful. So life decided to really give me thebusiness by having me wait in line at the Flamingo Hilton for over an hourtoregister for our HotelThe tense, crowded, noisy LV hotel Casino was just what I needed - quite arefreshing change from the contrast of Baker Nevada and the serenity ofGreatBasin.We did walk to NYNY and have dinner. A lot of overweight middle aged folks-Just like us- Guys in Tank tops and mamas in hot pants. Nice!!!! The showmustgo on. Too bad we had to get up early the next morning so I could make itintowork on time at my LV site. We missed Siegried and Roy!!!!It rained so hard that night that flash floods flooded our building andbrought down much of our equipment. I really like my job!!!!On our flight home this evening AW lost some reservation files and since wewere "ticketless" we almost did not get on the flight. Being a Masterfrequentflyer is the only thing that saved us as they had cancelled 2 previousflights. AW blamed their computer problems on the thunderstorms-just sweptaway their reservation files-Amazing!!!Another adventure bites the dust.

Boundary Waters & Anza Borenga

I did take a weekend with my good friend Bob Shea and snowshoe backpackintothe boundary waters bordering Minnesota and Canada. The weather was quitewarm, it only got to a few degrees below zero. We slept on an iced overlakeand if it were not for the Muklluks I purchased in Ely, my feet would havefrozen.We did see a couple of Mushers with their dog teams. Also had theopportunity to visit the International Wolf Center in Ely. This was veryeducational and a first class operation comporable to the Arizona DesertSonoran museum in Tuscon. They hadfour wolves born in captivity on a couple of acres. They feed the wolvesroadkill deer.We also drove the coast of Lake Superior and spent some time in Duluth. AllinAll ,a great little adventure.Gerry and I took four days and went to San Diego. The weather was not greatbut we did get in the zoo and had a nice valentine's dinner on Coronadoisland. On route we stopped at Anza Borenga desert state park and took ahike.This is a beautiful state park and highly recommended.We spotted a lone bighorn sheep on the ridgeline and watched it for closetoan hour. Later we sighted a group of 18 bighorns so it was a nice additiontothe beautiful streams and natural palms that we hiked to. On the way backwevisited Joshua tree National Park and enjoyed a short dayhike.

Hell's Canyon-Devil's Wilderness

Hell's Canyon/& Devils Wilderness Hi Gang,Just returned from an outstanding wilderness adventure in Idaho.I met friend and companion, Eric Redmond in San Francisco and we flew intoBoise late Thursday evening. My old friend, Hillbilly Steve Otoole pickedusup at the airport and we finished charting our trip around 2:00 A.M.The drive to the Wilderness was really pretty follwing the Payette river agood portion of the way. Idaho is an undiscovered paradise and property isstill very reasonable.There isn't a lot of diversity in Idaho and we ran into quite a few guys bythe name of "Clem". but you can't have it all.The hiking book stated that the 7 Devils can create their own weather asstorms sweep off the Oregon side of Hells Canyon and recirculate over thepinnacled mountains. The devils ("He Devil, She Devil, Devils Tooth, TheOgre, The Goblin, Tower of Babel, Devil's Throne) were at work when westarted out. We battled a hail storm with dime size stones pelloting usgoinguphill in the wind. The loop chosen, had quite a bit of elevation gain andloss and we knw we were in for a fun day. We treked along with intermittantblasts of rain and Hail to Basin lake and hurriedly set up camp. The viewswere fantastic along the way in spite of the limited visibility. We ranintothree wild horses on a ridge and a very large Blue Grouse.Good weather held up long enough for us to get settled and eat before itstarted raining again. It rained heavily all night and the rain turned towetsnow the next morning. Fortunately everyone was prepared and had the rightgear and clothing and were able to keep somewhat dry. We did take some riskwith a 6 mile side trip to Dry Diggins lookout tower for a spectacularviewof Hell's Canyon.(8000 Foot drop) The Devils allowed sunshine to breakthrough so we could feast our eyes on the Canyon.The following day was dry most of the day and we fished one of the lakes.On the way out we ran into an ornery mule packer that ordered us off thetrail. El Lobo politely mentioned to this fellow that he should put hismuleswhere the sun don't shine. I think this guy was one of those Deliverancetypes.After this ugly incident a large rainbow covered the skyline and liftedourspirits as we trudged uphill and passed wind in the intermittant rain andsleet.Overall this trip is rated a solid 9.9. - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED -The terrainisrugged but offers nice views and a lake or stream to camp at each night. Ireally enjoyed myself in spite of the weather adventure and spendingeveningsin a small tent with a foull smelling Idaho mountain man! This tells youhowgreat this area is.On the way back we stopped at McCall resort area and broke the world'srecordof Mexican food and margarita consumption.

