Kelly Springs (Hunter Canyon, Huachucas Mtns)

I woke up in a funk after yesterday's incident with the coatimundi.  I told Kevin what happened to Sweetie and he, too, didn't show much sympathy for Sweetie.  Sweetie was still lying in her spot when I got up to make coffee, but if she was in any pain by the afternoon, I couldn't tell.  She was with the rest of the pack on the back porch with Kevin.

Weather outside was colder, windier and stormier than yesterday, giving me another excuse to stay inside and hike a short hike later.  I was tired, both physically and emotionally.  I read in bed, occasionally getting interrupted by a cat's howling outside the window.  Willie, our feral resident cat,  was up in the tree in the front yard, apparently trying to get away from that cat.  That cat, a white long-haired cat with some spots of orange, tried to climb the tree to get to Willie, but kept sliding down the bark as if it couldn't hold on. Perhaps that cat had its claws removed?  I've seen that cat in our yard several times now.  One time it was eating food I had placed outside for Willie.  The cat is welcome to stay as long as it doesn't fight with Willie, who earned first bids.

Willie seems to have made our front yard his permanent home as I see him more often.  And that's fine with me as I'm the reason he's in the yard and not in the Bisbee junk yard as a feral. He was brought into the shelter as a scared feral.  I took him and two other stray kittens home to foster and socialize them.  The other cats were tamed but Willie never learned to trust us. I think the barking dogs always stressed him and that is why he bolted from the house but never strayed far.  That was five years ago!   He still meows when I call his name, but he refuses to let me get near him.  I bought him a cat house which I placed under the cover of the juniper bushes, but it doesn't look like he's using it yet. Maybe that white cat is?  I wanted to give him shelter from the winds and rains that are yet to come this season.

The sky remained dark for most of the morning.  Winds howled as well. It wasn't until the afternoon that the winds calmed down and the sky cleared up and I was ready to walk the dogs.  As soon as they sensed my intent, all of them started barking with excitement, including Sweetie who was jumping around like nothing was bothering her.  As promised, though, I kept her inside.

As for her lip, I was able to take a closer look today.  It looks like her lip wasn't just cut open, it looks like the coati ripped a chuck off her upper lip.  There's an inch-long cut that's also 1/8 inch wide, wide enough to expose her upper teeth.  Her mouth still looks raw inside, but it's long stopped bleeding.  This cut probably will be a permanent cleft in her lip.

Today I opted to hike up to Kelly Springs in Hunter Canyon in the eastern Huachucas.  This had been the hike I did all the time with Sara and Sammy ten years ago, going out and back along the creek for three miles round trip.  It's an easy hike ideal for after work or new hikers and in all these years, seldom see a person on this trail.  Elevation ranges from 4965' near the highway to 5445' at the springs. There's a new mile extension right at the trail head parking near the entrance off SR92 that adds another half mile to the hike, making this a 3.5-mile hike along and in the creekbed.

I parked along the forest sign today, right past the cattle guard, and hiked with three dogs up the dry creekbed, which looks like it still used by border crossers because of the firmness the path appears to have in the sand, an indication of heavy traffic.  I haven't walked here in months, to avoid the wood cutters who are allowed to cut down the burned and damage trees and haul them away for firewood.  There was no one else around and I got to enjoy the scenic creek bed that's lined by either high rock walls, or layers of sediment.  It was 60F and most of the trail was already shaded by the waning sun.  The fire damage from 2011 is still visible, but new oak trees and pines are coming back.  It's slowly returning to the bucolic canyon I enjoyed so much ten years ago.

There was water at Kelly Springs and in a smaller steel container.  The dogs took advantage of that water before we continued on the return walk.  You can see San Jose Peak in Sonora from the springs.  It's a view I always like seeing.

The return hike was on the trail and extension trail above the creek bed but still along the bank.  Minnie had found a deer leg but Sadie fought it off of her.  She was now hiking back with a smelly lower deer leg in her mouth, which she tried to gobble down. She'd run ahead, flop down to munch, and then I'd pass her again. This is the third deer leg the dogs have found in either Hunter Canyon or Oak Estates.  Perhaps the fourth and final leg is still out there, waiting to be discovered?!

Hunter Canyon used to be littered with a lot of immigrant trash, both in the creekbed and off the trail.  The trash is far less now than ten years ago, but today I found a sunburned backpack and remnants of a hiking boot off the trail.  As the forest comes back to life with new growth, more border crossers will also resume their trek across the fence to come here illegally.

I started today's hike at 3:33pm and I was done in 1:17 hours.  I felt a chill on my face as I finished.  Now it's back to work this week.  Weather will be in the 60Fs for the rest of the month, but it looks like we will have daytime temps in the 80s come March.  Trees are already budding around us.  I don't mind this early bloom as long as we get more rain.

