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| | Isis III - Humble Pie, AZ | | | |
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Isis III - Humble Pie, AZ
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| Hiking | 37.30 Miles |
12,400 AEG |
| | Hiking | 37.30 Miles | | | |
| 12,400 ft AEG | | | | |
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[ show ]
| partners | | This trip back to Isis held the promise of sweet enjoyment sitting atop the Mighty Goddess that we had recently visited. Instead it delivered a lot of hard miles with some life lessons along the way.
We thought we had devised a way to short cut some of those difficult miles. In the end we would get slapped down and have to pay the price.
I picked up Joe early Saturday morning after getting 3 hours of sleep. We headed up to the Canyon and were off to a brisk start. Everything was feeling good and we were excited for what lie ahead. Down we went and when we saw the water was off down by Phantom we loaded up from the creek. Then up through piano alley and over Utah Flats. Back up Phantom Creek we went to the standard route up the redwall.
We were in good spirits and had aspirations of making it to the third tier of Isis on day one. Then day two we would summit and head out via a different break in the redwall on the SE corner.
Upon reaching the Shiva Saddle we promptly headed over to the "JJ shortcut" that we had descended a couple weeks prior. This would save us hours if successful. Joe went up the first tier and got a little uncomfortable. I went to give it a try myself. I was 8 feet away from success but the fear of the fall was greater than my desire to save a few hours. It was a real eye opener as to what we had done on the previous trip. If I wasn't so dehydrated on that previous trip there is no way I would have gone down this route with the rope we used.
Our options at this point were to switch gears and go with a plan B or make the Giant traverse and hope to make it to the top the following day. Daylight was running out so we quickly moved to plan B. Camp, and go check out the longest leg of Isis and then head out via the SE corner that Joe had seen on Google earth and that we heard was actually doable.
The sleeping went as well as could be expected given the circumstances. Then in the morning we made our way around the difficult terrain to the long leg. I had really been wanting to go out on this thing and it ended up being one of the highlights of the trip for me. Afterwards we made our way to the south-east corner of Isis. This is where the alternate (shortcut) route goes down. I made my way down about a third of the wall looking for possible routes. If exposure isn't your thing don't even consider this one. Much of the rock was loose and crumbly adding to the fear factor.
I really wanted to figure this out as it would save a solid 5 hours but the fear of the unknown combined with the exposure and loose holds had me turning back after an hour of attempt. I think it would be best to go back on another day and try if from the bottom up.
We then realized we would have to bite the bullet and head out via the standard route. More difficult miles in the heat and eventually we were back to where we started.
On the way out we took a dip in the narrows of Phantom. It took about 10 minutes for our cloths to completely dry afterwards.
The hike up South Kaibab was a difficult one. The heat and lack of victory produced adrenaline took its toll.
This trip took a sharp turn and didn't go exactly as planned however it wasn't a loss. Isis is a Monster and each trip back we learn a little more.
At this point we have:
Traversed the entire base of Isis on Tier one.
Spent the night on three of the 7 spider legs.
Been to the top once.
Traversed the longest leg to its end.
Traversed two thirds of the way around tier two.
And have learned many lessons along the way. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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