Back to the Canyon Phantom Creek

: Back to the Canyon-The Endless Bummer "To know the Canyon is to love it? Not necessarily. Crawling up the TannerTrail some moonlight night in August, without food or water, you will hatethe Canyon. That pale rim, so far above, higher than five Empire StateBuildings piled one upon another, seems inaccessable as heaven, remote assalvation. But if you survive...Who could ask for a finer place than our Canyon to taste life deeply byrisking life?By Hanging over the edge? Edward Abbey, 1982, Down theRiverGrand Canyon Trip Plan-Phantom Ranch, Utah Flats, Phantom Creek, PhantomRanch, Indian Gardens-out.Trip Actual-Phantom Ranch-OutGroup-Steve Y, El Lobo, Frank, Dianne and Lynn.Hola amigos,Que onda?Cómo estaba su fin de semana? El mio, estaba un poco tibio.Yesterday at Phantom Ranch it was 102 in the shade. The previous eveningthe ranch area was crawling with the ORDER Scorpionida. The unseasonableheat brought out these nocturnal predators. (What Global warming?)Dingo Dan had reported that his friend Drewsky's sister had been stungthree times two weeks ago at the Ranch. I thought that Dingo was againtelling one of his whoppers. Wrong!After enjoying a couple of ice cold Bud's at the canteen, EL Lobo'sflashlight found Centuroides exilicauda all along the path back to thecampsite. His decision to not carry down a tent and to sleep under thestars weighed heavily on his mind. He knew he would be their prey thatnight. He finally went to sleep but woke up to find one of these crittersfull of neurotoxins crawling on his bag. The large harvest moon allowedimmediate eye contact. The venomous attack was successfully thwarted. Atthis point Lobo decided to forget the much needed sleep and post himself asguard all night. Morning came quickly as Steve got up at 4:00 to get readyfor a 5:00 breakfast.The previous day, we drove to the canyon and started down the all toofamiliar and boring Kaibab trail at 10:30. While having lunch on thetrail, a big horn sheep cautiously scooted past us. Seeing this magnificentcreature on such a heavily used trail seemed extraordinary.Halfway down, Steve and I elected to find the old lower Miner's trail andsent the other three members of the party down the Kaibab. Hacía caluroso!!We had difficulty finding the route and burned up a lot of time and water.After descending a steep 500' we lost the route. This left us totallyexposed to the sun with little water, so we made the decision to cut ourlosses and go back up. This drained us physically, and when we finallyarrived at the ranch we were just a bit dehydrated and extremely pleased tocross Bright Angel Creek to the campground.Diane and Lynn brought back iced lemonade from the Ranch and it was superb!They were very close to reporting our absence to the Park Ranger.That afternoon we saw a desert fox slowly meandering through the bush. Verycool! Steve was able to get us into the shower for the cabins and we wererefreshed and good to go for the next day's climb up to Utah Flats.We got an early start the next morning in an effort to avoid as much of thedeadly heat as possible. The climb up to the flats is steep and the lowerpart is nothing but scree. We had not climbed too far when Lynn exclaimed"No F%$*ing way!" and asked Steve for his car keys and wished to notparticipate in this fun. Steve held a quick meeting and it was decided ifone went back then we all would go back. El Lobo was all OK with this inconsideration of all factors. I certainly could forego the pain.On the way down, the weight of Lynn's pack was too much and she took anasty fall and was in a precarious position. Steve attempted to help herbut also slipped on the scree and somersaulted into Lynn and they both camewithin inches of going over a a large boulder. The rest of the party wasable to carefully assist and we all got back down OK.Steve and Lynn were bruised and cut, but no broken bones. We were lucky.After administering the proper first aid, the group headed back to the rimvia the Bright Angel Trail. It was a long, hot arduous 4500' climb that weall grinded out. Both Steve and I have come out on this trail so many timesthat it's familiarity makes us loco.We showered at the top and finished the four hour drive to my house around6:30. A long day. When we arrived at Lobo's den, Lobo discovered that hisbag of changed clothing and other good stuff was missing. It was left atthe shower. Estúpido!Some days go better than others. The Canyon is always tough. Some canyontrips are more painful than others. Some are actually enjoyable. It's beena while.Overall this trip is rated a 7.0 High marks go for cold beer at theranch, great company and time that our group shared. And, after all, we areprivileged to be able to explore this wonder of the world.Thanks to Steve for organizing and to Frank for driving.

