Wrestling With The Bear

Bear Mountain

Wednesday, August 25 2021

Got a late start and decided to do a shorter length hike – Unfortunately the time it took to travel 68 miles from Williams to Sedona via 89A would extend the time it took to get on the trail even more –  According to my Garmin Instinct the temperature at the trailhead was 102°F – Remember to buy a Red Rocks Pass for $5 per day or $15 per week – Started on the trail from the parking lot and discovered I was heading in the wrong direction – Hmmm, didn’t see another trail !!!  Decided to see where AllTrails would lead me – As I approached Boynton Pass Road, I finally found the Bear Mountain trail on the other side of the road – Headed toward the peak that I would later discover was a false summit – Used my trekking poles in the beginning as the climb was initially somewhat gradual – That would soon change, however !  As I approached a switchback a voice called out from around the bend, “There is another insane person out here!”  Two gentlemen were resting beneath a cliff outcropping in the shade – They invited me to join them – We spoke about why I was out there in roughly the middle of the day – The older gentleman, Jim Barr, was 89 years old and the younger man, David, I presume was his son by the way the spoke with each other – They were familiar with every trail in the Arizona Summer Six Pack of Peaks challenge except for O’Leary – David knew roughly where it was based on the description of what was visible from the peak though – David mentioned some Search and Rescue operations he had participated in the area – Followed them from our resting spot and watched Jim scale a literal wall like a mountain goat – Wow!  So impressive to see someone as mobile as he was at that age – Reminded me of 89 year old Jim Greentree on the Flat Iron trail in the Superstition Mountains – Jim and David turned around and headed back down not long after I met them – Never saw another person for the duration of the hike – I would soon learn that this hike entailed a lot of scrambling and four false summits before Bear Mountain finally became visible – Fortunately the Forest Service, I presume, painted white markers on rocks to indicate where the trail was as there times when I would turn around completely and pause looking for it – There was very little shade on this trail – Made the mistake of allowing my heart rate to max out and paid the price – Once again, I was advancing 10 feet and taking a break – At one point I considered taking a nap on a rock 🙂  For the most part hikers are totally exposed to the sun so remember to wear sunscreen or protection – No lookout on this summit, though the views were spectacular