Dip in the Canyon before work

Getting to run Rim to Rim on the S. Kaibab in the Grand Canyon before I had to start work at 11 am and work a 10 hour day...it's just another reminder that I'm very lucky to live in Flagstaff. I mean, how rad is that!

I definitely had many a moment during my work day today where I paused and thought about how novel and rad it was to have been to the bottom of the Grand Canyon earlier in the morning (and all the special experiences that come along with that...) and still home by 10 am to get ready for work and then be working a regular full day shift. Super crazy.

Gotta love the Grand Canyon. Life is good.

(First sunlight in the canyon after running in the dark and pre-dawn light for almost 2 hours. Priceless.)

Horseshoe Mesa Grand Canyon

Susan and I got out for a day hike down to Horseshoe Mesa in the Grand Canyon over the weekend. Great day out in the canyon as always! Here's a few shots from the day.

(Standard trailhead photo at the Grandview trailhead before hiking in.)

(Microspikes made the icy and snowy first mile or so casual fun instead of a sketch fest to our death. I don't think I would ever try to hike in the canyon during the winter without 'em.)

(Great exposure at the top of this trail. Love it.)

(Still snow on the trail! Surprising to see it stick around so low with such a mild winter. Says a lot about why people usually don't do this trail during heavier snowfall winters.) 

(Looking out toward where the trail continues down to Horseshoe Mesa.)

(Microspikes served us well.)

(Finally out of the snow and basking in the warm winter canyon  air.)

(Ruin at Horseshoe Mesa.)

(Pottery shard found on a limestone rock along the trail.)

(Heading out the right (east) leg of the horseshoe to get to the primo viewpoint.)

(Rad yucca plants.)

(View of the expansive Tonto shelf and the grand canyon from the Horseshoe Mesa viewpoint.)

(Lovin' the sun at the viewpoint. Good stuff.)

(Tourist shot at the viewpoint!)

(Millipede remains.)

(Last thoughtful looks out over the canyon before hiking back out.)

(Susan at the viewpoint.)

(At the viewpoint.)

(Heading back across Horseshoe Mesa.)

(Love these things.)

(Heading back up into the snow and shade.)

(Classic evening shadows at the Grand Canyon. I always enjoy this time of day.)

(Almost out.)

(It just got more beautiful the closer we got to the rim.)

(Sick. Great last view to take in before leaving. Another great day in the canyon.)

Elden Slabs

Done the slabs? You should! It has to be one of the finest 'quick' adventures in Flagstaff and probably sees some of the least attention of the rad things to do here.

Why such little attention and traffic? I can only imagine it is because there is no trail up it, it can be a bit difficult to find the start if you haven't done it before, it looks a little intimidating and no one ever really talks about it. I mean, I am a climber, hiker and runner in Flagstaff and have lived here for over a decade and I didn't do it until yesterday!

Not that I want it to be a highway (although, it never will be...) but I think that more people should do the Elden Slabs. Once you navigate your way onto the lower part, it is a surreal experience scrambling up them. It is never too technical...I used my hands here and there but it was never even 4th class in my opinion. Just steep enough to be exciting but not steep enough to get scared or need a rope. It is flat out super fun.

I was lucky enough to go with some friends from work and one of 'em, Chris, had done the slabs multiple times. He helped us navigate the somewhat tricky route finding to get onto the bottom of the slabs and then it was 'no brainer' scrambling from there. Just go up the most wide open and easiest to travel sections of the slab. Veer to far to the left and you cliff out and veer to far to the right and you end up in brush and gullies. We found that if we just kept going up and trending slightly left we were able to easily stay on the slabs all the way to the top ridge that took us to the summit radio towers.

Besides the obvious fun of scrambling the slabs, I was particularly excited to do the slabs as a recon to maybe add them to my list of local training runs. I was hoping they would link nicely into the Elden Lookout Trail for a nice adventure run loop. Well, after doing it, I was psyched. It was sick and it linked very nicely. Nothing in Flagstaff compares to this unique training opportunity. I will most definitely add it to the list.

Here's the loop:
Run up Fat Mans Loop until able to turn left onto Pipeline Trail. Follow Pipeline Trail for a short distance until you are near the base of the 'Elden Slabs' and just before a large group of boulders along the trail. Here's where it's tricky (until the approach to the slabs gets more defined someday...). There is a boulder just before the large group of boulders that has a faint trail next to it that leads up toward Elden. It could be very, very easy to miss this faint trail unless it gets more use. Follow this faint trail up until you start running into scrambling on blobs of rock to go up and onto the 'Elden Slabs'. If I made this sound simple, it isn't. If you haven't done this section before it is worth going with someone that has or have some time on your hands because it is not obvious, unless, like I say, it gets more traffic and there are cairns or something. Once on the 'Elden Slabs' it will be obvious because it is a wide open expanse of slabby rock. Like a steep sidewalk. Pad your way up these slabs trending left slightly as you go. Once the top of the slabs are reached,  you will follow a bouldery and brushy ridge that takes you directly to the summit towers of Mt. Elden. From the towers, take the Elden Lookout Trail back down and then link into Fat Man's Loop to get back to the car. If I remember right...it ends up being pretty much 5 1/2 miles for the whole loop, car to car.

We did it car to car in 2 hrs 21 minutes and we went pretty slow and enjoyed it. I could see people cranking this out in some fast times and, holy crap, I think that could be a lot of fun! Just going all out on the slabs and then tearing it up back down the Elden Lookout Trail seems like a blast. I see this loop having the potential to be one of the more popular training loops in Flagstaff for people wanting to have a bit of adventure in their running and hiking and push some fast times too. I most certainly will put it into my training  and see where my PR's take me. I can't wait to get back up there. This is going to be fun!

So, if you haven't done the slabs...get on out there and do 'em! You will love it!!

(The Elden Slabs Loop)

(On Fat Man's Loop, approaching the slabs)

(Near the slabs on Forces of Nature trail)

(Looking up at the base of the slabs. The approach took us up through the right, center of this photo)

(Zak getting onto the bottom of the slabs)

(On the slabs!)

(Off we go on the slabs...fun, fun, fun!)

(Sick!)

(Nearing the top of the slabs)

(You can go around this feature at the top of the slabs but why not climb it! We thought it was the perfect way to finish the slabs...kind of like icing on the cake!))

(Super fun climbing!)

(Typical terrain above slabs on way to summit)

(at the summit towers)

(headed down Elden Lookout Trail)

(Low on Elden Lookout Trail and almost to the car...sick loop!!!!!!)