October
11-19, 2008 - Ticaboo Canyon Adventure, Utah
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Leader:
Bill Priedhorsky,
bill@priedhorsky.net. To reserve a space, I would like to
receive your deposit of $200 per person made out to me at 380 Rim Road,
Los Alamos 87544, or contact me for details for a direct bank transfer.
(I/M)
For our fall '08 canyon adventure, we will return to
Ticaboo Canyon, Utah, on the 20th anniversary of our last Mountaineers
trip there. Ticaboo is a branching set of canyons, slots, and
slickrock, and is one of the wildest domains of canyon country that I
know.
Ticaboo Canyon lies beneath the granitic mass of the
Little Rockies, the rugged spires at the south end of the Henry
Mountains. It is a mass of slick rock and slot canyons. A
few photos from the 1988 trip can be seen
here. A trip log from a Ticaboo hike can be found
here.
The easiest way to reach Ticaboo is to take a boat ride
from Bullfrog Marina. We will go into the canyon on Saturday the
12th of October, and come out on the 18th. Our party will fill two
round trips for a Boston Whaler, at about 3 1/2 hours per round trip,
each day. 12 of us could fit on the two boat rides. However,
it would be helpful if a few trip members dayhike hike down a trail of
about 3 miles from the mesatop. The route follows an old stock
trail into the South Fork of Ticaboo. This will give us a vehicle
within hiking range in case of an emergency.
According to Kelsey's book, there is a good spring just
above the high water mark on Lake Power. As a backup, there is
flowing water upstream in both the South Fork and the main canyon.
I anticipate camping either near the lake or at most a mile up the
canyon. We should be prepared to shuttle our gear a short distance
from the lakeside, but I anticipate the same luxuries (loads of 65-70
pounds per person) as our recent pack trips.
The schedule will be as follows:
-
Saturday morning, 11 October: leave
Los Alamos and drive to Bullfrog, where we will stay at the same
trailers as October 07. I believe that the
last ferry from Hall's Crossing to Bullfrog is at 4 PM.
-
Sunday morning, 12 October: leave
Bullfrog, load the first wave onto the boat. Second wave hangs
around for a half-day, then takes the second trip to camp.
Part of the party will hike in overland.
-
Saturday morning, 18 October: after 6
nights in the canyon, we will pack up camp, meet the boat, and head
for Bullfrog. Some of the party will need to wait for the
second boat; others can walk out overland.
-
Sunday, 19 October: drive home to Los
Alamos, probably taking the 9 AM ferry.
I have reserved and paid for the three 3-bedroom trailers
("family units") at Bullfrog to stay over the two Saturday nights (details
on the units)
If we have 12 participants, I expect a per person cost,
including the two nights lodging, of about $275. This will be a
great trip to some my favorite country, and I'm looking forward to it.
November
8-14, 2008, Grand Canyon Backpacking Trip
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Leader:
Rick Light,
ricklight.rxl@gmail.com, 505-662-7710. To reserve your spot on this
trip, please send a check for $50 to: Rick Light, 2571 36th Street, Los
Alamos, NM 87544.
(I-A/S)
It is a joy to announce the details of the 2008 Grand Canyon trek
for our 16th year. Our permit this year is for a beautiful and
rarely visited portion of the western Grand Canyon, a slot canyon called
150-Mile Canyon, not far from our trip a couple years ago to Tuckup
Canyon. 150-Mile is a gorgeous deep side canyon that promises to be
really fun, adventurous, and beautiful.
This email provides a summary of the trip, some details
about the rigors involved, and an outline of our preparatory events.
To reserve your spot on this trip, please send a check for $50 to: Rick
Light, 2571 36th Street, Los Alamos, NM 87544. There are 11 spots
available. We expect this trip to fill, so the earlier Rick gets your
check, the more likely you are to have a place on the trip. Please
also send Rick an email indicating you are mailing the check. That way
he'll know to expect it. Thanks!
Trip Overview:
-
Sat Nov 8th: Drive from Los Alamos to
Kanab, UT (over night in hotel).
-
Sun Nov 9th: Drive to trail head,
hike to first camp.
-
Mon Nov 10th: Descend the narrows of
150-Mile Canyon.
-
Tues Nov 11th: Lay-over day --- play,
explore, relax.
-
Wed Nov 12th: Ascend the narrows,
camp at first camp again.
-
Thurs Nov 13th: Hike out, drive to
Flagstaff (dinner at Beaver Street Brewery, over night in hotel).
-
Fri Nov 14th: Drive home.
