Dear Arizona...........

Next time you're in the Stronghold, look for the odd agave / yucca / sotol / ocotillo / mesquite / manzanita / cholla / catclaw that's been trimmed. That's a clue as to where the trail goes.

so many people on this site make me think twice about wanting to move to Colorado...buncha weenies!

OK. Some have listed valid issues that justify why the trails are a bit hard to follow. I get it. Others have proven that assclowns have migrated south.

Where, specifically, did you have issues?

Mac, you want a trail to the Mtn?

sorry

Haha, very nice Jefe! I think you did get me a bit wrong.. it was late August, you know how them desert bushes get here in Preskitt. Once them rains hit 'em they don't stop growin'. SO I re-state again,"...Being it was the beginning of the season the climber's trail was almost non-existent and covered by overgrown bushes and fallen debris..."

I was trying to be nice by saying " almost non-existent", I really meant "There was no trail to follow at the time." I personally postholed up to my thigh in dead branches at one point, did not know that was actually possible at the time. I still have the scar and feel I sacrificed for the greater good of the rest of the climbers going through there this past season..and that was a bitchen' good time too! So no, I didn't/don't want a "trail" to GM, just at the time felt some work was needed so that future passes didn't require desert postholing.

Not to worry, If I ever see a person out there with clippers and a shovel, I would personally stab them with their clippers and bury them with said shovel. What happens on GM stays on GM.

Happy Climbing!

-Mac

PS. I believe we only have 37 days left to send at GM until closures..

I like the part where the OP thought us assclowns were going to invite him and his clippers to come down and "build" us some trails. HA!

Welcome to the club, I've gotten lost all over Arizona. Often in the Stronghold, usually not alone.

Interested too about which approach got.you.

manuel rangel wrote:Welcome to the club, I've gotten lost all over Arizona. Often in the Stronghold, usually not alone. Interested too about which approach got.you.

I remember about 10-15 years ago on X-mas day wandering around looking for who knows what and stumbling upon Bee line. What a gift that was!

I will see your "your trails blow" argument and raise you a sixty foot long stone staircase located in a sport crag where a few miles of mandatory 4wd is followed by an hour of hiking for bolted routes.

Tough approaches along Undercliff Road mar Shawangunk climbing

K-Tanz wrote:I will see your "your trails blow" argument and raise you a sixty foot long stone staircase located in a sport crag where a few miles of mandatory 4wd is followed by an hour of hiking for bolted routes.

More like twenty minutes to reach these stairs.

I am still looking for the coffee shop "LeBuzz" could someone cairn that for me. Please. I missed this one but getting to it now I must say it has been a fun read.

1Eric Rhicard wrote:I am still looking for the coffee shop "LeBuzz" could someone cairn that for me. Please. I missed this one but getting to it now I must say it has been a fun read.

Just put on some lycra bike shorts, skin tight shirt and some shoes that will clamp you onto some pedals... They will draw you to Le Buzz!! That said, they do have good coffee...

Todd W. B. wrote:Build and maintain some f&^%*ing trails to popular crags and cliffs!!! When you have a well-established and used path to follow people don't have to stomp all over the place on fragile soil and vegetation wondering where the hell the trail is. Your rock is awesome and I will certainly continue to visit but after many trips(mainly in and around the many crags in Tucson and in the Stronghold) I simply can't believe that trails are virtually non-existent to the most popular crags! I sometimes feel like we're the first visitors there until we reach the base! Are you trying to preserve the awesomeness and bloodshed level of discovering the cliff and dealing with shindaggers on the very first approach? Are there no locals that maintain the trails? I personally spend many hours each season with a shovel and clippers so don't EVEN try to call me out with that BS. Friends don't let friends build cairns instead of trails!

Let it be known that AZ doesn't like trail maintenance and they think that infrastructure is for sissies. Being a man means being boastful, seclusive, and territorial. Keep your mouth shut or we might label you an immigrant and "detain" you indefinitely. It's the wild West out here son, if you don't like it, you can git the fUUK out!

Here are three (3) fairly recent (2/5/13) newspaper articles, sent to me by Albert Newman, about two (2) mountain bikers and a hiker who built or improved trails in the Coconino National Forest.

At least one (1) was fined five hundred dollars ($500.00). It appears he was lucky and did not get banned for life from the forest.

The Coconino, however, is now considering banning cross country mountain biking. They are also pointing to Internet web sites that describe trails.

I fear there may be a lesson for us here in S. Arizona.

azdailysun.com/news/local/3…

azdailysun.com/news/local/2…

redrocknews.com/News/bikers…

Scott Mc

If you haven't biffed it into a prickly pear after sliding down a crumbling hillside, gotten a shindagger massage, or had agave(s) impaled into various bodyparts, you haven't really experienced all that SOAZ climbing has to offer! Or maybe you're just far less clumsy than me. But a little bramble S&M is par for the course in these parts, so stay away if that's not how you roll.

But really, if your favorite crag's approach has some eroding spots, or vegetation is getting trampled beyond recovery, take some time to do a little discrete maintenance. Redirecting traffic away from non-durable surfaces to more resilient ones (e.g., rock) via thoughtful cairning or brush placement can make worlds of difference. Steep trails=unsustainable. Plants hold the soil together-don't kill them if you don't have to. Same goes for moss and biotic soil crusts. Our soil here is easily destroyed and painfully slow to recover. Drought doesn't help. Carry small and/or folding tools to more visible areas, do your work, don't get caught, and enjoy some good SOAZ climbing.

And OP-we're working on it. But don't expect an Eldorado-esque red-carpeted promenade to your favorite wall.

Another interesting story about Sedona trail building, sent to me by Albert Newman. I think there may be a lesson here:

Two plead guilty to trail construction in Sedona; are fined

Men who built illegal forest trails in Sedona fined $4,290

Two Sedona residents pleaded guilty and agreed to pay a combined $4,290 in restitution on Tuesday for illegally building trails in the Coconino National Forest in Sedona.

David Donohue, 40, was fined $1,770 and placed on a year of unsupervised probation for building mountain bike jumps and digging in and disturbing an archaeological site near Beaverhead Flats. He was originally cited in October, 2011.

Costs to restore the land Donohue damaged amounted to $2,770, according to the Coconino National Forest.

Jeff Harris, 39, was fined $2,520 and placed on a year of unsupervised probation for building a trail without authorization and damaging trees and other items on Forest Service land in the Coffee Pot area. He was originally cited in September 2012.

The cost to restore the area Harris built trails in was $4,916, according to the Coconino National Forest.

Three other people have been convicted of similar offenses in the past year on the Coconino National Forest near Sedona.

Those caught face fines up to $5,000, up to six months in jail, probation, and possible bans on entering the national forest.

The Red Rock Ranger District seeks reports of illegal trail construction at 527-3509.

azdailysun.com/news/local/c…

Lucander loses

Hey Todd,
I'm sorry for the lashing you've gotten here on MP. I'm originally from Montana and although the climbing areas here in Southern AZ aren't hard to find I do feel your pain. Everything here in AZ either sticks to you, bites you or stabs you so it can make some approaches more than unpleasant. I'm very familiar with all the climbing in Cochise including most of the really old stuff. Next time you're visiting send me a note. I live in Sierra Vista and we have a very small but super friendly group and we are always open and happy to show new people around.