Grand Canyon - North Rim - Locust Point

Grand Canyon North Rim - Locust Point

Miles round trip: 40

Riders: 10

Day 1

After our exciting morning with the mountain lion we headed back to the house to do the final packing of the "Subie" for the trip to the Grand Canyon. We head out at noon and plan on being up at Jacob Lake in 3-4 hours. We stop in Flagstaff for lunch because Brooke had a hankering for some Arby's. After that we headed up 89 into Navajo country. We turn off 89 and go past The Vermillion Cliffs just outside The Grand Canyon.

We are supposed to meet Toby and Katrina at the Kaibab Lodge located about 30 miles south of Jacob Lake and then head out to Locust Point together. We are unable to reach them since cell service in the area is lacking. We stop and hang out, decide to have have some dinner at the Lodge and wait. While waiting to be seated we head back outside to the car and was frightened at what we saw. Picture this................a big 4 door lifted Ford Powerstroke truck with a "manly bow hunter" inside with some Real Tree camouflage on..........music blasting............ singing along to .....................Cher............................... and screaming "are you strong enough, are you strong enough"? WTF..............? He sees us see him and he just turns his head and continues to sing along. I'm sure if his other hunter friends were to see this, they would try to draw tags for him. After chuckling to ourselves we head back in and have some hamburgers and drinks. It's 6pm and we say "screw it" and head out solo into the back country to find our camp spot while there is some daylight left.

We get to Locust Point and nobody is there. Someone is in the spot where all the magical stories happened that everyone tells us about years before. With little to choose from, we have to take the better of the 2 spots left. We set up camp and wait. And wait. And wait. We head out for a stroll after putting up the "Thunder Dome- we head to the campsite that now holds 2 campers from Marble Canyon, Cher and Michelle (not to be confused with Cher the singer and the song "strong enough"). We introduce ourselves and start chatting it up to make the time pass quicker as we wait for Toby, Katrina and the others.

About 45 minutes later we see the fire road light up as if it were daytime. It was Dan in his Powerstroke with KC lights ablaze with Gear Box in tow. I flag him down, they stop, Dan, Ty, Matt and Mike proceed to exit the vehicle and overtake the campsite held hostage by the 2 ladies. We BS for a while, then we hear an exhaust with VW notes exiting the back. It's Toby and Kat, they ended up going into the North Rim and biking out to Sublime Point and had some showers and grub. Meanwhile, Dan keeps hinting to Cher and Michelle to let us stay at the campsite where "folklore is created", but they ain't buyin".

We depart and head down to our stake of wilderness. They approve, but Dan can't back his monstrosity up into the spot with out clearing a big dead tree limb that resides 15 feet in the air. The plan is to throw a rope around it and have Dan, Matt, Ty and I pull as hard as we can until we bust it off. It works, but we still need to bust off about 4 feet more for good measure. Dan tosses the rope up again, Dan and I pull on it, and I give it the "ol' college try" and send myself crashing to the ground with the remainder of the limb as well. That's what I bring to the table, power! Everyone gets a good chuckle, Gear Box parked, time 11pm, they unload and BS some more and tell us about the 2 days they spent in Utah before coming down to meet us. We head to bed so we can get up to ride in the AM.

At about 5:30 in the morning we were awakened by a gunshot that was close. Hunting is still going and we are not inside the Park boundaries. We wake up and hear a car roll into our digs about 8am. Is it Micki? We get up and stroll out to the front and we see the HyHi. She made it, along with Josh. Micki came up secretly to surprise the rest of the bunch. She hasn't ridden solo since her fateful day in Flagstaff. Since the ride is mellow, this will be a good gauge to see how her progress with PT is coming. We have some of that good oatmeal with protein powder and berries, I of course put in some peanut butter and honey to give me some extra calories for the ride. We chat it up and get our bikes ready to go and wait. And wait. And wait. This is strange for 2 reasons, 1) Dan is always the one to be up and ready to go and lighting the fire under us to get going, and 2) nobody else seems to be in that big of a hurry either, but something has to happen or we're going to get lazy and want to take a nap.(that would be Brooke) Toby begins to unload his bike from the car and notices that the sidewall on his rear tubeless tire was blown out.........that was the gunshot we heard earlier! WTF! Here is a pic of the damage below. TOAST!! I happen to have another used spare Tubeless tire for him to borrow and he accepts. Luckily the rear is a 26" and not a 29", cause he's got one of those "wacky 69er bikes." I instruct Toby on how to change out his rear tire and seat the replacement on and inflate to 45psi so it makes a good bead. I tell him to make sure he lets out some air to the correct psi ( about 32-35 for tubeless) before riding. He complies. We get a late start and head out about 11:30.

