Backcountry Explorer

Embedded into the backcountry areas of Zion National Park, the Sierra Nevada, Death Valley National Park, and the Mojave Desert, Courtney Purcell's ramblings have also taken him all across the country and the world. From hiking, climbing and peakbagging in the Rockies, the Andes, the high volcanoes of Washington and Mexico, into the depths explored in spelunking, and the canyoneering of the Colorado Plateau, here you'll find trip reports, route beta and "stuff" relevant to the world of...

Four Days in Grand Canyon

Where: Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
When: March 2010
Who: DB, HW Stockman, Sarah Thompson and Andy Mac

Harlan battling the squeeze chimney on O'Neill Butte
Spring Break 2009 was such a huge success in Grand Canyon that DB and I recruited a handful of friends to join us for another round. Unfortunately, heavy snow/ice conditions and a storm in the forecast shoved us away after only four days...then we went elsewhere.

Andy Mac near the summit of O'Neill Butte
But in the meantime...O'Neill Butte:

Struggling up the dihedral
DB and I climbed O'Neill Butte in 2008 or 2009 and found it a highly enjoyable, half-day scramble/climb that was well worth the minimal effort. Good fun!

Whites Butte: The beta said Whites was an 11 mile roundtrip via Hermit's Rest, but as it turned out, it was 16 miles, very hot, quite a slog, but totally fun too!

Andy along the Boucher Trail on the way to Whites Butte
Unnamed Butte (6,633): While Andy and Sarah headed off to Horseshoe Mesa, DB, Harlan and I explored our way to the unnamed butte north of Grandview. With interesting route-finding, it took several hours for us to reach the top.

Can you spot Harlan along the south ridge of Unnamed Butte (6,633)?
Cedar Mountain: The last of 6 peaks we did in 4 days in Grand Canyon. Apparently it's a 1 mile roundtrip in clear conditions ~ it was 10 miles for us.

On the windblown summit of Cedar Mountain
Unfortunately, that's all the pictures I have for now.

***Harlan posted several great shots (and maps too) on his site: www.hwstock.org

***And Sarah posted some fantastic photos (and entertaining narrative) on hers too: http://www.13ergirl.com/arizona.html

...those moments when time stands still. The catalysts are as varied as the individuals who pursue this path: a meteor shower; a night sky so star-filled that it snatches your breath; another rise of the sun over distant mountains vast and untouchable; dodging a rock careening crazily down a gully; a desperate icy struggle through whiteout and ground blizzard down to the safety of camp after an unsuccessful summit attempt; standing atop a mountain with a friend, the whole world at your feet, a blinding sun blazing out of a flawless sky, taking the time to watch that sun dip below the horizon even though camp is still many miles and many thousands of feet distant; stumbling over boulders and through brush in the darkness; watching the starlight and the storm wrest for possession of the night sky, seated on a narrow ledge beside your rope-mate with only the clothes on your back for shelter, shivering the night away, knowing that, sometime in a distant place you cannot now touch, the world will once again grow bright, the sun will rise, and you will look out on the infant day with new eyes.

-Bruce Binder

One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am - a reluctant enthusiast....a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.

-Edward Abbey