Do more crazy shit! ;) ;)

Wow! Where do I start with this one? As some of you know, I have been attempting to complete a Six Pack of Peaks Challenge by hiking one peak from each of six challenges. Prior to January 17^th I completed Mission Peak from the Bay Area Challenge on January 7^th; Gaviota Peak from the Central Coast Challenge on January 8^th; Strawberry Peak from the SoCal Challenge on January 10^th; and Mount Woodson aka Potato Chip Rock from the San Diego Challenge.

Only two more to go at this point. So, I decided to complete a peak from the Las Vegas Challenge and a peak from the Arizona Summer Challenge. I got up around 3am Saturday morning, Jan 17^th, and drove 290 miles (about 4.5 hours) to the Turtlehead Peak Trail in Rod Rock Canyon. I arrived there around 8:30am and started my hike shortly after that. The park was very busy (holiday weekend), but I was able to find a parking spot near the trailhead.

The trail itself is easy enough to follow. There are makers every few hundred feet showing you where to go. The first mile is a pretty simple walk across the desert floor with about 465 feet in elevation gain. After that, it’s a steep .8 mile climb up the draw or canyon that gains another 1088 feet in elevation. At this point you’re on the ridgeline and only have a final ascent of about .33 miles with another 448 feet in elevation gain.

After summiting, I took a few photos and quicky headed down. The parking lot now was like a zoo. Crazy busy with visitors looking for somewhere to park. I felt sorry each time someone asked if I was leaving. Not yet was the answer. I took my time. Changed my shoes and socks. Ate some breakfast and drank what was left of my lukewarm coffee. Besides, I had just driven 290 miles, hiked 4.65 miles with an elevation gain total of 2026 feet and my day was far from over! That said, Peak #5 of my Six Pack of Peaks Challenge was done.

I headed out right around noon. Destination, the Bill Williams Trailhead in Arizona. Yep! An 8-mile hike to complete the challenge. This was another 248 miles and 4 hours of driving. Along the way, Google Maps kept telling me that the Bill Williams trail was closed, but I was unable to find anything else to confirm that. So, plan B was going to be Sunrise Peak (a 4.3-mile hike) near Phoenix but that was another 2 hours of driving making the drive 6 hours. I really didn’t want to do the drive, so I decided to stop at the Bill Williams Trailhead first just to check it out. Good thing I did. The trail was not closed.

I arrived at the trailhead just before 4:30pm. It was still daylight, but I knew since this was an 8-mile hike I’d be doing a lot of it in the dark. No worries, I had everything I needed for that. I also checked on current trail conditions which lead me to believe there was no snow on trail. However, I could see small patches of icy snow right around the trailhead at just under 6,900 feet. The summit was going to be right around 9,200 feet. As a precaution, I threw in my micro spikes and an extra layer. Temps were forecast as 30 degrees for the low with no winds. That was about the only thing the current condition report got right. It was cold, right around freezing and there were no winds throughout the entire hike.

The trail itself was wet and muddy when there weren’t any patches of snow and ice. It was like this for about the first mile or so and then it started becoming larger patches of snow and ice. I decided to layer up and put on my micro spikes at about 1.8-miles in since the snow was now more continuous and ranging between 1 to 4 inches at any given time. To be honest, by mile 2.5, I was starting to have second thoughts on whether I should continue. It was getting dark and the snow was getting deeper. It was now 4 to 8 inches all around.

I kept going but only because the foot path was very good. There were a few hikers who had broken trail within the last few days. That made my trek much easier. Also, it was chilly, but I had layers so there was no issue there. Although I traveled lite, I did carry my ten essentials and beyond. So, if need be, I could have waited out the night. My only regret would be that I chose to wear my trail runners for traction versus my Obos Bridgers (which are waterproof, but don’t grip as much). My feet definitely got a bit cold and wet but nothing serious.

The snow at the initial part of the hike was hard and frozen. But once I got up to about mile 3 and beyond the snow on the foot path felt soft and a bit packed. The snow that hadn’t been walked on was very powdery. About a half mile from the summit the trail dovetails onto a service road which takes you up to the Lookout Tower. Most of the road was hard packed with icy snow but it was easy to traverse.

My pace slowed in the dark and in the deeper snow so my idea of maybe seeing the sunset went out the window by mile 2.5. I did have clear skies though. As I descended, I couldn’t help stopping to look up at the stars and thinking to myself, I can’t remember a time when I could see so many stars. It was pitch black with the exception of the stars when I would turn off my headlamp. At one point I was thinking it was getting late because it was so dark. I was thinking 9 or 10 pm, but when I looked at my watch at the summit it was about 7:30 pm. Still, it took just over 4.5 hours to hike 8 miles with 2,388 feet in total elevation gain. Slow and go, as they say.

I made it down at about 9 pm. Changed my clothes and wet socks and put on slippers and then headed back to SoCal. Which was another 336 miles and 5 hours of driving. I made it back about 2:30 am. Almost 23 hours after I has set off to complete this crazy journey.

Eight Hundred Seventy-Four miles of driving in thirteen hours and thirty minutes, to hike two peaks and two different states. Turtlehead Peak and Bill Williams Lookout, totaling 12.71 miles in 6-hours 59-minutes and 4,405 feet in elevation gain .

My personal Six Pack of Peaks Challenge complete!

I was exhausted by the time I made it back to my trailer.