Tanner Trail Grand Canyon

Tanner trail-18 miles roundtrip-10,000 ft. elevation gain and loss.I am returning to Phoenix from Denver this evening and doing this tripreportinstead of sleeping for those of you that have been asking about the tripreport. You had better appreciate it as I am just mildly exhausted.After spending the week in El PAso and Las Vegas, El Lobo was ready for oneofthe planet's most spectacular destinations-THE GRAND CANYON. The Belagiowasinteresting, but overrated. I did enjoy spending some time with my goodfriends Al and Dan.Tadd Hill met me Friday afternoon at my office and we were able to get going around 3:30. The weather reports were not good but we were willing to taketherisk.Ted and I have been trying to get this trip in for close to three years andjust haven't been able to pull it off, so we were not going to let a little snow stop us. By making this trip Tadd has now removed himself from the badboy Canyon Delinquent list.We arrived at the Cameron trading post around 7:00 and did a littleshopping.This trading post has everything imaginable. El Lobo treated himself to anewcowboy hat that was badly needed. Souveneirs are very important on thesetrips.We had dinner in the trading post restaraunt that was nicely decorated forChristmas. This is a beautiful dining area and the rooms are extaordinary-andonly 59 bucks. Those who know the canyon, know to stay at the trading postrather than the South Rim lodges.Tadd and I both elected to go with the Indian Tacos. They were deliciousbutprobably not the best choice of a meal prior to doing a challenging hike.Thischoice however made us both lethal on the trail.The sky was clear at Cameron in the morning with the usual awesome Arizonaskyof stars, when we left at 6:00 A.M.We were optomistic that we had missed the storm until we got within 20milesof the Canyon. The weather was nasty with dark skies, wind and snow.Our plan at this point was to test the steep section of the trail andestablish check points for return. We started at 7:30. After the firstmilethe snow let up and we stripped off the fleece and shells.This portion of the Canyon is wide open and the views are spectacular.Thereare two very steep sections to this trail and the rest is gradual. Afterabout5 miles, large sections of the river come into view. AWESOME!!!!!We arrived at the river at 11:15 and had a nice lunch in the sun. This areaisvery pretty with great places to set up camp. There are willows andcattailsas well as sand dunes.The Beamer trail goes East 9 miles to the little Colorado and theEscalantegoes West to the New Hance trail, about 8 miles. Backpack trips coveringthisground are planned for this year.We started back at noon. We needed to get moving to avoid hiking in thedark.We were concerned that the trail was covered with snow at the upperelevation.Indeed, a storm had blown in and the last two miles was a littlechallengingto say the least. This section is a 2000 foot gain. After going for 16milesup and down 8000 feet we were a little tired. The snow was thickening andthetrail was being covered fast. After the first mile, I was sucking windaftereach switchback. Tadd was doing great. The last mile was slow, but we madeitout at 4:15 with an hour and 15 minutes of buffer time untill sunset.We spent some time at Desert view gazing at where we had been. It is alwaysfun and amazing to view your distance.Overall this hike is rated as a 9.5. We did not see a soul all day. Ofcoursewe were the only ones crazy enough to be down there! Tadd is a great hikingpartner-we really enjoyed this one. Going down and back in one day isprobablynot recommended, I believe it is close in comparison to doing rim to rim,but if you are in the right shape and enjoy a little torture blended withecstasy-then go for it!The drive back to Phoenix was a long one with many stretches of black icegoing into Flagg. We did come upon a bad broadside accident and Tadd calledinto emergency as soon as we hit Flag.Our treat for this hike was going to be a chocolate shake in Flag but thefreezing temp made us reconsider our plan and we stopped at Verde ValleyMcdonalds.This Mcdonalds has been a trouble spot for Gerry, Haanu and I. On apreviousadventure, we stopped at three places trying to get a shake and every onehada broken machine. But this time the machine was working! Sort of. Aftergetting our "chocolate shakes" and sitting down, my taste buds told mevanilla. I opened the top of shake and it was all white. I returned theshaketo the counter and requested a chocolate shake. The attendant told me thatIhad a chocolate shake, but she would make me another.The second shake also tasted vanilla, and was white. When I returned thisone,I was told yet again that I had a chocolate shake. I was told that thechocolate was at the bottom. I tried to explain that I wanted chocolatethrougout my shake but this did not seem to compute. Soo I asked if theirstrawberry shakes tasted like vanilla and looked like vanilla. I was toldthatthey were strawberry. So I ordered a strawberry shake. The strawberry shakealso tasted vanilla and looked vanilla.I took my two chocolate shakes and 1 strawberry home in the cooler forClint.Clint was delighted.On Sunday evening Gerry and I spent a very nice evening enjoying a poetryreading at Russ Mosser's home.Russ was one of our companions on the Thunder river backpack.The reading was given by one Geofrey Platt. Geofrey was a friend of EdwardAbbey's and lives in Cave Creek in a dwelling without any electricity orwater.He read some of his poems as well as others. He is a very good reader.The food was really good and we really enjoyed the company. This was a funevening for both of us.I will be going to San Francisco and Sacramento this week and we will bespending our weekend at a Cabin on the Mogollon rim with our good friendsDolans, Jaspers,and Peterrrrrr the sheep. Peterrrr's signifigant other will be out of townthis weekend.We are looking forward to a relaxing time and perhaps a little excitementinthe evening at Kohl's ranch cowboy/cowgirl bar.

