What a great time and so nice to get out of the heat! My weekend was somewhat abbreviated compared to others, headed up early Saturday morning and packed out about 10:00 Sunday morning.
I did however, get my money's worth with two decent rides on Saturday. The first was a 10 mile sustained climb up the Waterline Trail to the Inner Basin. Start elevation was 8000' and topped out over 9400'. After blasting back down the mountain grabbed a quick lunch and hit Schultz Creek in the pouring rain. Originally planned as flying down and shuttling back up, about half the group decided to climb back out in the rain dodging the occassional lightning bolt. This was actually a good choice and a nice opportunity to get wet, something that is fairly rare down the hill in Phoenix. The mud stayed on the trail and didn't pack up on the bike so conditions were optimal. The lack of riding pictures was due to the fact I spent most of the time riding by myself, behind the fast group and ahead of the slow group just kind of in my own zone which wasn't a bad thing at all.
Back at the camp the festivities began and the rest of the evening was spent whooping it up around an extremely large, hot fire.
Early Sunday morning I took off on foot with the camera and got a good hike in before heading back and cooking up a large pan of chorizo con huevos with steak and an iron skillet full of fried potatoes.
As I was pulling out to start for home the rest of the group was headed out to the Jedi Trail for some technical riding and general hooliganism.
Armed with a Monster, a 45 song Spoon playlist and a pleasant soreness in legs and arms, it was time to head back into the heat.
My friends following us into the campsite
Nice looking custom 29er
Bring enough bikes up?
A rather unique camp arrangement
Ready to head out for the Waterline Trail
At the tunnel on Waterline
Along the trail
At the Inner Basin, ugliest knees on the mountain
The water shed at the Inner Basin
Aspen lined section of Waterline
The view back toward Flagstaff
Lunch time!
Well, lunchtime for almost everyone...
The rain on Schultz
Not that messy at all...
The evening festivities begin
Nice bottle holder!
Dave's supper on the grill, a reported 7.5 inches after shrinkage. The subject of much laughter and lewd conversation
Flagstaff sunrise
Looking east up the Sunset Trail
Wild flowers
Passed on these for breakfast
The almost wiley and elusive Kaibab squirrel perched on a rock
The view looking back west down Sunset
The End - at last!
I did however, get my money's worth with two decent rides on Saturday. The first was a 10 mile sustained climb up the Waterline Trail to the Inner Basin. Start elevation was 8000' and topped out over 9400'. After blasting back down the mountain grabbed a quick lunch and hit Schultz Creek in the pouring rain. Originally planned as flying down and shuttling back up, about half the group decided to climb back out in the rain dodging the occassional lightning bolt. This was actually a good choice and a nice opportunity to get wet, something that is fairly rare down the hill in Phoenix. The mud stayed on the trail and didn't pack up on the bike so conditions were optimal. The lack of riding pictures was due to the fact I spent most of the time riding by myself, behind the fast group and ahead of the slow group just kind of in my own zone which wasn't a bad thing at all.
Back at the camp the festivities began and the rest of the evening was spent whooping it up around an extremely large, hot fire.
Early Sunday morning I took off on foot with the camera and got a good hike in before heading back and cooking up a large pan of chorizo con huevos with steak and an iron skillet full of fried potatoes.
As I was pulling out to start for home the rest of the group was headed out to the Jedi Trail for some technical riding and general hooliganism.
Armed with a Monster, a 45 song Spoon playlist and a pleasant soreness in legs and arms, it was time to head back into the heat.
My friends following us into the campsite
Nice looking custom 29er
Bring enough bikes up?
A rather unique camp arrangement
Ready to head out for the Waterline Trail
At the tunnel on Waterline
Along the trail
At the Inner Basin, ugliest knees on the mountain
The water shed at the Inner Basin
Aspen lined section of Waterline
The view back toward Flagstaff
Lunch time!
Well, lunchtime for almost everyone...
The rain on Schultz
Not that messy at all...
The evening festivities begin
Nice bottle holder!
Dave's supper on the grill, a reported 7.5 inches after shrinkage. The subject of much laughter and lewd conversation
Flagstaff sunrise
Looking east up the Sunset Trail
Wild flowers
Passed on these for breakfast
The almost wiley and elusive Kaibab squirrel perched on a rock
The view looking back west down Sunset
The End - at last!
