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Bernard Sanden | profile | all galleries >> Galleries >> SP Crater Hike near Flagstaff, AZ Sept 2004 tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

SP Crater Hike near Flagstaff, AZ Sept 2004

SP Crater is one of the best examples of a symmetric cinder cone and lies within the San Francisco Volcanic Field which includes it's more famous younger neighbor, Sunset Crater. 70,000 year old SP Crater is on a ranch owned by the Babbitts but is open to the public. At about 800 ft above the surrounding plain, it took from 8 to 14 minutes of vigorous scrambling to ascend, much like working out on a stair stepper. Tom, Frank and I hiked the rim of the crater on Sunday Sept 26 2004. It was fitting in the end that we release the potential energy created during our ascent by scree skiing down the slope to the awaiting beer chest in Frank's truck.
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Cinder cone field vista
Cinder cone field vista		 Catapillar
Catapillar		 SP Crater - cinder cone crater near Flagstaff AZ
SP Crater - cinder cone crater near Flagstaff AZ
Frank multi-tasking
Frank multi-tasking		 Parking spot near saddle
Parking spot near saddle		 Crater from bottom
Crater from bottom
Dos Slackers
Dos Slackers		 Frozen volcanic slag on the rim
Frozen volcanic slag on the rim		 Weathered frozen volcanic slag
Weathered frozen volcanic slag
13 minutes into the trudge
13 minutes into the trudge		 Summit rim
Summit rim		 Inner crater base 360 ft below
Inner crater base 360 ft below
Extruded lava at top of SP Crater
Extruded lava at top of SP Crater		 Contemplating the descent...........nah
Contemplating the descent...........nah		 Top of the rim flora
Top of the rim flora
South towards Colton Crater and San Francisco peaks behind it
South towards Colton Crater and San Francisco peaks behind it		 Counter-clockwise rotation on the rim is just the right thing to do
Counter-clockwise rotation on the rim is just the right thing to do		 Cooled lava
Cooled lava
Twisted volcanic slag
Twisted volcanic slag		 Vista off to the east
Vista off to the east		 Magma doing a 180
Magma doing a 180
West over inner crater wall
West over inner crater wall		 Cinder cone next door
Cinder cone next door		 Volcanic bomb
Volcanic "bomb"
Maintaining the counter-clockwise rotation
Maintaining the counter-clockwise rotation		 70,000 year old lava flow at the base of the crater
70,000 year old lava flow at the base of the crater		 Close-up of a rock with air pockets
Close-up of a rock with air pockets
West side of crater is tougher to walk on - it's the S at the top of the P
West side of crater is tougher to walk on - it's the "S" at the top of the "P"		 Scree skiing back down
Scree skiing back down		 Frank's standing glissade down the scree
Frank's standing glissade down the scree
Frank transitioning to a sitting glissade without benefit of a pickaxe
Frank transitioning to a sitting glissade without benefit of a pickaxe		 SP Crater from side
SP Crater from side		 avatar17_6.gif
avatar17_6.gif
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