"Like walking over the whole world"

[Downhill Rab]

Thanks, half-and-half, for sharing this wonderful post that chronicles your family's trip to the American Southwest. Your photos are spectacular and capture the stark beauty of our desert landscapes. If I walk to the hilltop at the end of my road I can see snow-capped Humphrey's Peak rising above the Sedona red-rocks. Although I've never summited Humphrey's my son, who lives in Flagstaff, has threatened to drag me up there next next year. You have visited many of the top highlights of the "four corners region" on your journey and I hope you will have the chance to return someday to visit more.

[HalfManHalfTitanium]

Thanks, half-and-half, for sharing this wonderful post that chronicles your family's trip to the American Southwest. Your photos are spectacular and capture the stark beauty of our desert landscapes. If I walk to the hilltop at the end of my road I can see snow-capped Humphrey's Peak rising above the Sedona red-rocks. Although I've never summited Humphrey's my son, who lives in Flagstaff, has threatened to drag me up there next next year. You have visited many of the top highlights of the "four corners region" on your journey and I hope you will have the chance to return someday to visit more.

Thanks Downhill Rab! Without any doubt, our holiday in that area was our best ever family holiday (and we have had a lot of good ones).

Everything single thing about Northern Arizona is, to us, just wonderful. We just wished we had had more time: we never got to Sedona, which we would have done given just one more day. Just more reasons to return one day....

Will definitely be back!

And - do give Humphrey's Peak a go. It's a brilliant mountain which would still have been one of my favourite ever climbs anywhere, even if I had done it without the children!

Tim

[Clach Liath]

I missed this one when you first posted. I climbed Humphrey's Peak in the latter half of November many years ago. There was quite a lot of snow on the ground when I did it (but the skiing season had not started) so I did not get to see the various volcanic rocks that you did. But the caldera is obvious once up on the ridge, as you say.

Your kids did well. I remember it as quite a stiff walk. The snow in the forest thawed and refroze whilst I was out. So whilst it was nice to walk up in, it was extremely slippery on the way down and I had a couple of falls (whilst I had an ice axe I did not have crampons or spikes). These did not help the nascent headache caused by a mixture of the altitude and my failure to hydrate properly!

But I am sure that anyone who has a modicum of experience in the Scottish hills would be up for this mountain. I followed the same route up and down as you did. As you say, it is clear. Another advantage of avoiding June through September is that not only is it cooler but also the afternoon thunderstorms that tend to develop are less likely to occur.

I agree that this corner of the States is a fascinating place to visit. Bryce, Zion and (further away) Mesa Verde NPs are well worth visiting (and that is before you start considering other parts of New Mexico, Colorado and Utah). As you will tell, I have the addiction (I've been around six times!)

[HalfManHalfTitanium]

I missed this one when you first posted. I climbed Humphrey's Peak in the latter half of November many years ago. There was quite a lot of snow on the ground when I did it (but the skiing season had not started) so I did not get to see the various volcanic rocks that you did. But the caldera is obvious once up on the ridge, as you say.

Your kids did well. I remember it as quite a stiff walk. The snow in the forest thawed and refroze whilst I was out. So whilst it was nice to walk up in, it was extremely slippery on the way down and I had a couple of falls (whilst I had an ice axe I did not have crampons or spikes). These did not help the nascent headache caused by a mixture of the altitude and my failure to hydrate properly!

But I am sure that anyone who has a modicum of experience in the Scottish hills would be up for this mountain. I followed the same route up and down as you did. As you say, it is clear. Another advantage of avoiding June through September is that not only is it cooler but also the afternoon thunderstorms that tend to develop are less likely to occur.

I agree that this corner of the States is a fascinating place to visit. Bryce, Zion and (further away) Mesa Verde NPs are well worth visiting (and that is before you start considering other parts of New Mexico, Colorado and Utah). As you will tell, I have the addiction (I've been around six times!)

Thanks Clach Liath! - yes it was a brilliant area to visit and whetted my appetite for more. Sadly with rising costs and the falling Pound over the last few years we've not revisited - I will probably have to wait until the children leave home before getting back there, but there are loads of places I'd like to see. Just to repeat what we did would be brilliant.

By coincidence, I have just found, in the attic, my Grand Canyon photos from that trip - they've been missing for years. So in a day or so I will add a couple of them in to this TR.

Thanks!

Tim

[HalfManHalfTitanium]

Grand Canyon photos finally added! It's only taken me 9 years to reunite them with the rest of the USA snaps.