Monday, February 27, 2012

Hiking a Canyon with a Dog...

From January 2012
It's been a year today since we lost our Gustifson. http://www.commandonlandon.blogspot.com/2011/02/gustifson-h-blakfurs-last-ride.html

Time has healed a lot, but not a day goes by that I don't think of my waggly little boy dog. Gus and I used to hike canyons a lot, so today Dinka and I went on a "Gus Hike" to find some adventure.

From January 2012


From January 2012


From January 2012
Dinka and I happily hiked along in the warm February sun. We were both a little tired from yesterdays bike ride so the leisurely pace was welcome. And the canyon wasn't too technical....yet!

From January 2012


From January 2012


From January 2012


From January 2012
We rounded a bend on our easy hike and found a wall of rock chocking the canyon. Having not a geological bone in my body, I have no idea what kind of rock, but it was black, slick and seemed to resist the water trying to erode it better then the red sandstone we had been hiking through all day.


From January 2012


There were three levels of frozen waterfalls that would have to be ascended if we were going to make it any further up canyon. There were some really technical scrambles so, I would carry Dinka in one arm, and grip rock with the other, and then throw her up to the next ledge. The ice and slick rock made this pretty tricky.

From January 2012


From January 2012

We made it to the bottom of the third falls, but it looked too risky to try and get over. So, we turned around to head back down... which for some reason is always harder then getting up, especially with a 14lb dog in the crook of your arm. I coaxed Dinka down what I could, and carried her what she couldn't make herself. At one point I had to drop her about 4 feet to a rock landing. She handled it pretty well; always obeying my commands.

From January 2012

On the last descent, I dropped Dinka down onto a rock to wait for me to climb down to her. As I was chimneying down the rock I saw her slip. She tried to leap to some ice in the frozen pool below us, but broke through it! I'll bet she was only under the ice for three seconds, but it felt like an eternity before I could grab her little butt and haul her out. She was completely stunned. She didn't even shake off the water. I pulled off my shirt and wrapped her up and rushed her down canyon to where the sun was shining. There, she immediately came back to life, shaking and rolling in the sand to dry off.

From January 2012

I'm really glad Dinka didn't drown on the anniversary of Gus's death. Thank goodness she's here and fine, sleeping in her little doggie den, not a care in the world...I sure do love that little dog, just as much as I did Gus!!!

From January 2012

Friday, February 10, 2012

Climbing a Mountain with a Dog....

From July 2011
Last July Dinka and I were riding along one day in the mountains, with no particular destination, when it occurred to me that I had not climbed a mountain in a long time. And also, because of my switch to wearing regular shoes for biking, it occurred to me that those same shoes would allow me to get off my bike and climb said mountain. So we did...

From July 2011


From July 2011
Dinka was game, ready to go. Her 12 lbs barely moved the precarious scree rocks that I fought for dear life to balance on.

From July 2011


From July 2011
Dinka was also pretty impressed with snow in the middle of Summer. Taking a snow bath, snow bights and a snow slide.

From July 2011
It's a wonder the mountain is still there. It was falling to pieces! Not a rock in sight would stay put.

From July 2011
Right about here Dinka's altimeter kicked in. She began to shake, and would not move, up or down. She does this during drives over mountain passes in the truck too. At about 11,000 ft she starts shaking and yawning and sometimes throws up??? So there I was about 500 ft from the summit stuck with a dog that wouldn't move. I pondered carrying her up, but then realized the view wouldn't be any better up above, and that I really could care less about bagging a peak. Sooo, I snatched up my girl and started carrying her down.

From July 2011
And thunder boomed over there, and to the south, not helping Dinka's anxiety.

From July 2011
Anyone see an elevator off of this thing?

From July 2011
Yep, sliding down that snow field with a dog in one arm was about the dumbest thing I've ever done. The abrupt stop at the end caused Dinka to reassess needing to be carried and she once again started walking.

From July 2011


From July 2011


From July 2011
It's reeeel purrty up there...

From July 2011


From July 2011
We hit the trail back down. I was extremely happy to be using my shoes for pedaling and Dinka was really glad to NOT BE ON TOP OF A MOUNTAIN!

From July 2011

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Adventures in the Hillbilly Hideaway...Life on the Road

From January 2012
Camo curtains?...Honestly neither Mary nor I would have chosen a camo painted camper trailer had the price not been right. We've also been known to have pretty strong opinions about camping, deeming camping as something one does in a tent or preferably without. That opinion hasn't changed. I wouldn't say that RV's have anything to do with camping. However, what they do allow is life on the road to be pretty darn sweet. The best part of an "RV" is that cooking is so much easier. Fussing with a camp stove, when the early morning wind is howling, and your hands freeze while digging through a cooler is no fun. And the back of the truck always looks like a gear bomb went off. We've done it this way for years, even living in a car while in New Zealand. The Hillbilly Hideaway has made this month off really enjoyable. Will it get a new paint job soon? Probably, but mostly because camo is brown, which is close to black, which is REALLY HOT in the summer.

