Sedona biking plans were officially abandoned, so Rudy and I head to Black Canyon Trail for a little warmer temperatures and van living before we house sit in Prescott for a couple weeks. We started with the northern portion of the trail, checking out the Antelope Creek and Hidden Secret sections. Rudy biked most of it while I covered about 4 miles on foot with out and backs. Not a whole lot of climbing and descending, but quite rocky! I loved seeing the big chunks of massive quartz.
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| Quartz!!! |
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| Some schist too!!! |
Lots of desert plants too, of course.
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| Some typical Black Canyon views |
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Following the trail fun, we headed south a little ways and parked near the Bumble Bee section to spend the night. Dinner was spaghetti, followed by a long, drawn out game of Trivial Pursuit - Leslie win. Finally, started The Godfather.
December 19
Didn't get out of bed until 9 (I'm typically up by at least 8!) Not great sleep the previous night I guess. A pretty breezy morning, sunny and warm enough for shorts and a t-shirt though! A shorter run for me on the Bumble Bee section, slightly more technical, and deserty, than the sections further north.
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| Stick to the middle of the trail |
Rudy biked Bumble Bee and sections further south for a longer ride. After a couple hours of chilling, I got out for a bike ride too - an out and back on the Hidden Secret section - a lot of chunky rock but I mostly got through it and had fun, it helped that not much climbing was involved. After biking, I got in a little bit of yoga before sundown and rapidly cooling temps - I'm surprised how much I've been slacking on consistent yoga! Dinner was soaked beans and rice. Entertainments was a close game of Trivial Pursuit, but Rudy got the win, then finishing The Godfather - can tell its an older movie, but I'm glad we finally watched it.
December 20
Woke up only slightly earlier this morning. Once again warm, but a little cloudy - final day of autumn! We had a slow morning, spending a little time in Black Canyon City for some food, water, and checking out of Rock Springs Cafe, known for its pies - we picked up a blueberry with crumble topping - pretty good, but maybe a little overrated. Eventually we headed out for more BCT. The road to the next segments was not so van friendly, but getting within a mile of the trail was good enough with the road being steep and rocky itself. The Little Pan, Williams Mesa, and adjoining sections were a bit rough and challenging to find particularly when crossing several creek beds.
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| Sometimes there are cairns to help |
This was OK for my hike/run, but I won't be biking in these areas. Rudy didn't have the funnest day biking, but still happy to be on a bike. This was the warm day of the week for us, hitting 70! We camped just a little ways back up the road at a BLM OHV training and camping area (Little Pan Staging Area), essentially a big gravel lot, but good enough and quiet on a Tuesday. We at the second to last box from our case of shells and cheese, and had a nice game of Trivial Pursuit - Leslie win.
December 21
Winter is here! Again, cloudy but warm. We ventured closer to the southern end of the BCT. I biked Biscuit Flats and Boyscout Loop - Rudy got a ways further north than that too, while skipping the 'easier' lower 6 miles.
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| Some different cactus than 50 miles north |
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| Just look at what Rudy missed! Southern few miles of BCT |
A little bit of rain started early afternoon that I managed to escape, but Rudy got to endure it - still in the 60s, so not so bad. After the biking, we returned to Little Pan Staging Area and got in our tepid solar showers before the rain started in more earnest. We enjoyed soaked lentils and quinoa, and then two rounds of Trivial Pursuit - one win each. Also got a start on The Godfather Part II.
December 22
Rainy and windy.
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| Winter in the desert |
I got in a mostly dry stroll in a little break in the storminess before the drive back to Prescott. We helped Trevor with some final cleanup for their big vacation. I also starting indulging my baking craving and made some molasses cookies! Stir fry for dinner, then general hanging out, at least for Rudy and I, Trevor and Karlene had some packing and such...
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