My First Summer Road Trip-1975

My Volkswagen bug had seen its last day and had served me well. I traded it in for a new Dodge Tradesman van in the spring of 1975. I converted it into a vehicle in which I could safely store all my gear and supplies. The walls and ceiling were insulated, it had storage space under the bed and two air vents in the roof. The storage area under the bed kept items cool. It was easy to drive and I loved it. It turned out to be my favorite vehicle. 

I wanted to leave Issaquah as soon as my last student left the classroom and I had officially checked out. I noted when the football staff would be handing out uniforms in order to be back prior to that date. I picked up Mary at her home after stopping in at a foam shop for a mattress.

Mary had asked me to drop her off in Boulder, Colorado, for summer session. We did a climb together on Long's Peak. We came across some young men who took the day off from driving their combines in the nearby farm fields. There was not a day pack among them. They were strong and personable.

Mary and I made it to the top and fell asleep. In that area thunderstorms roll in during the afternoon like clock work. We got caught in several storms on the way down and back at our tent we placed the ice axes far away from the tent and coiled up the rope inside the tent. It was a scary night.   

Mary stayed in Boulder and I continued on my first summer trip. The following slides are from that trip. I am surprised they survived. They sure bring back good memories. 

Somewhere in the Grand Tetons National Park.

I have no recall of where this was shot.

After driving 64 miles on a nasty dirt road, I finally arrive at the trail head. Ahead of me was 12 miles of hiking. This is the only approach to the Havasupai Indian Reservation. 

 It is a long, hot hike. 

A Prickly pear stabs me as I set myself up to photograph Havasu Falls.

It was a painful removal.

This is paradise.

Havasu Falls with its turquoise water.

The travertine formations create pools of water you can 

sit in and enjoy a relaxing day.

I love Mesa Verde National Park. I feel at home here.  

There is some kind of connection I have with this place; I can't explain it.

Lovely experience here.

My first experience in Zion National Park. 

To me, it was Yosemite in watercolors.

My resting spot at the top of Angel's Landing.

The view is about 1500' above the Zion canyon. 

Beautiful evening light 

falls on the sheer cliffs of the Great White Throne in Zion National Park. 

The photograph was taken on the hike back from Angel's Landing.

My first experience hiking the Narrows in Zion National Park was a few days prior to their "storm of the decade." I had arranged meeting a colleague of mine at Zion. We hiked a side canyon and had lunch at a location where we could stand and stretch out our arms and touch both sides of the big steep walls. We heard rocks tumbling down from above and decided to pack up and move out of the canyon. I did check with the rangers about storms and they gave us a window to hike the Narrows.

As I was hiking a few days later, July 29, storm clouds hung over the canyon. They had approached suddenly. I found myself in a downpour but safe. After arriving at my van I drove toward my campsite. The downpour was so intense that it moved a house-sized rock off the east bank and onto the road. I was stuck. Eventually the rangers moved it enough with an excavator allowing the line of vehicles to pass by. 

I went to the dining hall at the lodge and ordered lunch. Before it arrived my waitress and I discussed the conditions. Waterfalls were everywhere. Someone pointed our three waterfalls pouring off the cliff directly across from the lodge. Everyone stepped outside to view the spectacle. One waterfall was red, one was white, and the third was black, all due to the sediment each carried. The Virgin River swelled. The report was that a 16-foot high wave rushed out of the Narrows. 

The waitress asked me to go back out in the weather and search for a her friend on the Emerald Ponds trail. I did and didn't find him. He later showed and he was fine. I don't remember what happened to my lunch. The waitress, Nancy, and I became hiking friends for years. She had been a bilingual teacher somewhere in California before she went to Chile to teach English during the fall of Allende. She was arrested by the military and placed in prison. Nancy eventually made it back to the states and found work at Zion. She never talked about her experience in prison. I never pressed her for details. I am sure she was trying to forget the experience. She was a gentle, quiet, and a soft-spoken person. During later visits to Zion I found she had become a part time ranger. She shared with me hidden areas of the park. 

We spent one Christmas break in Lower Baja and after I dropped her off in Springdale, Utah, I never saw her again. Later in my teaching career she said, "Hi, John from Nancy" through a student of mine who had been in Stehekin, Washington, the previous summer. She was living there.

Normal dry falls in the summer suddenly had fast moving water. 

This was on the trail Nancy asked me to go on to look for her friend.

.

Waterfalls appeared out of nowhere during the downpour.

One of my favorite locations in Zion is Cedar Mesa located in the eastern end of the park.

