Trip 25: Mount Ellen - South Ridge, Henry Mountains, utah. mid-July (Day 3, South Summit; 3 miles, 7 ERM.).
      The trio of hat racks swivel their mule ears and tense. Huge buck Mule Deer pick forbs just up the ridge. We're back up from Bull Pass (10,500') and on the summit ridge to the South Summit (11,419').
      The hike starts out very steep then lolls along through tundra-like openness. Low flowers grace the hike. Clouds begin to boil, forming over our heads. A well-nourished marmot flattens his fatness against an igneous rock, perhaps from the core of the lacolith. These Henry Mountains were the last named mountains in the lower 48 states. According to lore, John Wesley Powell climbed out from the Colorado and saw them, naming them after a member of the expedition. Their geology is akin to that of the La Sals - lacoliths.
      A few drops plop and we head down, back to camp for a proper lunch before the thunder-bumpers arrive a few hours later. With a backdrop of rumbling that resembles giant horse hoofs on slickrock, I gaze west from 8400', across the Waterpocket Fold and Capitol Reef to the pregnant hump of Boulder Mountain/Aquarius Plateau. Sunset frames a heady P-pine aglow.

Click here to go to our GPS route climbing Mount Ellen - North & South Ridges, Henry Mountains, utah. It will appear as a Google map on a USGS topo background.
      Wait for the topo maps to form under the route. Enjoy.

Lonesome Beaver! (Click the image)	Another Scenic Toilet (Click the image for a full-size view)	Columbine (Click the image for a full-size view)
Mt. Ellen - North (Click the image for a full-size view)	Hat Rack 1 (Click the image for a full-size view)	Hat Rack 2 (Click the image for a full-size view)
Mt. Ellen South (Click the image)	mormon Cricket (Click the image for a full-size view)	McMillan Sunset (Click the image)

And, another clueless quote from bushco: "The economy is growing, productivity is high, trade is up, people are working. It's not as good as we'd like, but -- and to the extent that we find weakness, we'll move."
      --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., July 15, 2008, as major bail-outs, wholesale corporate welfare, continues from investment banks to private mortgage companies, while the middle class experiences continuing major collapse and decreasing real wages.

      Trip 26: Aubineau - Bear Jaw Loop. late-July (7 miles, 15 ERM, Energy Required Miles).
      The angle is high as we ease along the slalom course of avalanche wreckage originating off the slopes of Mt. Humphreys high above. Once-stately fir are piled like pick-up-sticks in a tousle of mountain carnage. We're nearing the clearing where the Aubineau Trail meets the Aubineau Pipeline route. Flowers of all varieties and hues grace the opening slopes.
      "This looks like a Parry's Primrose!" I burst, as the unusual flower glows next to the trail. Kathleen notes that the "views to the North are forever - over rippling waves of cinder cones beneath roving clouds." To the South are the slopes of the highest peak in Arizona.
      An elk-trampled grass slope marks the spot where a once-upon-a-time spring has been captured by Aubineau, a turn of the century Flagstaff mayor. It's quiet and serene, yet the skies are darkening already, and it's still morning.
      We loaf down the pipeline road, past waving Columbines and moss banks containing pygmy mushrooms. Almost walking past the sign, we gather and head down the Bear Jaw, through dark forests of firs and white picket fences of Aspen. The diversity along this loop are amazing, and worth the 2,000' climb and descent.
      A pounding hail and thunderstorm swoops in as we remove boots and roll safely in the car. The road becomes a stream, and we stop under a big P-pine to try to avoid the hail. A few miles down the road, it's dusty again.

Click here to go to our GPS route of the Aubineau - Bear Jaw Loop. It will appear as a Google map on a USGS topo background.
      Wait for the topo maps to form under the route. Enjoy.

Aubineau-Bear Jaw Map (Click the image)	Ahh - Wilderness! (Click the image for a full-size view)	Fir bit of Topography (Click the image for a full-size view)
Aubineau Avalanche Chute (Click the image)	Humphrey View (Click the image for a full-size view)	Parry Primrose (Click the image for a full-size view)
Alpine Bouquet (Click the image)	Vertical Smile (Click the image for a full-size view)	Toader (Click the image for a full-size view)
Jaw Sign (Click the image)	Pygmy Moss Patch (Click the image for a full-size view)	Aspen Outlook (Click the image for a full-size view)

And, another quote from bushco: "I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 12, 2008. And, let's hope that bush and cronies 'take advantage' of some of those "persuasive techniques" (i.e., torture), and government-paid vacations (i.e., extraordinary rendition), while they are denied the basic safeguards they denied to others, while their phones are tapped; sentenced to a lifetime of public work (at minimum wage) to repair the damage they perpetrated on the constitution, while their wealth is transported (cascade down) to repair the environmental catastophies they presided over.... etc.