From January 2012
MMMMMM! Fried potatoes soon to be mixed with scrambled eggs!

From January 2012


From January 2012
Tucson! How sweet it is in January in Tucson. It's always warm and sunny...except for our ride down Mt Lemon to La Milagrosa. Windy with a storm blowin in. Ah well, we were on our bikes!

From January 2012

From January 2012

From January 2012

From January 2012


From January 2012


From January 2012


From January 2012


From January 2012
Even Dinka, who is like an energizer doggy, was showing the effects of all the riding we'd been doing. She seemed....tired? Maybe it was the 6000ft descent, maybe it was her marathon two days prior, but she looked like she was ready for some rest days.

From January 2012
We agreed with Dinka, and after finishing the ride we loaded the Hideaway and headed for home.


From January 2012


From January 2012


From January 2012
We hauled a long one from Tucson all the way to the San Juan Goosenecks that night. We awoke early to a Utah sunrise, and then pushed on home to Fruita. Not a bad month off....we rode so much we didn't want to ride anymore. I can't say that's ever happened before!

From January 2012

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Adventures in the Hillbilly Hideaway...59 Miles Till Pie...(Part 3)

From January 2012
With full stomachs and sore legs we departed for day three. The previous day's short miles promised plenty for the third. I was a little worried about Dinka. Not that she couldn't go the distance, but would it get too hot and melt my little girl? Not far into the ride I bummed some xtra water from some hikers who were finishing their hike. As usual, the little old hiker ladies loved Dinka. "Can she actually run with you behind the bike?" I guess its hard to tell she's a greyhound trapped in a lap dogs body.

From January 2012


From January 2012
It was the most beautiful day, the ocotillo were blooming, and new green grass made all the north hillsides look like they were covered in a green rash.

From January 2012
Professional guides, Nancy and Eric, are accustomed to weeks on end in the saddle and it showed on day three. Mary and I lagged towards the back. But a race it was not. We enjoyed the changing desert the farther south we went. The trail became more raw, and less used the further we got from the outside world.

From January 2012


From January 2012
My fear that Dinka would get too hot turned out to be a non-issue. We crossed three "rivers" through the day. Much to her dismay I soaked her in each one. She's come a long way in a year. Last year she refused to cross streams. We had to carry her across, soaking our feet. Luckily she's given up some of her cat like ways.

From January 2012


From January 2012
As we climbed our way out of the Agua Fria river valley I began to crave food. Like 40 miles in my legs kind of hunger. It was somewhere around this spot that we decided there would be no meal cooked in the Hideaway tonight. We would go in search of the famous pie we had heard about in the tiny town of Rock Springs.

From January 2012
A "cutie" would have to do in the mean time.

From January 2012


From January 2012
The further we got from civilization the more healthy and abundant the Saguaro Cactus became. The trail wound its way through whole forests of massive cacti, with funky outstretched arms in the tilted late afternoon light.

From January 2012


From January 2012


From January 2012
(photo above by Eric Boxrud)

From January 2012


From January 2012

Remembering that I had previously prayed for the trail to keep going on and on I began to think that it might never end. But, unfortunately it did. We had parked the Hideaway on an old jeep road a few miles before the last trail head. We new that if we passed under a power line it would lead us to our home sweet home. After six or so hours we found the line and the jeep road back. We were all craving pie something awful!

From January 2012
We celebrated the finish with one more ridiculous photo before the sun kissed the mountains to the west.

From January 2012


From January 2012
The car ride toward Rock Springs felt strange. We all commented about how FAST we were going on the interstate after 3 days of moving at the sane pace of about 7 miles per hour.

From January 2012


From January 2012
Lemon Meringue

From January 2012
Coconut Cream

From January 2012
And Nancy and I shared the Chocolate Cream.

From January 2012
Poor Dinka Jane didn't get to have any pie. She probably deserved it more than us. She had ran for over 6 hours at an average pace of 7.3 MPH over 26 miles! Her first off-road MARATHON! She was tuckered out, but no more so than us.

From January 2012
Our map had treated us well. It was a little bit wrinkled and had some food stains on it, but for a piece of paper and colored pencil lines it worked rather well. Please don't steal it, it is copyrighted material. LOL

From January 2012
As our pie settled in our belly's, we put our map away, the stars came out...the moon came up...and then we slept. Black Canyon Trail---You were amazing! Thanks for being there for us, we hope you only get longer. Signed, Landon, Mary, Dinka, Eric and Nancy