Sunday, March 31, 2013

Upper Bear Mine on the Lutz Canyon Trail


My plan to bag Miller Peak via the Lutz Canyon trail today was not to be. I hadn't yet hiked up this trail to the Crest Trail since the fire. This is the shortest but also steepest way to get to Miller Peak.

The Lutz Canyon trail was badly damaged after the fire and floods of late 2011. Flash floods have torn a wider creek bed, and many dead trees still line the path. Subsequent monsoons can continue to wreck havoc on the lower trail. The old mining trail is now an ankle-twisting rock bed in many parts. What was once unnavigable after the summer of 2011 is now passable; many other hikers have re-treaded the trail so that the original path is obvious once again. Heavy rockslides and debris had hidden the trail on earlier attempts to ascend the trail toward Miller Peak. When strong winds blow, ash still blows in the wind. There are no shaded areas along the entire climb up the Crest Trail, 3.7 miles uphill. What trees there were are now charred stalks.


I had taken Sadie, Minnie and Zeke with me on this hot and exposed trail. Sadie started showing signs of heat exhaustion half-way up the trail. She started acting delirious at the two-mile mark. She'd hide off-trail in whatever little shade she could find in the new growth of young scrub oaks. That's when I realized she needed out of the heat and extra water. She didn't want to come when I called her. I was able to coax her to go as far as Upper Bear Mine, two switchbacks away, where I knew Mexicans crossing illegally would have left some water after resting inside the mine. The open mine is used for border crossers to rest for the night, and the trash down the entire length of the mine is proof it's still heavily used. One sees the many black plastic bags (which the border crossers use as sleeping bags at night), but at closer look there are many more things in that cave: weatherworn clothes, rusty tin cans, cracking plastic bottles.

This was my first time walking down the shaft. I'm a bit paranoid of dark places and I'm no fan of mines. I always fear finding a dead body in a dark crevice, or coming upon a mine dweller. Bats and bugs are no fun, either. Since the dogs didn't sense anything perilous, I proceeded down the mine. The dogs followed me into the mine as I looked for any water. I was stepping on trash the entire time. Light from the entrance was visible until that final bend toward the end, about 100 yards. My flashlight helped me navigate to the end. I found a nearly unused gallon of water wrapped in black plastic on my way back to the entrance. That was Sadie's saving grace. Once we were back at the entrance, the dogs rested at the mouth of the mine and Sadie got the extra water. It was evident they all appreciated the rest. It was 12:45pm.


We stayed in the cool shade of the mine entrance for 1:50 hours, just relaxing, and with it being Easter Sunday I was fine with just some time to reflect on the year so far. It was quiet up there. I only saw one butterfly and one reddish bird flit by. My stupor was only interrupted twice by Zeke and Minnie barking, but I never saw any signs of people coming down the trail. We never saw anyone else all day. I could gaze toward San Jose Peak and wonder of all the yet-to-be-explored sights of Sonora. Maybe one day I'll muster the courage and travel south of the border.

The other two dogs seemed fine, wanting to explore the area. Minnie seemed fascinated with the tailings tumbling downhill and creating a dust cloud. She wanted to chase the tailings even farther!

I made sure I gave Sadie extra water while she rested. Minnie had been possessive of the water along the trail and Sadie probably didn't get as much as she should have.



I collected a few plastic bottles and other light trash and carried that back down to the truck, and later dumped that into our regular trash bin, which never gets full anyway since we recycle what we can. I know what little I took out of the mine doesn't put a dent into what was left behind. I only take just enough trash to avoid being uncomfortable on the hike down.


I do plan on hiking back up the Lutz Canyon trail to Miller Peak. I need to start earlier to avoid the heat, as even I drank most of my water. The dogs still had water but had we continued on to the peak we would have relied on the remaining snow pack in the aspen grove, two miles away. I also think Sadie's recent epileptic seizure from a few days ago had tired her out and she was on a trail too soon. There are many factors I can think of that caused Sadie's exhaustion. It was in the upper 70s but what tired us all was the lack of any shade until we got to Upper Bear Mine.

Monday, March 25, 2013

A quiet weekend

We had a quiet weekend. On Saturday I hiked the Guindani trail in Kartchner Caverns State Park as part of the 40th anniversary hike of the Huachuca Hiking Club. Former and present members were invited. 47 showed up for the noon picnic, but I met several members early to hike this trail I've never heard of before. Rod, John S, Karen, Dave and three others joined me for this loop four-mile hike.

I didn't bring any of the dogs with me, although there were three other dogs at the picnic. I don't think any of mine would be well-behaved around all that food, however, the loop is a very scenic loop during the wet season.

