Multi-Kid continued

Ok, So Cody wanted in on the action and here is what happens when we end up with a yard full of kids.

Multi-Brett

Ok, I think I screwed up here. Our house was a bit dirty and Brett was running around making it worse. We had just watched Multiplicity last week and I had this idea to try cloning my son but not with the results from the movie. (I don't need drooling 4 year old boys running around) I just wanted to have some help cleaning up.

I went into the garage where I keep my bins of electrical goodies (Junk) and discovered that I my robot parts from school. I connected a Vector Phase Coupler to the Poly Ball Bearing connecting arm. Using a high voltage, liquid particle stream, I realized that I could replicate free hydrogenous ions causing a shift in pH. Well long story short, I wanted to test it on the neighbor hood cat but it was no where to be seen. I got it to replicate a cricket that was in the yard so it was time to try it on Brett. Well it discharged once then for some reason, my laptop controller glitched (Win XP sucks) and it latched in a looping mode. Well I pulled the USB connector and it shut off. I looked up to see a disaster.

Here is a picture of 10 Brett's loose in our yard. I have no clue how to fix this. They are all exactly... him! I don't know who is the original because they all think they were the first. It is now lunch time and three of the Brett's want Mac and cheese and the rest want pizza. Now I have to explain this to Tara. Wish me luck .

A climb on Browns Peak (Four Peaks AZ)

2-8-09
Browns Peak 7,657 feet tall
High point in Maricopa County
Trail ~5.2 miles round trip with almost 1,800 feet climbed.

In keeping with my promise to post trip reports on some of my climbs, here is the latest.

Four Peaks is a mountain in Maricopa county Arizona. It is the high point of the county at 7,657 feet tall. The highest of the four peaks is called Browns Peak and the rest are not named.

I am slightly bummed because I realized that I have never taken a picture of the west slope showing the distinct peaks. Here is a picture from another climb on a mountain about 20 miles south of Four peaks.
Having read trip reports to get an idea what to expect, I learned that the long dirt road leading up to the saddle parking lot is long and bumpy. Well the reputation is solid, this road was an absolute blast in our Dodge ram. I brought two guys from work, Cody, and a family friend on this trip and on this dirt road, realized that only Cody knew that I am quite experienced at off road driving and after a few power slides and keeping on the gas when a sensible driver would be breaking, I had a cab full of wide eyed guys! It was a test of patience to drive slow and smooth but we made it to the Browns Peak trail head in the north saddle.

Taking off from the parking lot on Browns Peak trail, we wound through an area that had been burned in the early 1990's and has not recovered much in the passing years. A few remaining pine trees showing scares are all that stand tall. Manzanita bushes are the most common plant for most of the hike on the shoulder of the mountain. Manzanita is an unusual plant as it has a dark orange and smooth trunk and branches. Fresh berries and branch tips can be soaked in water and drunk, making a refreshing cider. When the bark curls off, it can be used as a tea for nausea and upset stomach. The younger leaves are sometimes plucked and chewed by hikers to deter thirst. The most intriguing thing about this plant is when dry, the wood burns very hot and with little smoke. This is something I experienced when living in California and camping allot.
Rounding the mountain, the trail heads south and takes us to the beginning of the class 3 scrambling up a scree filled couloir. This couloir or trough as it is also called, is fairly treacherous due to the loose rock and scree.
We kicked many rocks loose, sending them tumbling down bellow. We were one of three other groups on the mountain during this time and fortunately we were widely spaced or there might have been some bruises from falling rocks! Once at the base of this couloir, you will be climbing the next almost 1,000 feet to the summit in this.
There were several areas where snow/ ice was wall to wall making a high angle obstacle. Incredibly, the rock cliffs rise straight up on either side of the trail.
Cody is seen here playing spider man on the frozen solid snow.
After a few smaller ledges slowed us down, we made the 15x15 foot summit!
We stayed on the summit for almost 25 minutes taking in the spectacular 360 degree views.
Just before he headed down, I took a shot of the other three peaks.

Looking west, the foothills of Four peaks was surprisingly green for being in the desert of The Valley of the Sun.
Once out of the couloir and back onto the foothills, we paused for a group photo. A handy rock made a willing tripod.
We again passed the standing dead trees on the north slope.

Almost back to the truck, we passed a large rock that after admiring for a minute we decided it looked like Snoopy's head!
Once back in the truck, we decided to take a different rout back home and pass Roosevelt reservoir then take Apache Trail back into the valley. This section of dirt road would be easily traveled in a car and was much shorter. Later on the Apache Trail, we paused at Canyon lake to take in the sunset colors and look back at the mountain we spent the day climbing.
Browns Peak was a challenge I really enjoyed. The view was spectacular and as I repeatedly said while on the mountain... I will be back one day

Snow in the Phoenix area!

Snow in Arizona, well even more cool is snow in the Phoenix area!





I took this picture on the way up to the summit of Browns Peak, The high point in our county.

Longs Peak in Estes Park CO 14,255 feet tall

8-27-2005

I have a passion to spend time in the great outdoors and feel the anxiety and stress flow out of me. One way to "recharge" my batteries is to climb mountains. There are several steps I go through that leave me energized for a long tome. First, the mental preparation of such a difficult task. Second, while on the ascent, I have to reach deep inside for the strength to finish the climb when exhaustion overwhelms. Third, the indescribable feeling of reaching the summit. Fourth, is a combination of finally reaching the car and heading home to sleep!

