Fourteen fortunate Trailblazers made their way to Loy Canyon Trailhead to hike the trail on a gorgeous spring day. We organized into two groups:

Anikó graciously agreed to lead the "B" hikers to the top.

We all started out together, but soon became separated into groups. Val, Jeanne, and I preferred the casual hike, so we took our time on the trail, snapped pictures, and discussed natural history.

A cliff dwelling, built in an overhang high above the canyon, isn’t visible through the trees until you get fairly close to it. One could only imagine the folks who lived there climbing down those cliffs to the creek and then back up to their home, carrying a big jar of water.

The three of us didn’t see any of the other Trailblazers until, on our return walk, Michael and Becky caught up with us.

Hikers finished in groups. Val and Becky started back, then the rest of us decided to visit the nearby Honanki Ruin. Clouds rolled in, giving us a more subtle light.

It was near closing time, so we didn’t stay very long at Honanki. Two groups stopped for dinner at different restaurants, then drove back to Phoenix.

My thanks to all of you for going with me on this hike!

Ted  

The hike in Loy Canyon to the saddle is about 10 miles with over 1800' elevation gain.

Ted, our Fearless Hike Leader, knew that not everyone in our group was up for this type of challenge. I was chosen to be a Deputy Hike Leader for the day, my mission to take the faster hikers as far as we could go. Great, I have been on this trail before, made it to the saddle, so I am qualified for the task before me.

This type of appointment is not to be taken lightly, so after several group pictures, I promptly started to lead the hike in the wrong direction! After about 100' I was corrected by others in our group and I got in line. I did, however, took mental note that my title does carry a great deal of authority and a couple of people followed me on the dirt road to nowhere (more on that later). After several rotations of hiking line-up, we installed Gary in the driver’s seat and made good use of him as a pacer car and snake security officer.

Mile after mile, our front group was getting smaller in size. By the time we reached the bottom of the steep climb and switchbacks it was just Gary, me, and Quy, in that order. Carefully made our way to the lunch spot we used before on the same hike in February of 2012. Quy was ready for a snack and so just Gary and I continued on. I believe we came very close to the saddle, but not wanting to leave Quy behind and making the others wait for too long, we turned back. We were pleasantly surprised by noticing Betty joining Quy as we made our way back to the lunch spot.

After having a nice snack ourselves, taking in the view and enjoying the cool breeze, we followed Betty and Quy down the switchbacks. It was slow but steady coming down the steep part. At the bottom of the switchbacks we picked up the pace. Still, there were butterflies, lizards, and Indian Paintbrushes to see, and birds to listen to. In the last mile we met up with Quy, Betty, John and Dottie. Everyone made it back to the parking lot and I turned in my standard issue Yellow Motorola 2-way Radio at 3:00 PM. At this juncture my responsibility and the official report ends! The rest I can not quite vouch for.

I was instructed to make haste on the account of several ladies jumping up-and-down in their excitement to see the Honanki Indian Ruins. Seemed like a slight over-dramatization to me, and I could not substantiate such reports, as the ladies where already seated in the white carriage. Michael started the carriage (truck) and drove us off in the same exact direction as I mistakenly started to lead the hike in the morning. Now, you just have to ask yourself the question, did I really knew what I was doing and just wanted to get the historical and cultural part of the day out of the way early in the morning? Hmmm ... Well, did she?

Anyhow, we were fortunate to see the Ruins before they closed up shop at 4:00 PM. Being hungry, we came to a conclusion as to where to dine (or did we?) and made our way to civilization. In Cottonwood we lost our way, made several frantic phone calls to persons in the other car and finally were given reliable location of the chosen dining establishment. To our surprise, we didn’t find our complete company seated. We were missing Ted, Jeanne and Betty. We tried to make the best of our predicament and commenced in making merry!

Taking up a booth behind the bar, I was seated in easy reach of a cornucopia of hard liquor bottles. A couple of great bottles piqued my interest, and under the glass partition I managed to slowly turn around a large bottle of Grand Marnier (Orange Liqueur). The bottle lost its footing on the shelf, and by the calling of gravity started on a downward journey to ... somewhere lower than its previous elevation. To the astonishment of myself and my companions around the table, the bottle did not reach the floor: it rolled to a lower bar counter and came to rest there, how I do not know. I came very close to purchasing and not enjoying even a drip of a 2 liter bottle of Grand Marnier! The waiter, not being aware of the bottle’s adventure, was serving us complimentary appetizers on the house.

Each table enjoyed their own vase of crispy skinny breadsticks and a side of whipped-up butter flowerettes. Quy entertained us with making a walrus face by strategically placing two breadsticks in the very part of her lovely face which is otherwise usually occupied by delivering oxygen in and out of the body or picking up smells or pleasing scents. After that performance, we amused ourselves with taking digital photographs and having lively conversation each of us receiving our own plate of tasty morsels. The group soon became quiet.

Excellent food and even better company. We hope to be back, if they ever let us. Some tired souls couldn’t make it to the crosswalk and concluded the evening with jaywalking on Main Street back to a white truck. But we looked both ways and let all cars go by. And that is the rest of the story.

Let this be a lesson to you, never dine without your real hike leader, Ted! Good Night, boys and girls! Hope to see you on a trail soon!

Anikó