We get a group photo and head out on the Southern trail that leads to Timp Point and then on to Two Springs Ridge. This is a more mellow ride so we all can get used to the elevation (9700') and take in the scenery. We get to Timp Point and hear a hissing sound. We look down and it's Toby's front tire. Oh crap! The day before he picked something up in the FRONT tire while riding out to Sublime Point. He just left it in there and forgot about it til' now!........................ Fail! This is us all fixing the tire, Toby hadn't changed his sealant in a while and it was dried up and unable to seal the hole.

While us "guys" are taking care of the "mechanical", the ladies are doing what they do best. . With a little help from everyone we were able to seat the bead of the tire on the rim after I injected some fresh sealant I carry with me. It takes a bit with a hand pump but is very doable. Again, I had to bring the POWER and put in the "pumping action" just like Schwartzenegger into overdrive and seat the damn thing. After we did that, we were getting ready to flip the bike over and noticed that the rear tire had a large bubble in it and the tread was separating.....remember the part where I said to " let some air out", it didn't happen. Needless to say, Toby was headed back to camp, there is no fix for a 2nd blown tire out on the trail. We head out, Toby dismayed. Micki had some discomfort but was a trooper and carried on. Another mile or so and she turned back, she didn't want to push it to hard and was wise to do so. We get to Two Spring and have some snacks and take a breather.

By the time we made it back to camp it was about 2:30 and the heat of the day(85). We have some lunch and chow down. We spend the rest of the day talking, taking naps and lounging around camp. That was nice to just sit and relax. Dinner time came at about 6pm and everyone broke out the goods. Dan went all out, as he always does, and had horsdeovres, crackers and made drinks for just about everyone. Ty and I even drank the drinks no one else wanted. Bellies full and half way to "plowed-ville" for some, and for Josh, well, he just wanted to eat everyone else's food and drinks. You would of thought he was Dan's little brother or somethin',  the way he was helpin' himself to stuff around camp. Just help yourself Josh! Geeeez!! Poor kid was starving.................... or had a tape worm, something! With fire burning and things kind of at a stand still, Ty decides to jump the bonfire at camp............................... on the Pivot "Firebird", how trivial.

 Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, Ty made several successful ventures launching into the black sky with a fiery blaze below. Then it got outta control, he had some more "liquid courage" and it got rediculous! Let's launch off of Dan's Gearbox ramp in the back........um......... hell yeah!   Matt drags a burning log out of the fire and puts it in front of the ramp. "This is sooo not good enough", Dan says, "let's add some gasoline and make it more exciting."  With small cup in hand, he siphons some petrol out of the tank and lays in waiting for Ty to come roaring out of the trailer.   Only at the precise moment may Dan toss the excellerant onto the burning log for the ultimate fiery jump.

On the right is the aftermath of touching the fiery pot of "Satans Stew." Aaaahhh, the smell of burnt hair. There are several videos of Ty jumping the fire and off of the Gearbox, but the most best-est one is of him dancing with a lighted Frisbee on the back of said Gearbox and workin' it.   I will try to extort money from Ty with a threat of posting it on Youtube. You really gotta see it, if he does not comply with my demands, it will be posted ASAP.