Nancy showed me a side canyon that had a single, well-preserved petroglyph.
The park rangers don't advertise it.

Nancy shared her knowledge of a little known location where the 

ancient Bristlecone pines can be found in Utah. 

They were beautiful, twisted trees.

Bristlecone pines love high elevations and cold weather.

They are some of the oldest living organisms in the world.

Mid-way through my trek in the Grand Canyon, I encounter a nice older lady. She appeared as if she had just gotten off the bus. She looked fresh and yet we were in the depths of the canyon. She was guiding her stepdaughter through the canyon. She noticed how I was dressed and offered me advice. I needed to cover all my skin so the perspiration didn't evaporate as easily. Lighten your load and you don't need those hiking boots. Wear a hat. She also advised me that if I safely made it out of the canyon, I should visit the Havasu a few miles west of the park. I heeded all her suggestions.

For my first descent into the Grand Canyon I took the South Kiabab Trail. It was suffocating hot, dusty, dry. and extremely quiet. There was no breeze. 

At one time I heard something pounding. I couldn't figure out what it was. Was it my footsteps? I tested for that and it wasn't the source. I stopped and listened intently. Then I realized it was my heart. It was so quiet I could hear my heart pounding through my chest. I rested.

The heat was so intense that I could feel it radiating from rocks as I hiked by them. It was like walking by the oven when the door is open so you can take the turkey out.

I stopped at Bright Angel Creek in order to cool off and soak my sore feet. 

I must have spent hours in a shady pool created by someone prior to me.  It was relaxing.

I was physically beat. I was not prepared for it.

This is funny. I finally made it down South Kiabab Trail, crossed the Colorado River and spent hours soaking in Bright Angel. Early in the evening I packed up and headed toward my campsite at  Cottonwood Campground. It was dark by the time I got there and merely poured myself onto my sleeping mat on top a picnic table. The bats had repeatedly dive-bombed my pack as I hiked a narrow gorge on the approach to the campground. Sleep was not a problem that night. I woke to animal noises. Gila Monsters were checking out my pack and campsite. Thinking they couldn't get to me I tried to go back to sleep. Then I heard and felt a thump on the table at my feet. I looked up and saw a Gila Monster staring at me and sticking its tongue out at me. I kicked it off the table with my feet. It had climbed the tree next to the table and crawled out on a branch and dropped down to the table!

The trail to the North Rim is somewhere in this photo. Hiking in the grand can be misleading due to the fact that your easy hiking is at the beginning as you descend. Once you spend a few days in the canyon wearing yourself out and dehydrating, you must now face the most difficult part of the hike. That is the ascent out of the canyon. It can be brutal if your timing is off.

Once out of the canyon, I had a difficult choice to make. In my cooler under the bed were two cold drinks. One a Coors beer and the other a Dr. Pepper. I couldn't wait to get to that cooler.

I am not sure which Grand Canyon rim view this is.

I don't remember where this photo was taken.

Owachomo Bridge in Bridges National Park is only nine feet thick in the center.

Bridges National Park has a loop trail that takes you pass all three major bridges. 

It is a long trail in the summer.

My first visit to Arches National Park was inspired by 

the writings of Edward Abbey. The experience was not disappointing.
I got lost in the Fins of the Fiery Furnace. Not hard to do. Water was much needed after finding my way out.

As you drive from the north rim of the Grand Canyon,
you can see Bryce National Park in the distance.
Late light is the best for viewing Bryce.

Bryce Canyon National Park is blah midday. I missed the golden hour and the beautiful colors.

I was happy to be back in Yosemite National Park. My first visit was back in '72 with Sharon and the images of the granite valleys and cliffs stayed with me until I finally made it back in the summer of '75.

The trees in Yosemite were stunning against the dark blue sky.

I don't remember which waterfall this is in Yosemite.

Half Dome is in the distance so I must be on Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. 

This could have been when I was searching for the famous leaning Jeffery pine that Ansel Adams made famous. 

After securing a permit, I drove to Tenaya Lake with the idea of backpacking for two days.

I don't remember the trail, it could have been the Sunrise Lakes trail, but I do remember reading my John Muir book by the light of the campfire.

El Capitan in Yosemite has sheer cliffs that look unclimbable, yet when you get up close to the granite, you can see and feel the texture.
Still, no thanks.

During Christmas break, Kem and I went to Hawaii to backpack. We had no hotel reservations. One of my soccer players was Hawaiian and she offered her grandmother's phone number in case we needed a place to stay. We did use it in order to rent a car. Something about not having reservations stalled the rental and Lani's grandmother spoke for us. 

