We were very lucky to have perfect conditions on this Thanksgiving Scramble. Cool temps and mostly calm wind made for a fast day on the sandstone. Jason and I started at the Arnight Trailhead at North Oak Creek inside the Red Rock Canyon Scenic Loop Drive. We ran into the mouth of Juniper Canyon and scrambled up below Rainbow Wall. We took the "Rainbow with Ledges" route up to the summit of Rainbow Peak (1). 1:32:05. We pushed hard and just saved ourselves from blowing up. A quick jaunt through the notch and across the top of Rainbow landed us on Rainbow Wall (2) at 1:56:55 elapsed time. Things were going well and we were not wasting any time. Now for the fun descent behind Rainbow Wall down the handlines. 4 lines take you down a steep crack system and some slabs. Then its back up to Walk-up Wall (3) 2:23:45. After a quick peek down the wall we bailed toward Gunsight Notch, reaching Gunsight Notch Peak (4) in 2:43:46. The next section for me was the most fun of the entire route, the Juniper Ridge Scramble. This ridge is awesome, meandering, thin, and nestled under the looming Rainbow Wall. A really great feel and ride as you hop, skip, and jump across this classic ridge line. There is one cliff band to work through on the left but it goes fairly easily with a little route finding. We reached Juniper Peak (5) in 3:01:30. From there its a mad dash down the Juniper walk-off in the canyon and back out the Arnight Trail to North Oak Creek. We made it down in 36 minutes!! Total elapsed time 3:40:45. We had a great run and even got comments from friends who were climbing in the area that they heard us running and laughing down the slabs in upper Juniper Canyon. What a fun scramble!
We went unsupported carrying water and snacks with us in trail running packs. We each carried a gopro and filmed the entire effort. Here is a link to the youtube video:
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