      Trip 27: Kachina Exploratory: meadows from Schultz Tank, late-July (7.5 miles, 11.5 ERM, Energy Required Miles).
      Somewhere up toward the boiling cumulus clouds the hawk cries - piercing and high in pitch. She sounds like a Redtail to me, but I don't see her. It's one of the cries of the wilderness, in this case, the Kachina Peaks Wilderness.
      We start at Schultz Tank and head up the Weatherford Trail, then branch off and soon enter the wilderness. Lovely. The feel of the land becomes more wild. Flowers more lush and vibrant.
      We had started a bit later than we had hoped, and decide to turn around before seeing enough - because the thunder bumpers are cooking. True to form, it begins to rain not long after we return to the TH. We'll be back to finish our exploration of the Kachina Trail - perhaps next time from the Friedling Prairie TH.

      Narrative above, photos below. Map? Just below here:

Click here to go to our GPS route from Schultz Tank TH to the Kachina Wilderness. It will appear as a Google map on a USGS topo background.
      Wait for the topo maps to form under the route. You may wish to enlarge the map ("+" key on top left of map) to see the details of the route and the location of the arches. Enjoy.

Left-over photo - Kendrick Mtn. hike (Click the image for a full-size view)	Spreading in the Wilderness (Click the image for a full-size view)	Rain brings out goo of all sorts (Click the image for a full-size view)
trail for difficult horses (Click the image for a full-size view)	Agassiz and boiling clouds (Click the image for a full-size view)	Schultz Tank Scenic Toilet (Click the image for a full-size view)

And, another clueless quote from bushco: "And I, unfortunately, have been to too many disasters as president."
      --George W. Bush, discussing flooding in the Midwest, Washington, D.C., June 17, 2008

      Trip 28: Kachina Peaks Wilderness: Kachina Trail from Snow Bowl Road. early-August (8 miles, 13 ERM, Energy Required Miles).
      A cloud of Lupine scent floats past as we make our way through the Hobbit Rock forest along the Kachina Trail. After starting at the upper trailhead, near the Snow Bowl, we are rolling through this delightfully mixed forest. Unusual for the peaks trails, The Kachina Trail's profile is generally downhill, but not radically so. Elevation difference from TH to TH, total, is about a thousand feet, albeit there is much rolling along the way.
      We stop at movement and photograph a Horned Lizard smiling from his lichen-covered perch. Later, butterflies and moths make use of the assortment of flowering forbs.
      Eating lunch on the same polished Aspen log as a few days ago (Trip 27), we watch the thunder heads steadily building - far into the five-digit altitude numbers. Watching this, we opt for hiking to the Freidlein Prairie TH another day, and roll back toward the upper TH.
      Back at the TH, I spy two bumper stickers with messages to the voting public. Want 4 more years of bushco? Then vote McCain - for 100 more years in Iraq and a continuation of the largest budget deficit ever by anyone - even beating out the spend and spend Ronny Reagan.
      I included both Kachina GPS tracks (to date) in the below map. The trail today is in red, while the track from Trip 27 is in green. Together, they show the route from near the Snow Bowl (upper TH) to the Schultz Tank TH. See below.

Click here to go to our GPS route of the Kachina Trail from the upper TH to Schultz Tank TH. It will appear as a Google map on a USGS topo background.
      Wait for the topo maps to form under the route. Enjoy.

Smiling Lizardo (Click the image)	Hobbit Rock (Click the image for a full-size view)	Purple Frilly (Click the image for a full-size view)
Agassiz View1 (Click the image)	Agassiz View2 (Click the image for a full-size view)	Butterfly1 (Click the image for a full-size view)
Butterfly2 ? (Click the image)	Why bushco?! (Click the image for a full-size view)	fungal curve (Click the image for a full-size view)
Kachina Terrain (Click the image)	a zero approval (Click the image for a full-size view)	Earth pledge - no bush repeat (Click the image for a full-size view)

And, another "misunderestimate" from bushco: "One of the things important about history is to remember the true history."
      (See the recent set of war crimes from bushco below, then remember the true history during impeachment or prosecution of the cheney/bush gang of criminals.) quote above by --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 6, 2008

      Trip 29: Waterline Trail, early-August (10 miles, 12 ERM, Energy Required Miles). The grade is constant as we pass yellow columbine and eye the shark-fin outcrops around the distant corner, partly obscured by the pines and fir. Rounding the corner we see the tunnel through this spine of rocks.
      This is a good week day hike. Today, the rain lurks and occasionally spits on us. And, we see no one else over the course of our 10-miler. One can continue walking to the junction with the trail from the Inner Basin, another 4 or so miles from where we turned around.
      On a bike ride yesterday, I spotted this sign along the road to Lake Mary. It's regrettable there is no humor at all in the criminal bushco gang actions, actions above and in arrogant disregard of the rule of law. See below.