Ventana Canyon

After spending a couple of days in Las Vegas this week, putting up withTinsel town and a worthless Wells Fargo meeting, El Lobo was in bad needof aWilderness fix.Ventanna Canyon to the "window" 12.8 miles roundtrip 4300' elevation gainOn Saturday, Jake and two of his good friends accompanied El Lobo toTuscon's Santa Catalinas for a moderately strenuous hike up Ventana Canyontothe Esperro trail to the legendary "window" of the Santa Catalinas. The"window" is a soaring natural arch 15' high and 25' wide and affords greatviews of Ventanna Canyon.The hike starts at 2700' amid saguaro and mesquite and eventually reaches7000' surrounded by towering Ponderosa pines. Ventana Canyon is absolutelygorgeous. You are surrounded by steep cliffs and you pass many "indianmaidenpools" on the way up.The temperature was a perfect 70 at the bottom and 62 at the window.We started at 9:15 and finished at 4:00.This hike is rated a solid 9.5. It is an an all day deal leaving Phoenixearlyand returning late.We had dinner at El Minuto-Absolutely the best Mexican food in theSouthwest.(El Lobo has probably been to all the best in Texas, New Mexico,and Arizona)El Minuto is not a tourista place and is frequented by locals. The ChileRelleno is unbelievable!The margaritas are also outstanding.I had forgotten how much I enjoy Tuscon and how beautiful the SantaCatalinasare. We had a great day. The boys were great company and a lot of fun.EL LOBO SEZRemember "The Window" and El Minuto are legendary just like El LoboGrande!!I had to throw that bone out there for those vicious dogs like BrianHinshawwho enjoy jumping and biting at El Lobo.

