Lollygaggin

Yesterday was my off Friday, which means getting out of the heat to go ride in the pines. Turning north to the rim, I set out to ride an out and back on the General Crook from it's intersection with highway 87, 25 miles out to Dane Spring, look for a decent at large camping spot for the 4th of July weekend with Mrs. maadjurguer and furry beasts and then return. If my online mapping was correct, this would give me a nice even 50 miles with close to 5 grand in elevation gained....turn-n-burn time at 7500 ft.








With only a 20% chance of thunderstorms after 11am, and a hard stop for riding at 1pm due to box seats at the Diamondbacks game back down in PHX later in the evening, I figured that I needed to leave the car no later than 8 to be back in PHX by 3. In the end, I was only off by 30 minutes or so.....I forgot to factor in lollygaggin time....























The chevrons on the tree mark the General Crook trail along it's length...not that I needed it....just keep the trees on one side.....























.....the cliffs on the other side.....and the rubber side down....it's all good.



















Arriving at Dane Spring, I noticed the cabin needed a little fixing up....























But the view out the window wasn't half bad.


















The spring was still running, cool and clear
























.....but I filtered it anyways...I mean, I enjoy reading Dirt Rag on the toilet as much as the next guy...but I can't say sitting on the toilet for hours on end is better than sitting on a saddle for hours on end.



















I almost lost myself at the spring, smelling the roses....or more appropriately, rosa arizonica. I was lucky to see this guy....the flowers only last one day. They're also noted for their very fragrant hips which make a great tea.



















On the last climb back to the car, I had to stop and snap a shot of the Golden Columbine, aquilegia chrysantha.



















Standing out on a hillside full of impossibly green ferns, it made for a worthy stop.







Total time: 5:09
Moving time: 4:46
Lollygaggin time: 23 minutes
Distance: 50.08 miles
Vertical ft gained: 5010