TreknMike

For my friends asking to see pictures of my trip to Peru in June 2011, I have finally found time to go through 1500+ pictures and pick my favorite 80.  Click here to see them.   I hope to have a trip report later.

My good friend, Terry, calls and invites me to Arizona for a long 4-day weekend.  I no sooner get off the plane in Phoenix and we meet up with Terry’s friend, Lisa.  We grab Lisa’s best friend, Rio, and climb 1,200 feet to the top of Camelback Mountain – the highest point in Phoenix.  It was nice to meet Lisa and Rio.  They turned out to my new, good friends.  Terry and I stayed with Terry’s Dad who is vacationing in Arizona.  The elk steak for dinner was superb.

Saturday, Terry and I climbed the 1,000-foot high Weaver’s Needle that is located in the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix (see photo above).  As far as rock climbing goes, this is a low Class-5 climb.  Not being a rock climber, I felt challenged.  Terry is the one who took most the risk; as the leader on the pitch he would have had a longer fall if he fell.  To celebrate our success, we ate venison hamburgers for dinner!

The fun didn’t end Saturday.  The next day we’re up before the sun, again, and hiked along the ridge of the Superstition Mountains from Peralta Trail to the Siphon Draw Trailhead.  We took it easy and knocked it out in 6.5 hours.  The views from the ridge are the best views anywhere.  This night for dinner, we ate elk meatloaf – the best!  (You can tell I like to eat good food.)

Hiking in the desert landscape of cactus is foreign to me… and painful.  I was continually getting stabbed by cactus and continually removing cactus spines from my skin.

I flew home Monday while Terry was starting a hunting trip.  Click here to see a few pictures.

I damn near killed myself on this trek knocking it off in 4 days and 35 minutes, solo and unguided, on a route that normally takes 10 days with guides and burros.   It wasn’t dangerous, but it was a committed route, 73 miles long, on primitive trails at 13,300 to 16,240 feet in elevation.  My most memorable experience was hiking in a snow storm, in the dark, not sure if I was on trail or not, exhausted, stopping to set up camp and falling asleep only to wake up in the middle of the night shivering and freezing!

Here is a link to pictures… click here!

Continue on if you want to read more… Continue Reading »

I was playing with the Movie Maker in Picasa (friends gave me the idea).  This is the tear jerker that was quickly produced.  My friends and I did our own stunts.  Click the link here…  Trekking Buddies.

Trekked in Peru from May 30 to June 29, 2010.  Enjoyed time in Cusco then hiked the Salkantay to Machu Picchu trek.  Then it was off to Huaraz and the Huayhuash circuit.  Much to share, later, after I get caught up with things.  In the meantime, please enjoy a few pics that still need captions.  Click here for pictures!