Camping fun NE Arizona (PIC HEAVY)

BRL

BRL

Joined
Apr 27, 2011
Messages
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Got an invite from some rock climbing friends to join them and their group up at Jack's Canyon s/o Winslow for the weekend. Took my middle daughter, as the others all had weekend commitments back home.

The view looking east
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West to Jack's Canyon from above, and then from down inside
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We had just arrived (this location is out in nowhere'sville) and I looked behind my truck to see an ambulance, a fire department pickup, and a sheriff's vehicle. As Jack's Canyon is a big rock climbing paradise, I knew this meant trouble. Sure enough:

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This climber apparently had a new girlfriend, a non-climber girlfriend, belaying him. Or perhaps not belaying him, as he came off the wall about fourty feet up and wound up taped to a backboard.

So me and Kid2 climbed down into the canyon and tucked into some shade to watch the rescue. Six SAR guys got him onto a board and started to look like they were going to haul him up the very difficult trail to the flats above, when the two helicopters that had been circling overhead actually landed in the damn canyon. Big brass cojones on the beautiful redhead lady piloting the one that actually hauled the injured fellow out. Sorry, didn't get a picture of her.

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Things settled down after that. Lots of exploring, whittling musical instruments, chillaxing at the campsite reading and b.s.ing (I treasure one-on-one time with my kids as I've got three plus an exchange student).

Immortalizing this climber as he had a great looking girlfriend. I miss my climbing days... women who climb are almost always in such fantastic shape. But I'm married now so it... ah, nevermind!
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Poison ivy
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Bolt and hanger
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Eeep! Bolt with NO hanger!
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CONTINUED....
 


An owl, looking like he's saying "Can I help you with something?"
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Nightmarish nest of caterpillars
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Got to use my new Becker BK2 for srs bdns for the first time
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Dry
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Eventually it was party-time with the climbing hippies. Great bunch of cats, all super friendly to Kid2 who was the only kid there. And to top it off, nobody touched the giant bottle of Alesmith's Speedway Stout I brought so I got it all to myself.

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Kid2 busted out her ukulele around the campfire.
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Campsite neighbor slept under his truck for some reason
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We went up to the Homolovi ruins after we had finished up at Jack's Canyon. Neat stuff; I work with some Hopi folks and it was cool to visit one of their ancestral homes. Plus the place is absolutely littered with potsherds, so Kid2 thought that was really neat. Me too.

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Really big open spaces up in this part of AZ
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So all in all I'd say that was some damn fine dirt time. I'd been starting to go a little haywire with all the work/family/city horseshit I deal with every day, and it had been quite a long time since I'd gotten out and about so this trip went a long way to helping me on the road to recovering my sanity. Three more trips ahead of me, and perhaps by the end of those I'll be partly human again!
 
Cool trip; glad you could take your daughter along...those are memorable experiences. We did a lot of bouldering and a little technical climbing in TX. My wife actually started rock climbing when I was deployed to Iraq...just a hobby to relieve stress and she fell in love with it. An indoor climbing business is opening up in Augusta and my wife is pretty stoked. She would like to get back on the artificial walls before hitting the real ones again.

Looks like you guys had a great time and yes, these trips bring back your sanity and humanity! I took my son (12 years old) Thursday through Saturday on a little backpacking trip to our favorite spot. Not pictures as my mother-in-law still hasn't mailed my camera back from our last visit. It's always good to get out! Pretty cool that your daughter was playing the ukulele,

ROCK6
 
You did a fantastic job of taking me along through your photos and story. Thanks for the trip! If Kid2 had a fleece on, that ukulele shot could be in a Patagucci catalog. Nice job.

Jeff
 
Really great pics! The rescue ones are interesting, hope she turned out to be okay, but that would have been an experience to be a part of.
 
sweetness, blue sky! it's been raining here constantly for a month now so...don't mind me. awesome pics, man!
 
awesome pics man...:thumbup: AZ is gorgeous.. i sure do miss my climbing days too.. it's been a few years.. i need to get back to it..:o
 
I've hunted Jack's Canyon, a beautiful place. Saw a few bald eagles there. Supposed to be the last stronghold of some Russian boars turned loose years ago but I never saw any.
 
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