      Suskind, in his new book: The Way of the World, asserts that the Bush White House ordered the CIA to forge a letter from Saddam Hussein’s Chief of Intelligence, Tahir Jalil Habbush, stating that alleged September 11 hijacker, Mohamed Atta, had received his training in Iraq.

(click here to hear a clip). bushco knowingly lied. It was not an honest mistake! bushco took the U.S. to war based on their own lies and fabrications. They knew there were no weapons of mass distruction. This is the true history.

      The Bush White House and the CIA were getting secret, direct reports from Saddam’s Chief of Intelligence in January 2003 that stated that Iraq had no nuclear weapons program since 1991. When the U.S. invasion started in March 2003, the Bush administration “resettled” the Iraqi Intelligence Chief in Jordan and paid him $5 million dollars in what could be considered “hush money.”
      After the Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame expose in July 2003, that proved that Bush and Cheney were trying to destroy those who were uncovering their lies about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and so-called links to the September 11 attacks, a new plot was hatched to cover-up Bush’s bold-faced lies.

      Suskind explains the plot:
      "In the fall of 2003, after the world learned there were no WMD — as Habbush had foretold — the White House ordered the CIA to carry out a deception. The mission: create a handwritten letter, dated July, 2001, from Habbush to Saddam saying that Atta trained in Iraq before the attacks and the Saddam was buying yellow cake for Niger with help from a “small team from the al Qaeda organization.”
      "The mission was carried out, the letter was created, popped up in Baghdad, and roiled the global newcycles in December, 2003 (conning even venerable journalists with Tom Brokaw). The mission is a statutory violation of the charter of CIA, and amendments added in 1991, prohibiting CIA from conducting disinformation campaigns on U.S. soil."
      John W. Dean, who served as Richard Nixon’s White House Counsel, drew the connection on MSNBC between the new allegations and those that brought down Richard Nixon in 1974 just weeks after the House Judiciary Committee voted in favor of Articles of Impeachment.
      John W. Dean being interviewed by Keith Olberman stated:
      "I don‘t think people are looking at it too narrowly or Suskind is when I read his book. What happens when you tie that with a criminal conspiracy statute, 18 USC 371, which nailed countless people in Watergate for misusing the agencies and departments of government—that‘s where they‘ve got a problem.
      "That‘s where Nixon had a problem for telling the CIA to block the FBI for part of the Watergate investigation. Yes, it was obstruction but it was also defrauding the government. This is their real problem with that statute. ... "

Click here to go to our GPS route of the lower 5 miles of the Waterline Trail. It will appear as a Google map on a USGS topo background.
      Wait for the topo maps to form under the route.
      If you enlarge the map two clicks ("+" symbol on left side of map) - you can see the location of the tunnel. Enjoy.

Waterline tunnel (Click the image)

Waterline tunnel (Click the image for a full-size view)

Sign near Lake Mary (Click the image for a full-size view)

And, another quote from bushco: "Let me start off by saying that in 2000 I said, 'Vote for me. I'm an agent of change.' In 2004, I said, 'I'm not interested in change --I want to continue as president.' Every candidate has got to say 'change.' That's what the American people expect." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., March 5, 2008

      Trip 30: Bill Williams Lookout, mid-August (8 miles, 16 ERM, Energy Required Miles). The hoard of lady bugs coat and obscure the branch like return missionaries gorging on green jello in the a temple in Smog Lake, Utah. I've seen this type of lady bug collection on other peaks, and heard that rangers in Glacier NP close hiking routes because of conflicts with bears who are busy fatting up, slurping up the masses of protein conferencing on peaks. Interesting and amazing.
      We are hiking with Sue and Rich and the very informal Scalawag Club of Northern Arizona. Rich climbs the diminutive historic tower, where 'modern' communication towers now blockade the once-pristine vistas of surrounding P-Pine forests and open parks arranged below and extending into the haze.
      The forbs display their lushness all along the trail today. Despite going long into the Summer, we see lots of flowers showing their stuff. The trail climbs into a dark forest, ridges out, intersects the access road, then climbs to the lookout and all the other metal spires sprouting like chin stubble into the clear air.
      Our thanks to Jack Welch and the Scalawags for organizing this hike.

