bajajudy - 11-7-2005 at 06:05 PM
One Sunday my godsons called and asked me to come see them and go look for some fossils. We rode out to Rancho Leonero and then to the base of what
some locals call Flat Top, a mesa that is higher than it looks.
So first we found the fossils
bajajudy - 11-7-2005 at 06:08 PM
Then they asked me if I wanted to go up the back or the front. I told them I didnt care(big mistake with 14 year olds). So we started up the face of
Old Flat Top. I would be curious to know if Osprey, Mike Odell, or someone else from that area knows the elevation.
Note the hiking boots(flip flops)
bajajudy - 11-7-2005 at 06:10 PM
In between these two pix I sat down and told them to call a helicopter. Everything I grabbed hold of fell off into my hands. It was all shale and
very crumbly.
[Edited on 11-8-2005 by bajajudy]
[Edited on 11-8-2005 by bajajudy]
bajajudy - 11-7-2005 at 06:14 PM
On hour and 45 minutes later we made it to the top.
The dog, Mochi, was waiting for me.
She thought it was an easy climb
bajajudy - 11-7-2005 at 06:23 PM
The view was spectacular.
I sat down and told the boys that they better have a plan to get me out of there.
They said, "Oh we can take the path back down."
I said,"WHAT PATH?"
Yes my friends there was a path down the back side on which a person with crutches could have made it to the top.
We sashayed down "the path" in less than 15 minutes.
The moral of this story is, of course, "never trust anyone 14 years old to choose your path"
I told some Rancho Leonero people what we did and they told me that experienced hikers had been hurt going up the face....some even used ropes.
I did earn the respect of my godsons. But I told them to never take anyone over 50(possibly 40) up that side again.
All in a good days fun in Baja
David K - 11-7-2005 at 06:28 PM
Great, great stuff Judy!
Climb some more cliffs for us... please!!!
Skipjack Joe - 11-7-2005 at 06:39 PM
I once made the mistake of climbing a cliff like that with flip flops. We decide to climb up that cliff under the Griffith Park observatory, right
under the observation deck.
Those flip flops kept rolling over, up the side of my ankles and with my foot planted on the dirt. Then the sand would get between between my big toe
and the one next to it and grind away my skin. Finally that rubber retainer came out of the hole of one of them and it became useless. I ended up
hobbling up the face of the cliff, one foot with a flip flop and the other bare. Fortunately, I was 14 at the time.
comitan - 11-7-2005 at 07:05 PM
Judy
Now you can get your girl scout climbing badge. 
Sallysouth - 11-7-2005 at 09:15 PM
Geez Judy! Flip-Flops climbing up a shale hill?what the heck were you thinking?And following the younguns at that!!!That is some climb and so glad you
made it(up AND down!!) !I guess the good life can make one feel young again, no?!Great story and my favorite(PIC) is the dog, just chillin',chekin out
the awesome view.What a gal Judy...you go girl!! 
sneezerdog - 11-8-2005 at 08:49 AM
Judy if these pictures are taken at the same time that I was there with you climbing I probably have some photos to share also if someone can point me
to directions on how to post them. I at least had on tennis shoes, but was usually more concerned with Mochi having an accident than myself. Dumb huh?
Dave
bajajudy - 11-8-2005 at 09:15 AM
Yes Dave you were there and dont you dare post any photos
Just kidding!
bajajudy - 11-8-2005 at 09:35 AM
Ok Dave you asked for it....Here I am half way up the mountain. I am thinking at this point that I have it made. It was after this that I told them
to call a helicopter. There is sneezerdog laughing over to the side.
elizabeth - 11-8-2005 at 09:36 AM
I am happy to see that my sister is wrong when she says that I must be the only person in the world who always has inappropriate footwear...hiking the
Sonoran desert, rafting the Rio Mayo, walking along the beach from the Villas de Loreto to Nopolo, all in flip-flops, climbing the Pyramid of the Sun
in high heels (they weren't really that high).
bajajudy - 11-8-2005 at 03:54 PM
Elizabeth
I climbed the Pyramid of the sun in flip flops(another time when helicopters came to mind, those are some steep steps!). They are really all I have
worn since we moved down here. We went with a group to the falls at Canon Zorro and the guide told Jim and I that we couldnt go because we didnt have
on boots. We laughed. And of course went anyway.
I sure do have happy feet since I quit wearing shoes