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| Hiking | 2.50 Miles |
1,427 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.50 Miles | 3 Hrs 57 Mns | | 0.68 mph |
| 1,427 ft AEG | 15 Mns Break | 25 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | With almost constant pain from the left hip down to the knee from my mishap back in June I decided to take it easy for a few weeks and give it a chance to heal. It didn't take long to get a bit of cabin-fever so we did an easy flat hike on Saturday. I felt great and had no lingering pain so I thought I'd ease back into my more normal mode.
I didn't want to drive far and I wanted to avoid the heat of the day, so I wanted something short. Scanning my to-do list of peaks to fit the bill I decided on Geronimo Head. With so many different GPS routes to select from I decided to keep it simple and follow one that was already on the Arizona Topo map on my GPS.
Although up early enough to have been hiking by 6 am, I didn't care for the high humidity and took my time getting out of the house and took a leisurely drive up Apache Trail to Tortilla Flat.
When I hit the trail at 7:45 am it was still quite humid so not wanting to be soaked from head to foot right away, I moved the slowest I have in a LONG time. (I had to check... The only hike I've averaged slower in the last ten years was climbing Battle Axe back in December '12)
But moving slow didn't make any difference, within 30 minutes I was completely drenched in sweat. Wet pant-legs sticking to my knees every time I bent them made for some tough climbing. Between that and the loose, rocky terrain, sometimes taking 3 steps up just to gain a foot in elevation I was getting more of a workout than I bargained for.
The closer I got to the ridge, the more thick sections of brush I encountered and a few times I to get out my hand clipper to make a way through. In the worst cat-claw thicket I spent over 5 minutes cutting my way through.
By this time I was getting very close to a go/no-go situation... I had burned so much energy that I knew I'm have a tough time descending if I continued all the way. But being within 75' in elevation and about 100 yards horizontally to the ridge-top waypoint, I was so close I just HAD to continue.
Well no, I didn't HAVE to continue... about 20' ahead of me in the only slot I could climb through I see what looked like hundreds of bees flying around. Having been attacked by bees twice in the last 4 months (injuring my knee trying to get away the second time) along with being stung twice by a wasp, all it took was a few bees meandering in my direction and I decided to chalk this up to a recon hike and skedaddle.
Only it wasn't quite that simple... between running low on energy and still wanting to be extra careful to prevent re-injuring my knee, the descent was more time-consuming than the ascent, with the exception of the areas where took advantage of the generous trimming I had done.
Once I got through the steepest terrain I did my usual thing of returning by a different route, which actually turned out to be better than the one I had taken on the climb.
As soaking wet as I was, it was a good thing I brought a change of clothes. But even better, I had the foresight to include a thoroughly-wet towel in the cooler. Now THAT felt good!
Good thing I didn't care how long it took to get home, because again I was behind someone driving 25 mph AT THE MOST, more often 10-15 mph all the way to Needle Vista where I could finally pass him... still barely at 30 mph in the 40 mph zone. I guess nobody ever thinks they should stop a moment at a pullout to let other folks by. Oh well, I wasn't in a hurry, but still...
I probably shot an hour of video with my GoPro (on my chest) during the toughest part of the climb but I haven't had a chance to check it out. If I didn't have it aimed way off, I'll probably edit a video and post it. If not, I guess I won't. |
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