We spent two days here. It was peaceful. 

There were no other people in sight. 

This photo was taken on a black sand beach on a cattleman's ranch. The owner had a person guard his cattle from rustlers. We encountered this rifle carrying guard riding his horse up the trail we were going down. He gave us permission to camp on the beach.

Kem struts across the beautiful black sand beach as he looks for our campsite.

Kem and I hike the lava fields in Hawaii in 1975.
We had just seen the movie Jaws and found skin diving difficult so we did a lot of hiking.


I am always amazed at the spirit of life.

In retrospect, the summer trip sweated my first year of teaching mistakes out of my mind and renewed my batteries so I could get to Christmas break.

Mount Ruth with Mary-September 1974

Mary suggested we take her younger sister, Anne, on a backpacking trip. I believe it was Anne's first backpacking trip. She may have been trying to add something new to Anne's life, something she could hang her hat on and develop some interest in. I volunteered Mt. Ruth.  It was an easy six-mile hike in and we would be camping in a beautiful setting. It has a simple climb to the top that you could feel good about. Mary invited two other friends, Dave and Robbie.

We had a late start at the trailhead but we made it to Hannegan Pass without problems. We rested at Hannegan Pass and then started up the no name elevator east of the pass. That is the toughest section of the climb. We used roots, rocks, and branches as belays. I believe this was Anne's first backpacking experience. She complained about the weight and Mary took some of her gear to lighten her load. We finally reached our campsite at the base of Mt. Ruth. To our west was Mt. Baker. To the north was Hannegan Peak and the Ruth Creek valley with Mt. Sefrit. The North Pickets were to the east. The sun was setting as we set up the campsite and we finished dinner before the bright light left us for the day. Our goal was to climb Ruth once the stars came out. We spent the time resting and watching the light change the colors and textures on the numerous mountains.

Once the stars came out we gathered our headlamps and ice axes, and we roped up. We had five on the 120' rope which slowed the progress. No big deal. No one was in a hurry. At the top we sat for what seemed like hours and enjoyed the moonlight falling across the various mountains, glaciers, snow fields, and smooth granite slopes that surrounded us. When we finally made it back to camp, we unleashed ourselves from the rope and left the rope where we dropped it as we did with our ice axes. No coil or storage. We were spent.

The next thing I remember was hearing Canadians talking outside our tents the next morning. They noticed how we left the rope and ice axes and one simply said "Americans." They had no idea what we had accomplished that previous day. We got up, had breakfast, roped up, and climbed to the summit again before noon. We had lunch back at the campsite and sprawled out on in the heather slope and relaxed. We packed up and headed back to the trailhead. Great trip. Wonderful weather. Good campers.

Hannegan Pass rest location for the five of us.

The steepness is lost in the shot of the no name, unofficial trail east of Hannegan Pass.

In addition to her own pack, Mary carried Anne's gear to the top.

At the top of the elevator we pause and take in the view to the north and into Canada.

This section is dangerous. There is no trail across the rocky slope which gains a steeper angle as it drops off for hundreds of feet.

Then a trail appears on the east side and travel becames easier.

We finally make it to the bench and the trail levels.

At the base of Mt. Ruth near the trees is our campsite for the night.

We can see Mt. Baker in the distance.

We set up camp, have dinner, and wait for the stars.

In headlamp light, Mary crafts something for the night climb.

At the top we can see Mt. Shuksan and the East Nooksack glacier.

We enjoy the moonlight on the surrounding mountains.

The next morning we prepare to climb to the summit again. (Or did we just lay in the heather and pass some idle time?)

Anne left her eye protection at the trailhead so we create a mask for her out of tin foil.

We must have climbed Ruth again. If so, where are my shots? If not, why the eye protection for Anne? Interesting false memories.

After the second climb Mary and her sister, Anne, rest in the heather before packing up.

Robbie and Dave seem ready to move out and head back to the trailhead.

I don't recall how much time passed before Mary and I did the same trip again. It was to pay homage to her sister who had suddenly passed away. I'll never forget the feeling I had when Mary's mother called the school and asked the office to have me call her. I knew something bad had happened to either Mary or Anne. As I sat there in my classroom looking at the phone, I thought that if I put the phone call off it would give me more time with Mary or Anne. I thought about both of them. I returned the call and Mary's mother told me that they had lost Anne. I have never had a worse phone call. During our return trip to Mt. Ruth we sensed Anne's presence. She was hiking with us. She climbed Ruth again with us. She ate with us. She watched the stars with us. It was surreal.

I will never forget Anne.