Click here to go to our GPS route up Bill Williams Mountain to the lookout. It will appear as a Google map on a USGS topo background.
      Wait for the topo maps to form under the route. Enjoy.

Lady Bugs Swarm The Peak (Click the image)

Rich Gives The Sign (Click the image for a full-size view)

Sue & Rich enjoy the vista (Click the image for a full-size view)

And, another quote from bushco: "I remember meeting a mother of a child who was abducted by the North Koreans right here in the Oval Office." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 26, 2008

      Trip 31: Bike around Mormon Lake: mid-August (30 miles, 35 ERM, Energy Required Miles). This is one of the routes I bicycle when not out working or hiking. See the map below (click on the link) to see the route.
      Rolling into the wind, I curve to the South and note some of those gorgeous Northern Arizona fluffy clouds, images reflected in the still waters of Upper Lake Mary. Along the side of the road bloom Navajo Blanket Flowers, Indian Paintbrush, Pepper Grass, Lupines, and a spread of yellow composites I have yet to learn to identify.
      A kettle of Turkey Vultures wheel above, gracefully riding thermals, sniffing for dead meat. You've heard of carrion luggage? This is the baggage of the vulture. Rolling the steps up above the lake, I too smell carrion, and know something about the kettle of vultures. Happily, I am soon past whatever odiferous rack of deer, elk, or such, and the P-Pine scented air returns, vanilla.
      I watch the Redtail Hawk riding the breeze near the hawk lookout near the East side of Mormon Lake. It's actually a pond this year. In recent years, there has been only a hint of water near the springs at the south and West sides.
      I am happy to get onto the even quieter back side of Mormon Lake, where cars are rare on week days.

Click here to go to my GPS route around Mormon Lake. It will appear as a Google map on a USGS topo background.
      Wait for the topo maps to form under the route. Enjoy.

Bumper sticker: McCain! Bush's third term.

      Pumphouse Wash Arch: Mid-October; 2.5 miles, 3 ERM.. The red of the maples glows against the pale sandstone walls and the dark polished basalt boulders in the wash. Light is fading as I search down this untracked country, through dry grass and over fields of rocks. Then, standing in a pool of water from the last rain - is Pumphouse Wash Arch.

     Directions: Drive South of Flagstaff, Arizona on I-17 to the Kelly Canyon exit (Exit 331). Turn right (West) and drive FR 631 for about a mile to the gravel pit. Stay to the left, above the pit, and continue as far as you dare drive on FR 631. Total distance to the end of the road is about 3 miles.
     Park and hike to the end of the road. Hike into a dry, gnarly ravine which empties in 200 yards into Pumphouse Wash. Turn left into Pumphouse, and hike the left shoreline, for about a mile. Watch for the arch where the canyon narrows just below a major side canyon (James Canyon) on your left (NE). The arch is in the streambed and usually has water surrounding it.
     The UTM coordinates for Pumphouse Wash Arch are approximately: 12 S 434407E 387787712N ; WGS84; at approximately 6000 feet in elevation. See the below map:

Click here to go to my GPS route to Pumphouse Wash Arch. It will appear as a Google map on a USGS topo background.
      Wait for the topo maps to form under the route. Enjoy.

Pumphouse Wash Arch 1 (Click the image)

Pumphouse Wash Arch 2 (Click the image for a full-size view)

Pumphouse Wash Arch 3 (Click the image for a full-size view)

And, another quote from bushco: "You work three jobs? … Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that." -- bush to a divorced mother of three, Omaha, Nebraska, Feb. 4, 2005

      Brin's Mesa Blinkers: Mid-December; 6.5 miles, 7 ERM.. We've stopped to enjoy the view and lunch at the edge of the shelf below Brin's Mesa when we are reminded of the Brin's Mesa Blinkers - tiny peep holes - what appear to be capstone arches near a spire nearly directly across the canyon.

     We had escaped the looming coolness of the high country to rove the relative warmth of the Sedona area. Although I had on three light layers, the goal was met.

     The UTM coordinates for the Brin's Mesa Blinkers are approximately: 12 S 428937E; 3861704N; WGS84. See the below map:

Click here to go to my GPS route to Brin's Mesa Blinkers. It will appear as a Google map on a USGS topo background.
      Wait for the topo maps to form under the route. Enjoy.

Click here to go to the FS description of how to get to Brin's Mesa TH. Combine this with the Cibola Pass and Soldier Pass trails to form the loop in the above map.

