LHC Friends Come to Visit: Hiking, Boating and Cliff Jumping (April 19th, 2016)

We had the pleasure of a visit from some of our Colorado friends in Havasu.  It is always such a treat when friends come to visit!

As they were leaving Colorado, they encountered a heavy spring snow storm near Walsenburg, Colorado, that slowed them down a bit, 

A nice spring snow in Colorado as our friends were trying to leave Colorado for their Grand Canyon Tour Trip.

but once they made it to Havasu, the weather was perfect and they had lots of choices of things to do. 

They had one full day to spend with us, so we gave them the list of things they might want to see or do. Their top two choices were boating and hiking, so we decided on a morning hike (while it's still cool) and boating in the afternoon. They thought that the "Crack in the Mountain" trail sounded fun, so off we went!  

This hike is really fun because it has a lot of typical desert walking, but also includes the narrows (or crack) that add a little interest as you head down to the lake.

Rick and Karen starting out on our hike

Heading into the narrows

Rick doing the small repel to get through the narrows

Karen's turn

And finally Steve

Steve photo-bombed us!

Enjoying the shade of the narrows

This big rock in the narrows caused Karen a climbing!

But it gave Steve an idea...bull riding the safe way!

When we finally got down to the lake, we immediately had some guests who came looking for a handout.

Time to head back!

Our usual stop for emptying out shoes

We were hoping to run into the desert big horns so we took the high trail on our way back, but no luck. Bummer!  All we saw were a couple of good sized lizards (9 to 11 inches).

Then back home for some lunch and cooler packing and then off again to the lake.  We made a quick stop at the boat shop to show Rick and Karen some of the big boats that live in Havasu.  This one was a 38 foot Skater if I remember correctly.  The owner of the shop was heading to lunch when we arrived but was so nice he opened up the shop back up so we could take a quick peek!

Then on to the lake for a trip under the London Bridge.

A stroll through the channel

A little rip around the lake

When we pulled into Copper Canyon, Steve asked Rick if her wanted to do some cliff jumping.  Rick said he loved to, so we dropped him off.

And up he went!

And off he went!

When Rick got back in the boat, he said he thought we were all going to jump.  I guess we should have been more clear.  Our cliff jumping days are over.  Oops!  But he said that he really enjoyed it, even though he was all alone and the water was a bit cool!

Then we took them over the the cove that we had hiked to earlier in the day so they could see it from the lake.

After a nice afternoon of boating around the lake, we all headed back to the house to clean up, and then headed to one of our favorite breweries in town called Mudsharks, where we had a nice healthy dinner before calling it a night.  We hope that Rick and Karen enjoyed their short stay with us, and got a nice taste of what Lake Havasu has to offer.

As an update, they headed back to Colorado a few days later after visiting other areas in Arizona and Utah and ran into a snow storm on Vail pass as they were trying to get home. 

There is quite a difference between the weather here and there. Glad we are able to spend spring here for now, and glad they had the opportunity to join us and thaw out for a few days before heading back to the snow.

LHC Hiking the Lizard Peek Trail (Thursday, April 14th, 2016)

We called our friend Linda last night to see if she would want to go on a hike with us today.  We have tried in the past to find the trail to Lizard Peak, but haven't had any success.  So we have done some more investigation and we think we can find it now.  It looks like it will be a pretty rigorous hike, but it should be fun.

Linda came over to our house at 8:15 this morning, and by 8:30 we were at the trail head parking lot. The hike we are doing starts in Sara Park, just like the "Crack in the Mountain" hike that we did back on February 21st, but instead of following the wash down to the lake, it heads to the top of the highest mountain peak, called Lizard Peak.

I took a picture from the parking lot of the peak we will be hiking to.  If you look closely, you can see a tiny square on the top of the highest point.  That is a picnic table.  Strange, but true!

A zoomed in picture of the picnic table

Steve standing in the wash trying to figure out where the trail starts.  It always seems so clear when you are using the map at home.  Then you get to the actual locations and everything changes!

He thinks he has it!

Off to the left of the wash, by the trail to Lizard Peak is yellow marker 7

Off to the right is this rock and small marker.  This is the trail.

As you start up the trail to Lizard Peak, there is a 80 foot long geoglyph of a lizard.  You can see it most of the way up the trail to Lizard Peak, and hence the reason this hike is called the Lizard Peek Trail.  

The elevation in the main wash is 765 ft, we then climbed to the saddle at an elevation of 1190 ft, then to the peak with an elevation of 1370 ft.  This trail was established in 1982 by Tim O'Connor and the Leaping Lizard Tribe who hand carried the table to the top and built up the grade with army shovels.  Tim O'Connor also developed the huge rock lizard visible below.

This geoglyph is made of stones placed in the shape of a lizard

Steve and Linda on our way up.  The terrain is not bad near the bottom.

A picture of me, taking a picture of them!

There is a trail that goes around the base of the rock peak, but we want the one that goes to the top

About two thirds of the way up the front face, we reached three ledges, one after the other.  They were difficult ledges, but I typically like that type of challenge.  They wouldn't have been a problem if my fear of heights hadn't kicked in. They weren't that hard to navigate, but below the ledges was a huge drop off that just wasn't working for me.  So I started my yoga breathing and scampered up the ledges.  Steve said I flew up them.  I really don't recall much of it!  If I had come along these ledges going down instead of up, I don't think I could have done them.  The sight of the drop-off below them would have stopped me in my tracks!

Steve coming out of the ledges

Once we got through the ledges, we hiked a bit further and then came to the saddle between the two peaks.  The view from the saddle was really pretty!

Just reaching the saddle

The view to the northwest as we stood in the saddle

The view directly west from the saddle

The saddle following the ledges is the dip on the far side of the picture

Once we took a few pictures on the saddle, we continued up to the peak, just following the terrain straight up the loose, steep slope. Again, I had another panic attack.  Steve had to assure me that there was another way down, because if I continued, I would not be able to come back down this way.  My fear of heights was really getting in the way of this great hike.

We finally made it to the top and had a 360 degree view. Totally amazing! It was fun to see the world around us from every angle. We spent about 30 minutes at the top before we started back down (from the other direction).  : )

From the top, we could see where our truck was parked.  It's the second one from the left.

Copper Canyon on the far side of the lake

Steve pulling up the computer so I could do a little work.  There was great cell coverage up there!

Before we left the top, Steve decided to do a panoramic video

Sign on the red table

There were also some really nice views as we made our way back down the other side.

I love this double arch

Steve and Linda on our way back down

We could see the lizard geoglyph from this side of the peak too

These are the switchbacks coming down the south side of the peak.  It's not nearly as steep as the north side, and no panic attack areas!!!

Steve and Linda part way down

The last pictures serve no other purpose than to help us find the southern route to Lizard Peak again.

When you see the .6 mile marker, go a little further (where Steve is), then look for the big rock and the red arches off to the right.

When you see this large boulder in the wash, look to the right.  You should be see a red sand "arch", and the trail going up to the saddle.

Another view of the red sand "arch" (left) and the trail heading up (right)

A close up view of the red sand arches

At the beginning of the southern trail, you will see this arrow (if it's still there)

We had a nice snack of grapes and fig newtons at the red picnic table, and had some more when we got back to the truck.

After some great exercise during the day, we treated ourselves to yummy pork chops on the grill for dinner, in the great atmosphere of our own back yard.