If we get serious weather just before or on Nov 8th, we
may consider an alternate route on the South Rim. In that case, we
will over night in Tusayan instead of Kanab. We hope we don't need
it, but we will plan for this contingency.
Details: The
more I read about this area, the more excited I get! This canyon
sounds fantastic! This trip is unusual for our GC treks in that it
includes 2 days of "slot canyoneering" rather than 2 more days of normal
GC trekking. So this trip will have both flavors of fun, normal GC
hiking/backpacking along with canyoneering.
The drive from the hotel to the trailhead should take
about 2 hours, and the hike from the car to first camp about 4-5 hours.
The camp is under an over-hang and includes good water nearby. It
is just above the narrows of the canyon. From there to the 2nd
camp (just above the Colo River) it is only 2.5 miles, but could take
7-8 hours to navigate. George Steck's description makes it sound
like a wonderful slot canyon, with pools, chock stones over which we
rappel (and later ascend), and deep beautiful canyon walls.
The descent will include at least 4 rappels - could be
more if there are new chock stones. The 4 known ones have been
bolted, and hence should be quicker to set up. Steck's description
indicates that the first 3 are about 15-25 feet and the last is longer,
maybe 40-50 feet. Depending on recent rainfall there may be pools
to wade or swim or navigate around. Each rappel is onto rock, not
into a pool. There are pools, of course, below some of the chock
stones, but luckily we don't rappel into them.
The ascent will be using ascenders/jumars. We'll
leave ropes in place at each chock stone so we can easily ascend without
having to reset the ropes.
The 2nd camp is not actually at the River, but just above
it. The descent to the River is also steep and Steck suggests a
100' hand line to make it easier. We can, but do not have to go to
the River, it's an option for our layover day, as is a nearby side
canyon that looks to be quite fun to explore.
In order to be sure everyone can handle the chock stones
in a fun way, we will have 2 "rock skills training" days in which we
practice rappelling on a single rope, and using our ascenders to climb
back up. We will also have a couple of fun hikes to give everyone
the opportunity to check out gear (and our fitness) appropriately.
Dates for these are shown below. If you feel you don't need these
practice days, just let Rick know. Their intent is just to ensure
the safety and fun the trip.
By the way, you do NOT need to own your own climbing
harness to come on this trip. We will be using 1" tubular webbing
to make "swamy" belt hip and chest harnesses. They are lighter and
easier to pack, and will work fine for rappelling and ascending.
Important Dates: The
following events will help make this trip easier, more enjoyable, and
more organized. Please mark them on your calendar. Details
for each will be sent out via email ahead of time.
-
Trip organizational meeting: pot-luck
dinner meeting at Rick's home, Thurs Oct 23rd, 6:30pm.
-
Rock skills training days (attend at
least one): Sunday Oct 12th and Saturday Oct 18th.
-
Training hikes (optional): Sun Sept
21st, Sun Oct 5th, and Sun Oct 26th.
(If you can't make any of these and want
to come on the trip please speak with Rick.)
Spring, 2009 - Bhutan and
India Commercial Adventure Travel
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Leaders:
Dick and Judy Opsahl, opsahl@losalamos.com
(B-I/E-M)
Consider a trip to Bhutan and India with Dick and Judy
Opsahl departing mid April 2009. This trip, with "Overseas
Adventure Travel", will have lots of emphasis on cultural interaction
with the local people. Trip limit is 16 people.
The India trip is 17 days in Northern
India, visiting the Taj Mahal, Agra, Old and New Delhi, the "pink city"
of Jaipur with its ancient palaces and forts, and Rathambhore National
Park, known for its wildlife viewing, among other places. The main
trip is preceded by an 8 day visit to Bhutan. The Himalayan
kingdom of Bhutan is slowly opening it's borders to foreign tourism
after being closed to foreigners until recent years. It is like
visiting Nepal 100 years ago, with spectacular Himalayan scenery,
centuries old customs and traditions, ancient forts, temples, and
monasteries. The main India trip is also followed by an optional 6
day post-trip to Southern India, visiting Bombay, Cochin, and cruising
the Cochin backwaters by houseboat. You can get more information
at "Overseas
Adventure Travel".
The exact departure date for our group
will be determined sometime during May of this year. The number of
departures to Bhutan is quite limited so we need trip deposits to help
secure our position. The deposit is $350 per person and we have 2
paid so far. Total cost (2008 prices; 2009 might be higher) is
about $5500/person for Bhutan and India, airfare included. The
optional South India extension is about $1300.