Brin's Blinker 1 (Click the image)

Brin's Blinker 2 (Click the image for a full-size view)

Brin's Blinker 3 (Click the image for a full-size view)

Another quote from the prescient bushco: "I think it was in the Rose Garden where I issued this brilliant statement: If I had a magic wand -- but the president doesn't have a magic wand. You just can't say, 'low gas.'" --George W. Bush, Washington D.C., July 15, 2008

      Build an Alcohol Stove. I have been toying with building a light weight alcohol stove for backpacking. My friend Bob G. got started first and built a very functional stove, based on the design of the Cat (food) Stove. We became interested in alcohol stoves after finding this comparison site:

     Find the lightest stove - based on your situation (click here). White gas stoves still reign as trip length and number of hikers increases.

     Assorted information about backpacking stoves (click here). Probably more than you thought you wanted to know.

     (click here) Here are my notes about white gas backpacking stoves.

      Bob G. and I built stoves based on this design:

     (click here) THE CAT FOOD CAN ALCOHOL STOVE: (A Lightweight version of the Tuna Can Stove) - by Roy L. "TrailDad" Robinson.

     If you cannot locate this cat food can stove link, get this MS Word file (htm file - click here).

      Here are our modifications to the Cat Stove:
      Use a paper punch or drill to open 10, 1/4" holes around the (Open end) top of the smaller can - rather than a church key (beer can opener). This allows more room for alcohol in the stove (so it doesn't leak out the vents).
      Make the stand to support the pot 1.75" above top of can stove. Keep in mind where you are going to pack this stand - will it fit in the pot?
      Make the opening in the large can 1.5" (not 1.75").
      Make holes in wind screen in one 90 degree quadrant (or 180 degree quadrant)- so the screen can be oriented away from any wind.
      You can roll the screen around most fuel cans and secure with a rubber band for travel - saves wear and tear.

      The stove in the below photos weighs 3 ounces (stove, stand, wind screen).
      In a test run, using 1.25 ounces of denatured alcohol, it boiled 4 cups of cool water in 12 minutes. The ambient air temperature was in the high 70Fs, and there was no wind. Altitude was 7,000'. I doubt the stove would have boiled the water if not for the wind screen and a tight-fitting lid on the pot.
      Your stove's performance may vary. Although some of the below photos show the stove on a wood deck - this was solely to get enough light to photograph the subject. Do NOT start or use this stove on any flammable (combustible, burnable) surface. The stove bottom and other parts get very hot.

components of stove body (Click the image for a full-size view)	components of stove - all parts (Click the image for a full-size view)	components of stove: body assembled (Click the image for a full-size view)
outside-of-windscreen (Click the image for a full-size view)	ready to go (Click the image for a full-size view)	ready for testing (Click the image for a full-size view)

And, another quote from bushco: "Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have helped transform 13 small colonies into a great and growing nation of more than 300 people." --George W. Bush, Charlottesville, Va., July 4, 2008. Don't we wish this were true. The population explosion crisis, coupled with the rush to use all the resources of our only earth as fast as possible (more footprints, larger and larger carbon footprints) will most certainly result in the end of nature - unless dramatic population reduction begins and a switch to renewable energy and a sustainable life style begins in earnest.

Despite what king george says or demonstrates, please show some restraint - Click here to see the effects of and what you can do about reckless population growth and consumption.

And, Click here for a link describing the relationship between population growth, consumption, and the death of nature.

Do you think you need all that stuff, all those "extra" children? The world and future generations (if there are to be many), do not. "Stuff" is not related to happiness, beyond meeting basic needs. Take a happiness survey here. Also, find out how sustainable your life-style is.

A world population of 3 billion may be sustainable, given sustainable resource use. A population of 6 billion (we passed this gargantuan number in 1999) certainly is not. We have most likely passed the "tipping point" and will probably get population reduction the christian george bush way - through wars over resources and religion. Start by reading Bill McKibben's "The End of Nature." Potential propagationists might start with "Maybe One."

      End Note to 2008: A Sharpshin at home.. We need all the big and small predators for intact ecosystems.

      We came home from a hike to see this guy snacking on our small deck. Actually, I believe it's a female, judging by her size.

Sharpshin Hawk (Click the image)

Sharpshin Hawk (Click the image for a full-size view)

Sharpshin Hawk (Click the image for a full-size view)

Tune in again as trip reports are added.....

And - Click here to see The Archman's site on Utah and area arches.
Click here to see Ben's Scenic USA - Picture of the Day.
Click here to see Steve's excellent photos - birds in flight, panoramas, etc.
Click here to see the NOAA forecast for the high country.

Wild Vagabond Main	Trip Report Index	Caveat

---