Bedrock & Paradox

I dream of a hard and brutal mysticism in which the naked self merges with a non-human world and yet somehow survives still intact, individual, separate. Paradox and bedrock.

Granite Mountain

Yesterday I finally got out and hiked Trail 261 to it’s end on the summit of Granite Mountain. I should not have waited this long. It’s a great 4+ mile hike, up from 5.5k to up above 7.

I ran into this little dude, first one I’ve seen since living in AZ.

The overlook has BIG views. Looking SE, the mighty Granite Basin reservoir (and the TH), town, and the Bradshaw Mountains beyond.

Looking a bit south of west, out towards Arizona’s “empty quarter”.

There’s always more out there. As much as I’ve seen in the last 2+ years, there is so so much more.

DaveC

5 responses to “Granite Mountain”

  1. Enel Avatar
    Enel

    That’s a nice hike.I pretty much never go anywhere, but after seven years, I still find exploring in and around this little town very satisfying.

    Reply
  2. Aaron Avatar
    Aaron

    Hey Dave,I just found your blog about the John Muir Trail.You should really get hold of me on this. I started the JMT in the attempt with Michael Popov.My email is: aaron.w.sorensen@uscg.milIt seems like you are trying to go for his record, rather than Sue’s???I don’t really know the way you stated you “Self Supported” Attempt.A Self Supported attempt has nothing to do with either record (unsupported or supported).Self supported is for long distance through hikes, like the PCT when you have to go to town and get you own food, not having someone drop it off on the trail.That would be supported, like Dave Horton did.Unsupported, (the way Michael and I did), along with Reinhold, is just what it says.Absolutely no assistance!No resupply, no someone meeting you at a trail junction with a hot meal, no picking up a hamburger from Reds Meadow.Your statement “Michael also went fully unsupported, carrying a stove and all his food. Given that the JMT goes right by stores, in the end this seems a bit artificial.” You also stated “Michael started at the summit, he should note his time”.The unsupported record is a hike of the JMT. The JMT ends at the top of Whitney.We just did the trail in reverse, so the time did not start until Whitney.The supported record is a trail run and the runner’s state that trails start and finish at trail-heads.For the reason the supported record is started, (or finished) at Whitney Portal.So if you are attempting to do the trail in less than 4 days, are you going supported or unsupported?If you are going serf-supported with resupply, all I can say is good luck on trying to claim that as a record.However, if your finish time is between Michael’s and Sue’s, then you might be able to pull it off as a self-supported record.Just remember that self-supported means that you must pick up you food at the food drops. This means hiking or taking the ferry at Edison, and no support team to help out what-so-ever.If you do get under Sue’s time, it would just be considered the supported record, but if you didn’t get under Michael’s time, there would be no way to claim as anything.What ever you decide to do, I can help you out on anything imaginable that you can think of.Michael is also going for the Supported Record at the end of the month and Brian Robinson is going for his unsupported record this year as well.Good luck,Aaron Sorensen

    Reply
  3. welshcyclist Avatar
    welshcyclist

    Never a truer word spoken, there is always so much more to see, wherever you live, enjoyed your post and pics

    Reply
  4. Dave Avatar
    Dave

    Aaron, thanks for dropping by; I’ve been following the story on BPL, and very much look forward to reading Mike and Brian’s efforts! Not giving it another go yourself? On that note, foot soreness is by far my biggest worry. A topic for a later date.My reflections were, more than anything, for my own planning. I’m not even sure I’ll give it a go next year (another topic for later). The blog is a public journal, and quite often a repository for planning and speculation. And if the public benefits, so much the better.That said, my own plan is just what seems to me the most logical. I can’t imagine imposing on others to do what Sue’s friends did for her last fall, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to pass right by ice cream and not partake. Plus I’m lazy, and hate carrying more stuff than I have to (one of the ways I got into doing long hikes in the first). I see the logic in both of the aforementioned methods, and have no intention myself of claiming any record at all, and records are only useful insofar as their boundaries are explicitly delineated. My interest in a fast hike is the typical endurance-heads absurd extrapolation of the logical. If I can do X, then I should be able to do X times 4, or 5, and so on. On an related note, I doubt very much that running is an efficient way to go about this. My reading of the the splits is that Sue dug a bigger hole in the first 150 than she could get out of in the last 70. IF I ever go through with all this, I would value your input.Cheers.

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  5. RunSueRun Avatar
    RunSueRun

    A bit, uh, late in seeing this. Agree w/you about the running comment… which is why I did very little of it.The shower at RM helped immensely. If you ever go for my record, you’ll see what I mean. :p FWIW, my time from Whitney to Happy Isle was 3 days, 15 hours, 32 min.BTW, we must have met at C2M. My SO is the RD.

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