It was nice chatting with old members. I also renewed my membership for the year. I want to get back into the swing of things and discover new trails.

Sunday late afternoon I took the entire pack with me to Hunter Canyon. There had been an organized clean-up on Saturday to remove the trash target shooters leave behind, but I didn't notice any major difference. There were still plenty of wood chips and spent brass all around the old campsite that has now been overtaken by the target shooters.

And this morning, back to work, we were awakened by Sadie's seizure at 4:04, followed by another one at 4:24am, then 5:48 and finally at 6:09 as she lay in the hallway. She peed on me that time. Although she recovered after each time (no temporary blindness), she remained listless and paced both the house and the backyard nonstop. This was not a good day to have to work.

When I got back home she was still restless, so it's hard to say how many more episodes she had in our absence. She had one more seizure outside with Kevin watching that late in the afternoon, and the rest of the night she paced around, whining. She finally got some sleep at around 1am for the rest of the night, but by then I couldn't get to sleep. I was tired the rest of the day. This was definitely the worst weekend for Sadie since her first clusters last August.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Carr Peak with Sadie, Minnie and Zeke

I wasted an entire week of spring break doing absolutely nothing. It was as if paralyzed. All I did was visit the shelter, play with the animals, photograph them, and then upload their pictures to the Facebook page, which lately has taken on a life of its own. People are noticing our work there and the word is going around. Twenty more people joined it this weekend.

But by Sunday afternoon I knew I needed to get out of the house. The dogs were restless. They hadn't hiked last weekend and by today they were getting moody. It was time. So I packed my pack and leashes and off I drove, to the Old Sawmill Trail with Sadie, Minnie and Zeke, and hiked up to the peak. We were the only ones in the parking lot when we started at 1:45pm.

It was a perfect day for a hike. The only snow was near the aspen groves, where the dogs "ate" some snow to stay refreshed. Water ran off the waterfall, too. But this was a windy day that only got windier once I was got near and on the peak. I stayed long enough to photograph the panorama and went back down again.

There are no wild flowers yet along the Crest Trail, The vista is still very much a dead grey and brown. Hopefully next month it will be different, as slowly life is coming back to a dormant landscape.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Dahlia


Dahlia is a year-old German Shepherd Dog/Chow dog I am fostering from the shelter. She recently had a litter of seven pups, of which three were trapped and surrendered to the shelter over a week ago. The owner didn't want to deal with the pups and that's why Dahlia landed at the shelter.

One of the pups had bitten its owner so all three of the pups were placed on a ten-day quarantine. There were not allowed to be touched or socialized until their quarantine was over this Thursday.

The pups were fearful at first and would cower in the kennel corner, however none growled or snarled at us. Eventually they learned to relax around us and would approach the gate of their kennel to try to lick us. But on Tuesday one showed signs of parvo and was euthanized Wedneday afternoon, after falling ill with the symptoms like labored breathing, lack of appetite and lethargy.

Upon hearing about the parvo case, I drove straight to the shelter to pick up Dahlia, who had been in a separate kennel once she was brought in separately from her pups on Monday, and had her taken to my vet to check for parvo. The ACO was waiting for me and had to close the shelter as I left because of a service call he had to tend to. Other people visiting the animals also had to leave. By 1:35 I drove home, told the other gals of the story, and left for my Bisbee vet at 2:15pm for my 3:15pm appointment. I was seen at 2:45pm and left the clinic at 3:15pm.

Tests came back negative for both parvo and parasites. She was also placed on an eight-day regimen of 500mg metronidazole twice daily to fight off any bacteria she may have in her system; she had had bloody stool on Tuesday at the shelter. I paid for the tests out of my own pocket, but told the ACO that I would keep Dahlia for eight days or until we had the shelter sterilized. He is happy with that as that keeps Dahlia safe from any more exposure.

Dahlia was an outside-only dog who is grossly underweight. My vet, Dr Snyder, said she needs to put on five pounds. She weighs 44.4 pounds. She is afraid of my dogs and cowers near them. Minnie and Sara are the most curious of Dahlia, but when they approach, Dahlia snarls at them. She chased Pache out of the yard and he quickly ran over our fence and into our neighbor's yard across the alley. He came back this morning, luckily.

I had Dahlia sleep in the guest bathroom last night so that she can feel safe from the dogs. She seemed to prefer that. An old crate pad provided her with some warmth, something that poor dog probably hasn't had all her life. It's obvious that Dahlia hasn't been given much affection in her short life. I want to fatten her up and teach her to trust others before she goes back out into the real world.