Land Of Sky Blue Waters-Mt. Borah Idaho

Land of Sky Blue Waters

Hello Friends,Three weeks ago I received a post card with a picture of a jagged barrenmountain range and the message "Mt. Borah awaits El Lobo Grande! Beafraid......be very afraid!!!Mt. Borah lies in the Big Lost River Range in Idaho..This served notice that my annual trip into the Idaho frontier with mygoodfriend Steve Otoole was coming up soon. Last year we backpacked Hell'sCanyon, the year before we hiked the Sawtooths. Steve's card made melaughnervously. Mt. Borah (Idaho's highest point) was only 12,662'-How difficultcan that be? I mean Humphrys peak (Arizona's highest point) is 12,600' andconsidered only a moderately difficult climb -- just a walk in the park. Iput the card with the majestic peak on the refrigerator. The knife-edgedridge couldn't be that tough?Steve picked me up at the airport Thursday evening and we immediatelyheadedfor the Ram's Head, directly across the street from Boise State, to slamdown a couple of local microbrews and plan the logistics for the trip.The next morning we drove to the Craters of the Moon National Monument andenjoyed some light hiking in a landscape full of detail and surprises. Oneearly travelor dubbed Craters of the Moon "The strangest 75 miles on theNorth American continent".That afternoon we camped at the base of Mt. Borah. We talked to a number ofclimbers that had just come off the mountain. No one had summitted.Some had turned back at Chicken out ridge while others were chased down bythe ferocious afternoon Thunder storm that was in progress.The campground was quite full of climbers that were going up the nextmorning. This particular August weekend is the most optimum for the climb.Approximately 200 climb Borah every year and it seemed like they were allthere for this weekend. During a break in the thunderstorm half a dozenguysassembled below the mountain, all staring at the steep path. Steve hasclimbed Borah twice and had quite a bit of route finding information thatwasabsorbed like a sponge.The Thunderstorms started again and continued well into the night. Wedecidedto start at 4 in the A.M. do a check on the weather, start in the dark andget down before the next days storms rolled in. The climb is only 3.5 milesto the top but the elevation gain is 5200' so you gain approximately 1500'per mile. Borah is primarily a climbers mountain with just one route thatisaccessible to the advanced hiker.The first two miles were completed in the dark. Being numb and not seeingthesteepness helped us to get to Chicken out ridge just after first light. Wescrambled along the knife ridge , up loose rocks, inclines and cliffs. Thesnowfield in the middle of the saddle had turned to solid ice. Muchverticalexposure there.Steve went a route above the icefield and I foolishly chosethe icefield path. Big mistake.I felt like I was on a tightrope. Should have roped up. Fortunate to getacross.The last 800' up Borah was yet another scramble on loose rock.On top of the summit we stared down at three glistening lakes. Thepanoramicview takes in several mountain ranges as well as beautiful valley.Going back, I stayed away from the ice-crossing and the climb up the ridgewas a little less nerve racking.The rest of the climb down was relatively easy and we really enjoyed it. Wecelebrated with a beer and then packed up for the drive to Red Fish Lake inthe Sawtooths where we planned to camp. The campgrounds were full but wehada great dinner and beers at the lodge and then drove to Stanley Lake wherewecamped. This lake was so clear and the environment so pristine that Ithoughtthat this truly must be "The land of sky Blue waters"Idaho is a well guarded secret and a Wilderness paradise.We set out our chairs on the edge of the lake and broke out the Tequila,saltand lime. After this fun, we went to our campgrounds, built a fire anddrankthe rest of the beer and wine. We rolled into bed after exchanging wolfhowls, barks and other animal sounds with the campers up the road. Thenextmorning we had a leisurely breakfast and then took a scenic route back toBoise through the mountains and Idaho city.I arrived back home at 10:30 in the evening to yet another spectacularThunderstorm that closed the Phoenix airport minutes after arriving. I hadtowait 45 minutes for my luggage that had been misrouted, then retrieved mycarfrom a swamp in the parking lot. Arrived home close to midnight, and had arestless few hours of sleep in anticipation of a tough Monday-Monday atthecorporation."Monday morning I've got Friday on my mind"-Easybeats 1967

Eastern Montana North Dakota

I spent the last weekend of August on a great road trip through EasternMontana to North Dakota and Teddy Roosevelt National Park. I have beenwanting to visit this obscure, seldom frequented park that honors thememoryof the great conservationist, for a long time. Teddy Roosevelt is close tothe top of my list of great Americans, that played a major part inAmericanHistory. The North Dakota Badlands sprouted many of his personal concernsthat led to his later environmental efforts. He once remarked "I neverwouldhave been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota."Our road trip started in Billings and took in a 600 mile round trip to seethe Park. The drive followed the beautiful Yellowstone River, for much oftheway. The Yellowstone is one of the last great rivers that hasn't beendammed,and screwed up. We enjoyed the simple beauty of the Park-the badlands, thegrasslands- inhospitable and barren but home to a variety of creatures andplants. There are over 200 bird species and we particularly enjoyed theprairie dogs that once were nearly extinct. Careful management saved them.Icould watch them for hours, they are a Gerry Corey personal favorite.The long drive back to Billings included a few road beers and stops atCowboy bars.One hole in the wall at Hathaway featured a 250lb. + female bartender andthree cowboy locals armed with fly swatters engaged in casual conversationand frequent fly kills on the bar. They even let me have a turn. I alwaystry to make friends with the locals and take in some of the culturalevents.Getting North Dakota on my state list was quite an effort. I now must getSouth Carolina and Arkansas to complete 50 state exploration. Ger and Iareplanning a trip to Hot Springs NP Arkansas and Charleston SC, but won'tgetthere before the milenium.Checked out the logistics for a climb up Montana's highest -Granite Peak.Itis close to Red Lodge where our friends the Ewalds are developing a ranch.This also will have to wait until next year. The time window for the climbisvery narrow.This trip wraps up an ambitious, exhausting August that included adventuresin seven Western States. I was planning on packing into the DesolationWilderness in California or the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico this weekendbut will remain in Arizona and catch up.