After the "singeing" of Ty's hair on the last flight, we settled down to play some night Frisbee. These are special discs with LED's in them so they glow when tossed.  Dan had 2, we had 3, and there were 8 players. If you've never done it, it might seem kinda lame, but it really is a blast. The glowing discs getting hurled at you by the players attempting to locate you by calling you're name, then see if they can throw it accurately. Marco Polo of sorts. The game takes place for a couple of hours, players come and go, Frisbees burn out, and some need a break. Some players retire for the evening and some are hardcore and stick it out till the end.

After the weak retreat, only Dan, Matt, Micki, Mike and I remain with 2 discs left. We started to make things interesting. Dan says " I'm going to call out a word, and then you finish it, and you get the Frisbee". Ok, we all say....He yells....."Cock!!!!! " I say " sucker", I get the Frisbee....and it goes down hill from there. In the later stages we start out with an alphabet order (A-Z) of "cuss words" only to be followed by the same for "sex toys" from A-Z and then lastly, a fine selection of "sexually transmitted diseases" from A-Z. If you think that that isn't possible................then you my friend are dead wrong. It was hilarious, the stuff that was coming out of our mouths, oh my, like sailors, if you know what I mean. Our Captain was Micki and we were aboard the SS Pottymouth.  Minds bent from thinking and stomachs hurting from the amount of laughing, we call it a night and head for the campfire around 12pm. Good times, we all sit and chuckle about the things that were said, and  what could've been a far better words than the ones given. But hell, that was some funny shit. We all looked around at each other in total amazement if you will. Watching the fire die down and the morning coming sooner, we head for bed and wait for the the sun to rise.

Day 2 : Destination Parrisawampitts Point and South Big Saddle Point

This time everyone is up and about in the usual fashion. Bright eyed-bushy tailed, fed and gear ready to roll. Micki decides to not ride because her arm is a little sore and doesn't want to push it. She chooses to run instead. We broke from camp at about 10am which is still late, but better than the previous day. Today was a rather quick pace. This time the trail was winding right along the edge of the Grand Canyon.

Notice perfect hand placement for photo op. Genius! Parrisawampitts Point

You wanted to look, but you really couldn't. If you took your eyes off of the trail, that could be the end of your ride with sudden turns and loose corners. This trail was more up and down traversing than the day before, more like Prescott trails. We ended up and at "Big Saddle" and took a breather. But not for long, we all wanted to leave camp around 12:30-1pm so we could have plenty of relaxing time at home. We made it back to camp in a flashy, we said good bye to Micki and Josh, as they had the longer drive back to Scottsdale. The rest of us finished packing and left at about 1pm. We all gathered back up at Jacob Lake for some milkshakes and burgers. Mmmmmm, that hits the spot. Back at home, we were greeted by the girls, they were happy to see us return from another adventure. Their noses sniffing every little scent, telling them stories of where we had been and what we had done. Another good time mountain biking with great friends and good times shared by all.

Wild life too close for comfort

On Friday August 28 we ventured out to the North side of the Grand Canyon, but before we leave, we need to wear the dogs out with some exercise. So I take Emma and Jessi out with me to the preserve just a half mile away from our house on a mountain bike ride. Rylee is on restriction because she and the other 2 got into a little scuffle with each other and she ended up getting 7 staples in her left front leg. The 3 of us are just cruising, taking it easy and going deep into the Junipers and scrub brush, Jessi of course is on the hunt 24/7 with that nose of hers, chasing rabbits and whatever else catches her fancy.

We stop for some water and shade. The trail heads down an embankment and through 2 Junipers that are about 15 feet apart and 50 yards ahead. Jessi is on my right at about 20 feet and Emma is next to me doing her job, herding me. I glance down the trail and a 70-80lb mountain lion crosses the trail right in front of us! I had to do a double take. "Did I just see what I thought I did" I say to myself? I hit the brakes and look for Jessi. She is headed right for it, but doesn't see it because of the trees. I call her back to me, like a good girl she listens to me. I turn around and head back in the other direction of course. Mountain lions in this area are pretty brave and will attack humans as well as other animals. Just a couple months earlier there was a rabid fox that locked onto a womens' arm while she was jogging.

