Tom Grundy's Flagstaff 2008 Page
In between more epic and momentous trips I spent a lot of time in Flagstaff this year. The purpose of this page is to show some of the things I did in the more immediate area when I wasn't taking and uploading pictures to sell, reading, eating, sleeping, etc. etc.
Mountain Biking
I went down near Sedona with Julie one cold sunny day, and it was a warm sunny day down there. We rode around on some dirt roads admiring the red rocks and dodging jeep tours. We didn't go all that far because we got a late start and Julie was smart enough to take it easy to avoid getting floored by the sickness going around (that wiped me out earlier). It was a nice break from being cold and cooped up.
Julie rides her bike near Sedona
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Near the inner basin on waterline road
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looking up at the aspens in the fall
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Other bicycle trips have included the Fisher Point trail, Schultz pass and the Schultz Creek trail, and heading up waterline road until passing over snowdrifts got too annoying (and later all the way to the inner basin after they plowed the road).
Rock Climbing
I went rock climbing a fair amount, mostly at the Pit, and at the gym (Vertical Relief), other areas included Priest Draw, Gloria's, Paradise Forks, the Peaks, and Jack's Canyon.
Jason bouldering at Gloria's
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Jeff at the pit
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Sometimes bouldering doesn't go as planned
(Julie's pic)
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Greg bouldering at the peaks
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Merrick bouldering at the peaks
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Benoit bouldering at the peaks
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I boulder at Priest Draw (J pic)
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Jack's Canyon
Jack's Canyon is a limestone sport climbing area is located south of Winslow. It was once listed by a climbing magazine as one of the 5 worst sport climbing areas in the country. Those guys must not get out much. In the spring of 2008, there was water flowing in the canyon requiring a bit of wading (or when deeper, a tyrolean traverse). The main wall starts out of the usually dry streambed, so those climbs were out.
water in Jack's Canyon...
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...required a bit of wading
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There were a lot of people and dogs there on a nice Easter weekend Saturday - the dogs were just about at critical mass.
Lots of climbers at the crackerjack cliffs
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But we got in a lot of fun climbing. I even flashed "Firedance".
Carrie runs a TR lap on "Firedance"
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reflection of trees and rocks in Jack's Canyon
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We all piled in to Erik's van for the trip back to Flag
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When I went back later that week, we didn't see anyone else until we were walking back out. It was nice to be able to get on any climb (that was dry), and not have heaps of dogs tearing around.
Mount Elden
One of the features visible from town is Mount Elden, a spur off of the San Francisco peaks, it rised to 9300 feet or so. I felt the need for some exercise, so I biked to the trailhead on the E side of it, and hiked up the 2400 feet to the lookout where I had lunch. Then I headed north across too much snow (with some unpleasant post holing) and back east down the heart trail before cutting back south on the christmas tree trail to my bicycle for the ride home. I think it was nearly 10 miles of hiking and 10 miles of biking. The snow made it a bit harder than it would have been without it, but helped to keep the crowds down and the views were very nice, and I wanted some exercise anyway.
dead tree branches against a blue sky on Mount Elden
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Looking down towards Flagstaff from Mount Elden
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Looking back at Mount Elden before descending the Heart Trail
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Wildlife
There is a surprising amount of wildlife in and around Flagstaff. I have seen foxes, skunks, raccoons, and one-eyed cats in my brother's front yard, and plenty of interesting birds are in the area. Even the squirrels have exotic tufts on the tops of their ears. I have seen deer and elk near town, and there are mountain lions and bear hiding somewhere nearby too. Here are some bird photos I took near the wastewater outfall.
a great blue heron caught a fish
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an irridescent white faced ibis
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Weather
It was mostly nice, but there was a bit of snow at the end of May, and some random hot and cold, dry and wet days as usual.
It snowed a bit on May 22
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hiking by Sedona
Later on in the year I did a hike by Sedona with Julie. There were some cool ruins there. One the way back as we rounded the corner we were treated to a nearly full moon rising over the red sandstone towers. fabulous. I took some photoshop liberties to make the moon even bigger (or the towers smaller). I also managed to get a little cactus spine in my tongue trying to taste a prickly pear fruit. That was rather annoying until a while after I plucked it out with tweezers later with the aid of a bright light and a mirror.
ruin doorway
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expanded moonrise
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