zionsky
Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2018
- Messages
- 767
Here is a brief trip report and a few pictures from last fall. The centerpiece of my trip was to make it to the top of South Guardian Angel. I had failed on two previous attempts over seven years and I was hoping the third time would be the charm. I knew it would be a beast of a hike and just hoped I had enough juice in the tank to do it. I have realized that as I get older, trip planning for each day has become paramount. 20 years ago, I would just go "all out" each day but I'm reaching the age where that is no longer possible. So for this trip, I had a plan to maximize my chances of succeeding. The first day would be a long but easy hike to prep the body. The second day would be South Guardian. The third day would be a shorter and easy hike to recharge. The last day would be another challenge, Kinesava.
The first day was a leisurely 9-10 mile stroll around the gooseberry mesa. This area is more popular with mountain biking than hiking. Considering the weather was perfect, I saw relatively few of either. And the views were awesome.
The next day was the big kahuna, SGA . I made sure to get an early start to give myself maximum daylight. I was the only car at the trailhead when I arrived. I wouldn't see a soul until I was almost done. The first (and last) 2 miles are on a maintained trail but the rest is pure backcountry routefinding thru sandy washes, brushy gully's, manzanita thickets, and steep slickrock.
The return hike was brutal. It took me almost 11 hours to complete and I was on fumes as I made it back to the car. I wanted to celebrate with a big dinner but my body was so fatigued all it would accept was fluids. I would have to wait to celebrate my accomplishment the next day. And I did sleep in the next day. I didn't hit the trail til nearly noon. It would be a short and easy day to hopefully allow my body to recover. The eagle crags trail is a pleasant 4-5 mile stroll with dramatic rock outcroppings and sweeping views into the main canyon and stevens wash
I woke up feeling pretty good on the last day and decided I would give Kinesava a go. It was a relatively straightforward hike but I found myself moving slow up the steep, sandy slopes. I probably started a little late as I didn't make it to the false summit until about 2:30. The week and my age had caught up to me at this point and I was worried about running out of daylight so I just enjoyed the petroglyphs and decided I would have to return another time to reach the true summit.
All in all, it was a great trip. The weather was perfect. I had plenty of solitude. And after 7 long years, I finally made it to the top of South Guardian. But now I wonder, what am I going to do next? I guess we'll found out next month
The first day was a leisurely 9-10 mile stroll around the gooseberry mesa. This area is more popular with mountain biking than hiking. Considering the weather was perfect, I saw relatively few of either. And the views were awesome.
The next day was the big kahuna, SGA . I made sure to get an early start to give myself maximum daylight. I was the only car at the trailhead when I arrived. I wouldn't see a soul until I was almost done. The first (and last) 2 miles are on a maintained trail but the rest is pure backcountry routefinding thru sandy washes, brushy gully's, manzanita thickets, and steep slickrock. The return hike was brutal. It took me almost 11 hours to complete and I was on fumes as I made it back to the car. I wanted to celebrate with a big dinner but my body was so fatigued all it would accept was fluids. I would have to wait to celebrate my accomplishment the next day. And I did sleep in the next day. I didn't hit the trail til nearly noon. It would be a short and easy day to hopefully allow my body to recover. The eagle crags trail is a pleasant 4-5 mile stroll with dramatic rock outcroppings and sweeping views into the main canyon and stevens wash
I woke up feeling pretty good on the last day and decided I would give Kinesava a go. It was a relatively straightforward hike but I found myself moving slow up the steep, sandy slopes. I probably started a little late as I didn't make it to the false summit until about 2:30. The week and my age had caught up to me at this point and I was worried about running out of daylight so I just enjoyed the petroglyphs and decided I would have to return another time to reach the true summit.All in all, it was a great trip. The weather was perfect. I had plenty of solitude. And after 7 long years, I finally made it to the top of South Guardian. But now I wonder, what am I going to do next? I guess we'll found out next month
