Before my backpacking trip I took a drive up to Mono Lake. Mono Lake covers about 65 square miles. It is an ancient saline lake, over 1 million years old -- one of the oldest lakes in North America. It has no outlet and no fish; instead it is home to trillions of brine shrimp and alkali flies. The most distinctive feature at Mono Lake are its tufa towers. These mineral structures are created when fresh-water springs bubble up through the alkaline waters of the lake.
I was excited to reach the state line on the lonely highway where the wind was blowing hard through the basin and range topography. I was heading up and over three mountain ranges on state route 168 to Big Pine, California. This is route 266.
I was traveling through Nevada, on my way to Mammoth Lakes, California, to go backpacking in the Eastern Sierras. I desperately needed to escape the heat of Phoenix. I needed cool mountain air.
Enjoying the evening in Bloody Basin. The nights are beautiful
in the semi-desert grasslands at 3,800 feet elevation. I love sleeping
under the stars. For two nights
I was treated to a fine display of the Perseids Meteor Shower. Here I have positioned my cot to face the northeast for the best viewing. For decades I have been searching for healthy activities to reduce my OCD and depression, and sleeping beneath a star filled sky tames my anxiety.
My campsite is a short distance off the paved road, and near the town of Anthem. Even though the Valley has had record breaking heat this summer, the nights are comfortable and I watch the stars circle Polaris every night. It's very relaxing. In the morning, my car provides shade until 7am. In the evening I watch ABC Nightly News, and Seinfeld on my laptop.
On
August 6th, I hiked up Red Mountain northwest of Flagstaff. Red
Mountain is a 740,000 year old cinder cone, and is unusual in that its internal structure
is exposed. It also has an unusual shape of a "U", open to the west,
and in lacking a symmetrical shape like most cinder cones.
I hiked 4 miles round trip to the summit. It was a difficult hike because there is no trail, and the cinders are like walking on ball bearings. I downloaded a map from the internet showing a route to the top. I followed the main trail, and just before the ladder I ascended the ridge heading east. Climbing the ridge to the top is a class 2 scramble. The summit is 7,968 feet.
On my way down, I decided to try a narrow gully, because my thinking was maybe I could slide down on my butt. However, after a short attempt of sliding on the rolling cinders in a cloud of dust, I thought I might go too fast, lose control and slam into a rock. So I climbed back up, which was very difficult on the cinders, but slowly I made it over to the ridge and a safer way down.
It was nice to be hiking in 70 degree weather that gave me a chill when the strong wind hit my sweat soaked t-shirt. The daytime desert heat of the Valley had been making me depressed, and working at Walmart too, and Red Mountain lifted my spirits.
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| On the summit. |
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| On the summit. |
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| Me on the summit. |
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| On the summit. |
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| Heading back to my car. |
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| My route. |
On August 5th, I camped near Slate Mountain in the Coconino National
Forest. It was so nice to be away from the heat of the Valley. It got down to 48 degrees at night, and felt so good! After sundown, I even had to put on my fleece jacket. I hadn't done that for several months.
I shot the photo of Humphrey's Peak from my campsite.
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| Humphrey's Peak |
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| Me cooking a can of Hormel Chili for dinner. |
