Paradise Forks

Just another part of exploring Northern AZ, Emma and I stopped by Paradise Forks. Paradise Forks is a set of waterfalls at the start of Sycamore Canyon, the second largest canyon in Arizona. It's a haven for trad climbers, and considered some of the best climbing in Arizona by many, and the best crack climbing in the US outside of Utah. Even if you don't climb, the 40 minute drive to Flagstaff is totally worth the views. There is a great horse and hiker trail (sorry mountain biker's, it's in wilderness land) that travels over relatively flat ground along the rim for several miles, giving away amazing views of the canyon at every turn. The canyon and the national forest surrounding it offer miles and miles of hiking trails and jeep roads, as well as a bunch of primitive and back country camping options. We only spend a day and a half here but I could easily go back for at least a week to explore even more.

Enjoy these photos of Paradise Forks, if you look closely many of them have climbers dotting the walls.

Tyler Gates
Good Life Photography

Humphreys Peak Trail

I think I could spend a solid decade exploring Northern Arizona and still not be satisfied. Unfortunately it's located at a much higher elevation than Tucson(about 3000-4000ft higher), so I've been trying to get in a few trips before it gets too cold for my already thinned Tucson blood. This past weekend I decided to try to slip in an attempt at the highest peak in AZ, Humphreys Peak (12,600+ft) before I needed any gear that includes metal spikes of any kind. As luck would have it, it snowed on the mountain 4-6 inches the day before I was able to get up north. After receiving mixed advice from the guys at Babbit's, I decided it was worth a shot. I hit slush within the first half mile of this 4.8 mile one way trek. It only got whiter from there. Not expecting so much snow, I was only mildly prepared. I managed to huff it up to 11,800 ft, a saddle 3 peaks over from the big show, at which point the 30 mph winds and teen to 20's temperature made me turn around. Oh yeah and the fact that visibility was around 20 yards, it didn't seem worth the view. And anyway, I was already making tentative plans on returning on either skies or snowshoes in a few months.

On a side note: these photos were shot with a lower end point and shoot, so if there is some quality missing compared to my normal photos that is why. The hike was too beautiful not to share photos of.

Enjoy,
Tyler Gates
The Good Life Photography