On the way back to Brooke and Rylee, I ran into a hiker with his pooch and let him know what I had seen, unfortunately he was headed home and that was the path he had to take to get there. Usually when we hike or bike in the area we always feel like something is watching us, now we know what it is and can keep an extra eye out for them, and yeah, next time maybe pack some heat just to be on the safe side.

Local Celebrities..........?

Wednesday August 28, 2009, we had a reporter come out from The Daily Courier, the local paper here in the "quad-city area", to do an interview on us and our business. It was fun, he asked us some business related questions as well as some fun items. We are getting quite the reaction from our current customers as well as some new faces the story brought in. Always good to get some free press and advertising.

A day on the rocks - Peavine Trail technical section

Ride: Technical Sections Willow Lake/Peavine Trail Technical

Riders: 3 Steve Andy Brooke

Miles: 12.8

Since Micki is in Nebraska for 7 days, we thought we would invite Steve up for some riding here in Prescott and get out of that Phoenix heat. We met up a about 10:30 am and started off on the Willow Lake side and made our way over to the Peavine Trail. The Peavine Trail is an old rail road bed that the trains used to travel on while making their way through the Prescott area onto Ashfork and so on. It cuts right through the Granite Dells and along side of Watson Lake. So it's a mellow trail for the occasional rider but, riding off to the left of the Peavine, is a trail that winds it's way through the granite formations and is one hell of a workout. Twist and turns and dodging craggy rocks and boulder, downed logs and everything in between.

Above is looking back southwest from one of the high points along he trail. I wish I would've taken more pics but we were too busy riding and having fun. Steve and Brooke commented on how it reminded them of trails Gooseberry Mesa in Utah.

This is Brooke headed down one of the section on the first Willow Lake side. After the ride we went back to.......wait for it........Hugo's for some Mexican food. Of course Steve had the "Steve Special", I had the "Steve Special" and Brooke had the usual......3 beef tacos with cheese and beans with cheese.

Steve making it look easy...............again!!!!!

Girls Ride and Guys Ride @ Trail #393

The Ladies at the top of the trail.

Milliken, Mike Hicks, Andy and I met up at the turn off for Camp Pearlstein up Copper Basin Road at 4:30. The girls ride isn't until 5:30, so I though I would get in some extra miles with the guys before the ladies showed up. We headed up #393 though Pearlstein which is also the same trail used for the Whiskey Off-Road held in April. Mike lives in Fountain Hills and works up here during the week. We take him out mtn biking with us during the week and show him new and exciting trails. This is Mike's first time on #393 and we thought he would have a good time on this one.

We start up and of course Milliken and Andy are setting a "blistering pace"... I just take my time knowing I will have to do this again with the girls in less than an hour. We are riding and I am staying closer than usual so I'm thinking, "this is awesome!" I made it over a section that usually I have trouble with. Today, I just rode over it like it wasn't even there and thought to myself..."what the heck... why was this so hard before."

We get to the top just before you drop down to the road. I decided I would turn back and meet up with the girls. To my surprise everyone was actually early this time. We pulled away from the parking area just 7 minutes after 5:30! We start up and I tell the newer people that have never been on this trail to find a gear to climb in. They look at me like "what ... climb, there's climbing on this trail".

Since it was my idea to do this trail, I was the leader. Which means I get to set the pace! :) We start out and the first corner is a little "techy." I make it around and stop at the top and give support to the rest that are coming. Telling them to stay left and pedal... out of the 7 we had I think 4 made it.

After each climb I would stop at the top to regroup. Once the last person had a couple of minutes I would check with them to see if they were ready and if they gave the thumbs up, we were off... which means not a lot of talking on this ride. Everyone did a great job. No one was complaining and they were all looking forward to the down hill. There's a couple of newbs that are getting stronger each ride and able to do more rocks... I better watch out, they will be my competition next year on the Whiskey!