I am worried about the repeated outbreaks of parvo at the shelter. I've now seen two pups die from that horrific virus in the last month, and two other pups also were diagnosed with parvo that had been rescued from that shelter. We have no doubt that people had been surrendering their animals with the disease and that it took a while for the virus to manifest itself. People who are surrendering their animals are giving us animals who are not only not vaccinated, but are also not neutered or spayed.



Sunday, March 3, 2013

Hidden Canyon off Juniper Flats near Bisbee

What lovely weather we had today. I was in no mood to sit inside and study, so by 1pm I drove to Bisbee with Sadie and Minnie. Sara wanted to come along as well, but I forbade her from coming because I know she wouldn't be able to go far. She jumped into the back of the truck anyway (much to my surprise!) and I accidentally closed the back door on her back. I hope I didn't hurt her. She didn't want to go back to the yard, either, which told me she's been patiently wanting to go for a walk in a while.

If only Kevin or Eric could help me walk these dogs...

We drove up to Juniper Flats by 1:30pm. I had thought about going down to the Sandy Bob Canyon. Instead I took them on a rockier rock scramble down an unknown canyon downhill from the first creek bed. I had gone this way before years ago with Kevin, where we hiked as far down the narrow rock canyon until we were hit by rock walls on either side and had no choice but to turn around.

There was enough flowing water in this creek to keep the dogs refreshed. Minnie especially was drawn to the water, where she saw rocks and sticks she just had to retrieve.

There was still snow on the northern and shaded parts of this canyon.

I proceeded down the rocks carefully because I had a bulky camera strapped around my neck and a heavy backpack. The last thing I needed was a fall and twisting or breaking an ankle. No one would have found me here as this is a serious rock scramble down slick and wet rocks.

I enjoyed the solitude as the dogs entertained themselves. When we reached the dead-end narrow rock section, I turned around and hiked up the northern slope and away from the canyon. There was still time to explore this area, so little used yet so close to civilization. From the high point here I can see both the Huachucas and the Dragoons, Sierra Vista and Tombstone. There was rain to the north and northwest as the blue sky gave way to overcast.

It was nice being back here. I hadn't done this canyon in several years, and the last time I made it to the narrow slot I was with Kevin. Was it 2005? 2006? Sara and Sammy were young then and today they are too arthritic to do this hike.

The wind was getting stronger and colder as I walked around the rock slabs. It was getting late and I didn't want to be out on the trail should it rain again. I walked back with the dogs on the trail and drove into Old Bisbee. A beer at the Old Bisbee Brewery sounded great but once there I was ignored. Was it because I had the two dogs with me? Dogs are allowed in the outdoor patio and I saw another dog there, but I got no service and left. I put the two tired dogs in the truck and tried again, this time hitting the bar, but a large party in the outdoor area took all the server's attention and this time I left for real.

I was a bit bummed about being ignored by the OBBC staff and meandered around Brewery Gulch. I meandered down a back alley that took me to the rear of the King's Hotel, an old building with five hotel rooms and a separate two-room apartment for rent ($550/month) that was also home to a 28-year-old calico cat that was sleeping on an old divan.


Saturday, March 2, 2013

Maha and Numa

Two weeks ago, just before the shelter closed on a Saturday in late February, a woman came in with a mother cat and one surviving kitten. She needed to get rid of the cat, she said, because her daughter is pregnant and her dogs are mean to the cat. The mother cat most likely lost her other kittens to the family dog but the woman wouldn't say. The woman clearly wanted to get rid of the cats.

Since it was just before closing time and the kitten too young to be unsupervised, I decided to take the duo home. I named the mother Maha and the daughter Numa, Arabic names for "Wild cow" and "Happiness." Since the mother cat's fur is like that of a white and black-spotted cow, the name fits, but she's clearly an affectionate cat.

While I worried about the survival of Numa, I fear no more. Two weeks later and she's now climbing the door of her carrier. The dogs leave the pair alone. I let Maha out for exercise every day for a bit, and she always goes after the other cats. I'm assuming she's in a protective stance since she is still nursing Numa. Even Pache, our bully resident cat, runs away from her! That's a first.

I will keep this pair until Numa is weaned. At three months she will be old enough to get spayed and given her first shots. Then both will return to the shelter to get adopted. Her photo is all over the shelter's Facebook page, and a photo of her and Maha have so far reaped in "most votes."

Numa is now responsive to my voice. She wants to be held and will meow for attention. She will make a great pet for a cat lover. I'd like to see Maha and Numa go out together as they are sweet to watch. But with kitten and puppy season coming soon, that may be difficult. I've grown attached to these two and don't want to see them languishing in a shelter.