First Shakedown Trip

Last week we took our first shakedown trip. We started out up on the Rim in Arizona north of Strawberry. We drove out on the FR 300, the General Crook Trail, for a number of miles, captivated by the views from the top of the Rim. The road literally approaches the edge of the cliffs to within a few feet in some places. In others, you can see far down the road, gaining a great view of the rugged bastions and jutting rock uplifting from below. The length and breadth of the views across Arizona to the South have a way of reminding one that we are small interlopers in a vasty place.

We arrived at the Cabin Loop Trailhead and had lunch in the dry pines. We saddled up the pooch and ourselves, and struck out on the trail in the warm, calm afternoon. I have placed here a number of videos I took with my smartphone. Please excuse the poor quality. Many of the things on this trip were experimental. The smartphone was ok, but not great, for pictures and videos. It does have a problem with losing the audio synchronization with the video. Unfortunately, I will feel compelled to bring something heavier next trip.

There were several highlights of this trip. My homemade hammock underquilt worked out perfectly. The youngest was warm and snug in her hammock in nighttime temperatures of 38 F. My Moonbow Gearskin custom backpack did not work out well. I will be testing new ones.

My daughter loves to cruise the creeks and springs out here for fish, tadpoles, dragonflies and everything else she can find. She made the wonderful discovery of a colony of Mud Puppies. She was, after many hours of hunting, able to catch some in her makeshift net, allowing us to film them. Five minutes after we were home she had looked them up on Wikipedia to confirm her identification.

I was able to make some not-so-good but acceptable video clips of equipment reviews that I will be putting up here this week. Korik (pooch companion extraordinaire) was, as usual, very photogenic, and kept up wth us pretty well, except for the third day, where he fell far behind all day, despite all the cajoling and promises of treats. I felt his legs or feet got sore carrying all his own food. He plopped down in the middle of camp that afternoon and refused to move, not even twitching when I mentioned the troupe of pretty dogglers walking by (fake!), regaining his feet only in the evening for supper. With his appetite manifestly returned, it would seem that he just needed a rest. The next morning he was fine, and kept up with us all day.

In the following days I will upload more review videos, and we will be getting ready for a longer trip to Hannagan Meadow area after the Fourth of July weekend. We are already planning some trips next summer to the Pacific Crest Trail, the Sawtooth Wilderness, and the Rockies in Colorado.