Minutes for Meeting of 07-05-2000

Hello Ramblers!

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1.) Important: Unless otherwise announced, the meeting place for all hikes is behind the Park Student Center, in the parking lot.

2.) Future hiking club meetings, during the summer, will continue to be held in the Forbes building lobby, in case Forbes, Room 307, isn't available.

PAST HIKES:

1.) The "Flagstaff Fest" went really well, with details as follows:

*****
>The Ramblers did their annual 4th of July Flagstaff Fest, this year from
>June 30--July 4. Six people were on the trip: Massimo, Michael, Robbie,
>Ross, Steve, and Torsten. We headed up to Flagstaff on Friday evening, June
>30, hitting the road at about 7pm, and travelling in three vehicles. We
>stopped for dinner at Casa Grande and also stopped at the Sunset Point rest
>area.  Robbie brought a camcorder and was engrossed in filming the many
>kinds of insects congregating around the rest stop floodlights. We arrived
>at Andy's house in Flagstaff rather late, but without getting lost too
>much. Andy dubbed ours an "Arrgh" hike, since it was all guys.
>
>Saturday, July 1: We ate breakfast at Andy's and proceeded to Wupatki
>National Monument in two of the vehicles. We took the standard drive
>through the Park, stopping at each of the notable features on the Park map.
>Most of these are ruins of pueblos, in good shape but obviously
>reconstructed a bit. At the Doney Mt. cinder cone overlook trail, we were
>forced back down by a lightning storm blowing over the grasslands. These
>thunderstorms were local and we did not get rained on much, and still there
>was plenty of sun.  Our next excursion was to Strawberry Crater. We
>followed the powerline access road, and easily found the trail leading up
>to the crater rim. The hike is short but steep. At the summit we stayed a
>bit, but drizzle and some lightning forced us back down. The weather then
>cleared up and we had sunshine for our stop at Sunset Crater National
>Monument. We visited the Cinder Hills overlook and the Lava Flow loop
>trail. That evening we camped near Flagstaff along Schultz Creek Road, just
>within the National Forest border.
>
>Sunday July 2: The thunderstorms of the previous day gave us some worries
>about hiking up Humphreys Peak (the highest peak in AZ). So we set off
>early to the Snow Bowl ski area. On the drive we encountered elk crossing
>the road. The weather cooperated perfectly and we had no danger of storms
>on the hike to the peak. Later in the afternoon we returned to Andy's house
>in Flagstaff and had an excellent dinner of smoked salmon and other
>goodies. We stayed at Andy's for the night.
>
>Monday July 3: The second half of the Flagstaff Fest was in the Sedona
>area. We benefited from Robbie's knowledge of the territory, he being an
>ex-Sedonut. He pointed out a spring along 89A where we refilled our water
>reserves. Most of the day was spent hiking up the West Fork of Oak Creek
>Canyon. This is one of the most beautiful canyons in AZ, and it is well
>known and much travelled. We were not overly crowded however, and once we
>entered the upper reaches of the Canyon there was almost no one, possibly
>because at this point one must hike through the water in the canyon, which
>is actually quite pleasant and easy if you are prepared to get your feet
>wet. There the red rock cliffs and canyon walls are at their best. I do not
>know how far we went up the Canyon, but a full-day hike or car shuttle
>between the opposite ends would be worth it. Next we checked out the A.B.
>Young Trail, a pretty obscure trail leading up the Canyon rim from the
>Bootlegger Campground on 89A. Robbie said this was his favorite hike in the
>area so we gave it a go. This turned out to be a steep uphill climb with
>33? switchbacks. From the summit we could see over the top of the Mogollon
>Rim. We could see the San Francisco Peaks, and look down into Oak Creek
>Canyon and Slide Rock State Park. In the last hours of the day Robbie led
>us out to the Schuerman Mtn. Trail, a short little hike up a small mountain
>(hill) where we could see the sunset across the entire Sedona area. Robbie
>knew all the names, and pointed out the many buttes, mountains, and energy
>vortices. We ate in town and headed out to a campsite late at night. Robbie
>knew some promising spots, but we found that all of these had been posted
>with new, permanent, "no camping" signs, even though this was public Forest
>land. We had to search for a while along Boynton Road until we found a side
>road that was no so posted, and we camped there on ORV scarred land, not
>certain what the legality of the area was.
>
>Tuesday, July 4: We awoke to find a flotilla of hot air balloons passing
>over us and landing nearby. Robbie and Torsten planned to head back to
>Tucson early.  They left while the rest of us took Dry Creek Road to the
>Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness. We hiked the Devils Bridge Trail,
>which was short, leading to a red-rock natural bridge. Most of the day we
>spent hiking up the Secret Canyon Trail. This area has more red rock
>canyons and formations, including some rock spires, and with white cliffs
>rising above the red ones. The middle section of this trail has tremendous
>vistas. I spotted a huge black bear walking on the ledge of the canyon rim
>opposite the trail. The trail takes a turn into Secret Canyon, and then
>enters a lush riparian area with interesting pitted rocks.  However, the
>trail becomes a corridor through poison ivy, and we eventually turned back
>when the ivy started blocking our path. A few helicopters were flying in
>the canyon. None hovered over the trail area where we were. Lastly, Massimo
>and I did a quick trip up the Vultee Arch trail, which is easy and shaded.
>We got a great view of the Arch from an overlook of layer sandstone shelves
>forming a natural ampitheater, complete with white rock "seats"; blocks
>tumbled down from a formation above. It is not clear if a path led up to
>the base or top of the Arch, so we turned back at that point. We returned
>to Sedona for some fast food and provisions, then viewed the Sedona red
>rock buttes in the setting sun along Highway 179. These are spectacular and
>similar to Monument Valley. On the return drive through Phoenix we could
>see from the highway two firework shows ongoing in different parts of the
>city.
>
>Michael
*****

2.) Wolfgang did 2 day hikes this weekend. On Saturday, he went up Romero Canyon to the Romero Pools. On Sunday, he made another visit to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. On Tuesday (4th of July), he went on a 22 mile hike, starting at the end of Speedway Blvd., passing Douglass Springs Campground, and the Cowhead Saddle, reaching Tanque Verde Peak. It was a very hot, clear, and sunny day, with a few white cumulus clouds, while hiking along the ridge to the peak. He saw a rattlesnake, a whip snake, turkey vultures, and a raven.

3.) Joe drove to Taos and hiked up to the summit of Wheeler Peak, which is the highest point above sea level in New Mexico. He encountered lots of marmots. He was also on a hike in the Barker National Wildlife Refuge; however, he didn't see any wildlife there.

4.)Will, Mitch and Hanna hiked to the "secret" waterfall near Douglas Spring.

FUTURE HIKES:

Please feel free to make announcements, posting them on the listserve, for this weekend, and any other future time.

Enjoy the summer monsoon season, the desert southwest, and the mountains. Keep Rambling!

Wolfgang