There was a water fall section that really looks scary and intimidating, but really, it isn't that bad. I ride over it, and then wait for the rest shouting encouragement. Most would ride up to it, look over the other side and some of the brave ones would go back and ride over it again, others opted the safer approach...and walked it.

This is Mike having "a good time".

At the top, we met up the guys who rode on up to the top of the Aspen Trail while I went back for the girls, which is still part of the Whiskey, and do the water bars section. They were coming back down as we were just getting to the top. This section is difficult. Going down no problem.. you just ride off the steps, but coming back up you can run out of gas real quick. (The picture of Mike above shows the water bars.)

We, the girls, regroup take a couple of photos and then we head down. It was a really good ride this week. Not a lot of talking and everyone was willing to try a new trail.

Girls Ride

I was invited to go out on a "girls" ride last Thursday. I said "what the heck and I'll give it a try." They had picked trail 396 to do, which is a moderate to difficult trail. There are two long climbs in the beginning and then more uphill. Once to the top, it's pretty much all down hill.

Side note: I am the type of person who always assumes that any and all riders are better than me. Silly me......

So we meet at the trail head and 6 others that showed up. Right out of the gate the others said," they didn't want to do the first climb" and opted to take another route around the mountain. Right then I knew this was going to be a long ride. At every intersection we stopped. Once you stop, they all start talking... I guess that's the rule??? After riding a little bit I found that they were "not better than me." This is a group of mostly beginner riders, or one's that just want to get out and ride. Nothing wrong with that, I was just thinking it was to be a "pack of hard core girl riders". So I give them credit. Since I ride with "the guys", my skill level is much better. anyways, they really liked to stop and talk, and talk a lot. It may only be about 5 -10 minutes, but that is too long... your heart rate goes down, your legs start to tighten, then to start up and ride again it seems even harder. But whatever... it's their ride. ;)

We finished up the ride, it wasn't that bad, just really slow! They said they were doing Granite Basin the next week, it's more technical out there, maybe other people will show up depending on what ride it is, so I agreed to go again.

Well yesterday I went to Granite Basin, yeah not much difference. There was a new girl who was really good. She did the Whiskey Off Road 50 miler and finished 8th in the women. Her name is Sarah and is sponsored by Vassago. No, not an Italian pasta company......they make bikes. She was very nice, so we rode mostly together which made the ride a little less slow than it really was.

I was thinking if they don't like climbing on 396 then what are they going to do at Granite. Well they managed to find the really mellow climbs with nice down hills and they looped a lot. It wasn't that bad, but the talking was way worse this time. I believe we were stopped at one intersection for at least 15 minutes! They were killing me!

I did however agree once again to go out with them next week.. mainly because they didn't know what trail to do and I suggested Camp Pealstein. So, since it was my idea I guess I have to go. But I think after that I will only go on occasion when I want a really mellow ride. The last couple I didn't even get my heart rate up or breathed heavy!

Mt. Humphries Hike

Group total: 5 humans 4 canines

Distance to top: 14.6 miles

Successful summits: 2 humans

Time 7.75 hours

Since Micki of "Sticki" is not able to mountain bike just yet, because of the injury to her arm suffered on the 4th of July, she wanted to go hike Mt. Humphries. At the highest point, Humphries tops out at 12,648ft. No small task considering Flagstaff is at about 8000ft. The camping spot is Lockett Meadow on the NE side and sits at about 9000ft.

We enter Lockett Meadow and head to Camp spot #3. We were greeted by happy faces and hello's and barks of joy from Mousse. Of course, Rylee, Emma and Jessi had to do the proper meet and greet as well.

Brooke and I proceeded to erect our tent of years past, "the thunder dome". We have not "tent" camped in about 6 years since we had the Vanagon. I miss the Vanagon. (stupid me)

So anyways, we set up camp and enjoyed the rest of the evening "shooting the shit" and waiting for Thad, Sarah's other half. Sarah caught a ride up with Sticki, and was to ride on Saturday with Thad (now called "SARAD" apparently) on their mountain bikes. The early Saturday silence was broken by the barking hello's from the squadron of canines parked at our camp when Ken pulled up at 5:59am. Ken is always timely, if not always early. I like that about Ken, some other riders, who shall remain nameless because they suck, should take note about being timely.

