While I was back in New Jersey, Scott began his mini vacation on his own with the truck and trailer. He left our campsite in Mesa and headed north towards Flagstaff. He stopped and parked off of A1 Mountain Road west of Flagstaff in Coconino National Forest. It was a nice, cool, shady somewhat secluded spot. There were other people parked but he had a lot of privacy. You can see the peak of Mount Humphreys directly behind the truck.
The next day he did a bunch of work on the trailer before retiring for the night. On Monday morning, he began his trek to the summit of Humphreys Peak, the highest peak in Arizona with an elevation of 12,633’. This out-and-back hike was 9.17 miles long with an elevation gain of 3,287’. The temperature was in the mid 40’s with high winds at the peak. The entire trail from start to finish was snow covered. This is just before he reached the summit.
Next, Scott headed to Kaibab National Forest which is east of Tusayan. He found his second boon-dock location, and this time he had it all to himself!
One of his favorite pastimes is to watch the sun rise and descend. Here is a photo of the sun beginning to go down.
On Friday, he drove up to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon to hike New Hance Trail for a second time.
This trail is not very popular as the incline is extremely steep, and the trail is not regularly maintained. Last October, we both hiked down for about an hour before I chose to return to the top. Hiking in canyons is so much different than hiking up mountains because you have to go down first. You know that at some point, you have to turn around and hike back up. Well, Scott hiked down for two hours this time, and here are some breathtaking photos.
He wasn’t really alone on the hike. There were friends on the ground…
…and friends soaring through the sky.
He was able to capture the brilliance of colors and the vastness of the canyon with his camera.
I don’t recall seeing flowers last October. But in April, they were plentiful.
It was time for Scott to head south to Phoenix in time for my arrival. Our next stop, together, is San Diego, California!