I called my friend Ben, after setting up plans with two other acquaintances to climb Longs Peak in Estes Park Colorado , to invite him along. So the plan was set to make the climb on Saturday the 27 th . Ben and I worked for the same employer and after an 8 hour Friday at work, we packed the car and met up with my two other friends that had slept most of the day in preporation, the four of us left Colorado Springs at 10:30pm. We arrived in Estes Park CO at 12:45am and lined up on the trail head at 1am. We signed the registry and kicked of at a quick pace often out walking the light of our headlamps.

The trail wound through the trees and passed streams that we could only hear. Slowly the trail became gradually steeper and we finally broke tree line. The temperature had dropped noticeably and the trail was getting steeper. None of us had ever seen this mountain in the light so we had no idea what was past the headlamps. We worked our way through some steep switchbacks and noticed small specs of light from three other teams climbing on what I thought was the night sky. They were so far up from where we were I was having a hard time getting a grasp on the size of this mountain.

We were still making a blazing fast pace and eventually passed all the groups we had seen climbing. It was startling to catch movement off the trail and to whip my headlamp into the face of an exhausted climber resting on his pack! The wind had picked up while the temperature fell even more as we found the trail winding through football sized rocks that had been stacked trail side to mark the way. Soon the ground became so rocky that the trail consisted of piles of rocks. Several times we lost the trail and just headed in the direction we guessed. The Boulder field grew from the football sized rocks to the size of a golf carts. We could hear water running under us in the deeply stacked rocks. At this point we had been awake for 21 hours and fatigue was setting in so we decided to take shelter from the ice cold wind behind the large rocks. I had dressed in a pair of nylon running pants and a fleece so I was quite chilled. I knew I needed a power nap and the rocks were too cold to lay on so I crouched and leaned my shoulder on a rock. I was only able to rest and after 30mins of shivering uncontrollably, we pressed on. Ben had failed to pack any food so I shared some granola bars. By this point we were at almost 13,000 ft and the thin air along with the steep climb slowed us to a careful walk.

(This picture was taken on the way down)

We made it to the Keyhole and spent a few minutes in the rock hut resting. We passed through the Keyhole and on to the narrows.

The trail was marked by red bulls eyes and our headlamps showed a sheer drop-off to our right.

By the time we made it to the bottom of the trough, the morning sunlight had just started peaking over the mountains to the east. We put our headlamps away and started up the trough. This feature is a rock face at about 600 feet tall and at a 45 degree angle. Progress slowed to several steps up then stopping to suck air for 30 seconds then repeat. Getting out of the Trough was a challenge. It involves scrambling up to a ten-foot-high ledge. There are three routes -- left, right, and straight up the granite slab starring you in the face. We chose the direct route, up the granite slab. By the time I reached the top of the trough and stared at the narrow ledge ahead, I knew I was going to make it to the top.

The trail only looked harder but I knew I had just accomplished such difficulty that nothing was going to stop me. This set of ledges is higher and steeper than the narrows behind us but with an even more fantastic view. After briefly slowing our heart rates we pressed on. I was not aware there was a false summit on this climb so when I pushed past the point where I should have rested and clambered to what I thought was the summit, wich was the bottom of the home stretch, I had to build up more energy to push the few hundred feet past 14,000 feet. The home stretch looked impassable as it is much steeper than the trough and at a 60 degree angle.Normally I could not have climbed a wall that steep with out equipment, but thankfully there are numerous rock formations that formed natural hand holds to make it surprisingly easier than I first pictured. Our own fatigue and thin air were more significant obstacles than the wall itself. The final 400 feet up the home stretch seamed as long as the entire trip so far as we could only progress a few feet before resting. When my eyes became level with the summit, I felt the second wind kick in and I launched onto the football field sized summit.

I looked at my cell phone to note the time—7:20am. It took 6 hours and 20 minutes to reach the 14,255 foot summit. It seamed like 20 hours because of my fatigue. Then I realized that I had been awake for 25.5 hours and I needed to rest. The sun was now visible and I made several 360's to try and take it all in. I could see Colorado 's Rocky Mountains in every direction and I was higher than any of them. We took the obligatory smiling (wincing) summit photos and headed down.

The trek down the Home stretch, ledge, and trough were even more difficult for me probably because I had made the summit and there was no longer a huge prize around the next bend and I was beyond exhaustion. I was snapped out of my thoughts by Ben commenting on the large number of climbers making their way toward us. I think we passed about 40 other people making their way to the summit. I felt proud as I passed the struggling climbers because I had already accomplished their obstacles. We made it past the Keyhole and took a break in the boulder field realizing what we had accomplished in the dark. My two acquaintances made a mad beeline off the mountain due to an appointment leaving Ben and I.

We both were out of food and water with 4.5 miles of switchbacks to navigate. We made it back to the car at 11am. I am leaving out most of the events during the hours Ben and I had to overcome our extreme fatigue and the pain in our knees. There were several times where I gave up and sat down almost passing out. Ben pushed me on and I had to do the same for him as we moved on past a level of pain and fatigue worse than I have ever experienced before or since. On the 2.5 hour drive home to Colorado Springs I had to ask Ben to drive as I slept. I awoke to the sound of my car tires going over the ridges on the shoulder and realized he had fallen asleep at the wheel. He pulled over and I took the wheel. We made it back safely and I slept great.

You may not fully understand the level of desire we had to accomplish something great. Making the summit for 30 minutes was enough to recharge me for a long time… well until the next mountain :)