Once up and awake, we proceeded to fill our bellies with the finest oatmeal this side of the "divide". Not that rock and mortar crap, but the awesome full of preservatives and sugar kind. YUM. Sprinkle some berries on top and you've got it made. That is until someone broke out some Quiche!!! WTF! Quiche......really!!!! Steve went into the Sticki Hilton, only to retrieve a nice slab of the best looking quiche I'd seen in awhile. He sat there taunting us with every bite, inside the flakey crust lay a smathering of carmelized onions, gooey cheese, eggs......oh my!! I only know the crust was flakey because that is all that Brooke and I got after Steve felt his belly was content. Thanks Steve.

All packed up and ready to head up the mountain, we said goodbye to Sarad, not to be confused with NORAD, and we were out. Excitement abound, the dogs were happy to get out and be dogs. About a mile in, Brooke and I were thinking, " I feel a little fatigued already.....maybe 3 consecutive days of mountain biking that preceeded this event was not a good idea". Carry on, shake it off.

This was our first official resting spot above Lockett Meadow. You can see Mousses' tongue almost touching the grassy floor. At this point, all the dogs were doing quite well. We double dosed Rylee with pain meds and gave Emma the same to ensure an full day of pain-free exercise. Jessi did not need such meds because she is part dog - part bionic and was sent back to us by John Conner from the future. (see Terminator) Jessi must have done about 25 miles of hiking/running / hunting. She is crazy fit "German Engineering" if you will.

This looking back into Lockett Meadow...and Sunset Crater in the distance.

On our way once again, the sky was starting to fill with clouds. There was also a couple of fires in the area which didn't make for the best view, but still nice. The clouds grew thicker and the route even steeper. We emerged from the tree line to see the summit, only to find that the rest of the way was covered in lava cinders. If you've hiked or climbed in cinders, you know they are not kind to dogs feet. I soon called my 3 hunds and we were headed back to the first rendezvous point on Tattoine.

Mousse carried on, as she had Ruff Wear dog booties on. 3 of 4 to be exact, but still better than nothing. Now at the first rendezvous, the four of us decide it's lunch time. I break out a.....wait for it..........SUBWAY sandwich and other goodies. We all chowed down and drink fluids to our hearts content. Rylee and Emma decided to take naps as Jessi just followed her nose where ever it may lead. Jessi did nap for about 15 minutes, but that was it. She did really well, she is always a good trail dog when biking, but unsure if the 'slow" pace of the hike would bore her, causing her to run off. Sure she caught some hints of wildlife, but always was in ear shot and always returned from another "hunt".

About an 90 minutes later I hear some familiar voices. It's Steve and Brooke and ..........that's it. "Where are the others" I ask. Brooke told me that Micki and Ken decided to summit. Steve and Brooke didn't feel like scrambling up the rest of the way and were worried about having enough water to make the return trip. 30 minutes later Ken and Micki returned, we all gathered up our gear to make our descent back to base camp. About half way down the clouds cleared and the sun felt even hotter. Water on the low side and 9 mouths to keep moist was a tall order. We came to a pump house where there was a spigot from a natural spring and we all filled up and the dogs lapped it up like it was going out of style. Only about a mile from camp, I thought to myself " I was done with this hike about 2 miles ago". It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either, the trail was full of "baby head" rocks and loose footing, partly due to my tired legs. It only took 2 hours to get down but man, it felt longer that that. Once at camp the girls ate some food, Brooke and I broke down the "thunder dome" and went to pack the "Subie", only to find this in the way.........a very spent Jessi.

We headed into Flag and had some grub at Pita Jungle, one of those "bean paste places", all healthy and stuff. But always good. Sarad met us there and had some drinks. Soon after we headed back to Casa de Chino. As you can tell, Jessi's pictures tell what we're all feeling.......tired. But all in all a great time.

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