Author: Bobbi Hapgood

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On the road again

Well, hello, Aristotle (if you have forgotten, Aristotle is the name of our camper)! So good to be back in your gracious confines. It’s been a long seven months without you. Did you miss us? Over the past seven months we were doing a little more luxurious traveling, staying in some nice hotels, and, frankly, I dearly missed my time on the road with Aristotle. I missed the daily hikes, the life in the backcountry, the surprises (some good, some really challenging) that come with life in a camper. We’re only a few days into a few weeks tramp and it feels so right and familiar. So… wondering what we are doing? This picture captures it all

The road to this lovely, secluded spot came with a bit of stress, nail biting bumps and a roller coaster ride in the back while Matt navigated huge potholes and I held cabinets in place. Think massive earthquake – don’t recommend riding the camper roller coaster. Alas, there’s the pot at the end of the rainbow, a dream campsite, in the sun, good weather, lots of nearby hiking, waterfalls, streams, and lakes. Just when all was going perfectly well, the stoic gods and Zeus decided to throw us a challenge – snow and cold weather (so need for lots of propane heat) combined with clouds (so no solar). Should I say that we thought one tank would be good enough for our entire trip? We might be going through one tank in a few days!

The snow didn’t stop us from enjoying a few hikes, so between hovering around the heating duct or snuggled under the thick covers we decided to venture out to the famous “Blue Lakes”. What did we see, learn? That during the seven months we completely forgot the lessons in preparedness! Oh – and we forgot that a bit of snow on the ground at the base of the hike might mean lots of snow on the hike.

From the idyllic beginning of a few waterfalls, wildlife (literally that fox trotted about 20 feet from us), stream crossings, to the challenge of steep hillside snow climbing (at times we would sink in to our knee caps or slip precariously down), and finally the reward of a beautiful lake. Sadly, we hadn’t planned well enough. After a few seemingly near-death experiences of slipping and beginning to fall off the mountain, we found nature-made walking sticks to help in the journey. Of course we also hadn’t planned on the amount of time it would take, so we were pushing the limits of sunlight. Admittedly, I got a bit stressed and tried to rush us along, much to Matt’s chagrin. Would like to do this hike again, but with proper gear – waterproof shoes, hiking sticks, crampons for the shoes (my running shoes proved useless for repelling water and getting a grip on the mountainside). The pictures belie the challenge as I was unwilling to pull out the phone to snap a shot while desperately trying to stay alive. Didn’t want to end up a selfie example or in the Darwin Award column.

Might have more posts later – as we will definitely have stories from a few more hikes, mountain biking rides, and adventures into town (thinking the clothing optional hot springs – and, no, I’m not snapping photos there either). And since we now have Starlink for internet service (FAST) we hopefully can post from just about anywhere.

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Getting saved, or saving

Damsel in distress. Okay, I’m not generally a damsel in distress. Friends, colleagues have told me that I sometimes frighten others. I think it’s my inherited, angry frown line that belies my feelings… or relays what I’m feeling (beware). Regardless, there are times that we all want to be “saved”. Being saved may mean so much and it doesn’t necessarily indicate weakness, just a moment in time when having someone else help you out makes a huge difference. This was a few days ago.

We are parked in a beautiful area south of Tucson, near a small town called Tombstone (think old west, think famous shoot outs…). Anyway, we are 15 miles outside of town, down a washboard dirt road, parked in a national forest. well, there isn’t much of a forest but amazing “jumbo-rock” like mountains.

I went for a hike, with the intention of heading down… or rather up a trail for about 4 miles. Matt was going to do a mountain bike ride. All was good. Water in hand, satellite communicator ready, mapped out trail on phone, hat and sunscreen applied. The beginning scenery of various cactus species interspersed with oak trees, thorny shrubs, towering rocks, and brilliant blue sky beckoned you onward to even better views. All went well until mile 3 (at least for me, the hiker). At mile 3 the trail became obscured by brush and thorny shrubs while the ascent turned from doable on two feet to scrambling on four feet. Then the rock slides happened while navigating slopes that looked like a 50 -60 degree pitch. It was very sketchy even as a hike/scramble towards the end. There was no real trail and most of the mountain was navigated by using all fours to keep from falling, sliding, or rolling down the mountain. At the top, I looked at my trail map and decided not to ascend the treacherous rock slide hill, but instead take the trails going around the mountain. Being the communicator that I am, I texted Matt letting him know that I would be much later than expected. Instead of taking the route four miles back, I was looking at around nine miles. Matt responded quite quickly, surprisingly. He was also on a challenging trail and decided to finish it, but knew that it would take a while.

Long story short, Matt had taken the same trail I had, but he was riding, hauling, carrying, and finally dragging his bike up the cliff to finish the trail. Here’s a quick clip on his experience.

Why did he not turn around? Beats the hell out of me. In the end, when my calculated nine miles back became eleven and I was just hoping to be saved (ie. hoping that Matt had reached the trailer and would come save me), I was sadly mistaken. Instead of being the one saved, I reached the trailer first and got an SOS call from Matt along the same trail I had taken. It was dark, it was cold, and he had still 10 miles to go. All downhill, but sketchy, 41 degrees and in the shade. Wanting to be saved, instead I became the savior.

So, the moral of the story? Not really sure… you fill in the blanks. Despite the challenges of that one day, we loved, loved this campsite. One of our top five. Pictures from hikes and the campsite for your enjoyment. Oh… and the yellow circle is around a climber.

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Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Really, Bobbi, instead of Lucy, and I’m on a trail, rather than in the sky, and, well, the diamonds are actually quartz crystals, not diamonds. However, the experience of floating above a sea of crystals on a trail in the middle of nowhere is magical and we all need a little bit of magic in our lives right now.

We started Trip Fourteen with a previous favorite spot in Big Bend Ranch State Park, and I ran down memory lane taking Crystal Trail to it’s famous point where crystals line the trails and sparkle like you couldn’t believe. The picture doesn’t do it justice, but believe me, it’s a site worth seeing. I did have a slight fear that it wouldn’t be there… that somehow the masses would have come and taken away the magic. Alas there it is…still sparkling in the sky.

Big Bend was like we remember – out in now where – Matt, me, the few other campers distantly around, the Rio Grande River, lots of trails, starry nights, no cell coverage, and the beauty of nature.

Unfortunately, there is only so many days we can do without cell service. Time to move onward, westwardly, hoping to stay in warm-ish weather. Next on the agenda was still Texas bound, but in a spot we’d never been – the Franklin Mountains State Park just North of El Paso. El Paso looks like an endless array of strip malls surrounding by concrete, asphalt, and lots of gravel-y dirt. Not a place I thought of stopping. And then, out of no where, is a huge natural area dominated by towering mountains. Our campsite looks really good… but in reality it’s a bit of dirt off a parking lot (don’t you love how we can make things look better than they are?). However, there are amazing tent campsites scattered around the park, so don’t discount the place. There are two really amazing RV spots – I just didn’t get them… Blame Matt, he doesn’t like to plan far enough ahead. Regardless the trail experience was lovely.

Tomorrow we head further west…