Wood Canyon and attack by coatimundi (Santa Rita foothills near Sonoita, AZ)

Today's hike was not the route I wanted to take, but I blame that on poor planning on my part and not realizing that some of the roads were now closed to the public.  I wanted to hike to El Pilar in the Santa Rita foothills  from the south end, a shaded waterhole formed by geologic outcroppings, but where I was high in Wood Canyon, on a ridge separating Wood from Adobe Canyon, I couldn't easily get down to the valley where the water was.

I took all four dogs with me, a risk that is making me too anxious now.  This may be the last time I take Sweetie along on a hike in unchartered territory.  I finally found Casa Blanca Canyon Road west of Sonoita, AZ,  with posted access to the National Forest.  This is a wide, well-graded dirt road with free camp sites along the dry creek bed.  The sites were all taken as I drove past, full of resting campers, kids, dogs and a few horses.  The road then stops at a private property fence, with Forest Road 4105 branching off to the right and traveling northeast.  I took this road until it got too ruddy for me.  This road passed shaded oaks and resting cows and a trough (which of course got the dogs riled up).  I parked away from all that distraction near a steep uphill slope and continued walking.  My phone turned itself off and wouldn't come back to life until .3 miles later.  Not sure what caused that glitch but it worked the rest of the hike.

Just past the hill top was a cattle fence and I could see the Santa Ritas and Mount Wrightston, at 9452' the tallest mountain in Santa Cruz county.

The official road ended here, but past the fence the road was now 4107.  I took this road as it meandered uphill.  By now the dogs were panting in the direst sunlight.

All around me I could see high ridgelines going in a north-south direction.  The ridges were mostly tree-free. All the trees where in the cooler valleys and spurs.  FR4107  soon curved and traveled downhill among the oaks, whose shade the dogs appreciated.  I didn't mind the cooling affect, but now I was going south

when I wanted to travel north.  This was a ranching road to lead cows into the cooler and shadier valleys. When I saw a Forest Service sign with a "DEAD END AHEAD" sign I used that as an excuse to turn around and try a more faded north that went north and back up the next ridgeline.

A bent cattle trough near this intersection provided some water, which Zeke and Sweetie took to right away, saving me my own water.  This trail, too, came to a posted Dead End, but a faint cattle or hunter trail continued along this exposed ridgeline.  My tracking app showed I was going the right way, but the road I wanted, Adobe Canyon Road, was far below in the next canyon and 500' lower.  I was not about to bushwhack the steep hillside.  I wanted to stay where I could see the general landscape.

On an overcast or cooler day this would have been a nice hike.  There was a cool breeze but the dogs were panting nonetheless. Most of the shade here was from tall manzanita and agave.  I could see a faded dirt road ahead and I used the landscape to guide me to this road.  This road then led to a scenic overview of the Santa Ritas.  I could see El Pilar in the distance.  Perhaps with a full day of hiking I could discover a road down there more safely, but for now I was happy to be on the ridge.  If anything, this was a short and panoramic hike that showed the foothills of the range.

The forest here is also grazing country, which means there was plenty of cow patties along the route.
Now that I was on a route that would take me straight back to the car, I was more rested and enjoyed this hike.  Except for one Silverado parked near the start, I got the sense of being all alone here.  No cattle were up on the dry ridgeline and I didn't have to worry about encountering cows.  The only wildlife besides birds up to this point was a small Mountain patchnose garter snake, a common non-venemous snake in this region.  What was it doing so far from a water source?

I did come across the camouflaged hunter of the Silverado, who asked me if I owned the "white truck" (my Ford Escape) and I said yes, just as I saw a full-sized white truck meander back down the hillside.

I was at 5.76 miles and close to my truck when suddenly the dogs lurched forward.  Something had scammered across the trail.  It was a spooked coatimundi that Sweetie was determined to catch.  Minnie followed.  The scared animal ran up a mesquite tree, but then fell and took off again, again pursued by two dogs.  This time they had the animal pinned.  I ran after the dogs and screamed, but what stopped the fight was the animal biting Sweetie on the lip, creating a bloody one-inch tear that exposed her teeth.  The dogs let go of the coati and the coati ran up another tree where it stayed until we were out of reach.  This was the second time in as many months that I apologized to a coatimundi for Sweetie's behavior!

I didn't see the tear on her lip at first, just the blood, which dripped from her face and paws as she slowly walked back to the truck with the rest of us.  She's normally jaunting far ahead of everyone else, but now she was in the rear and in pain.  I then realized that the blood on her face was not from the coatimundi, but her own blood.  Droplets of bright red blood spotted the trail.

Minnie was bleeding as well, but her wound was a superficial cut above her nose.  Sweetie's wound continued to bleed as we got to the truck.  The dogs drank more water here, but blood from Sweetie stained the bowl red.  That's when I realized that the bite wound was deeper than I thought. Her front paws were bloodied from the dripping blood.  Her chest was caked with dried blood.  But the one bleeding wound continued to be her upper lip.  Her chin was also cut open, but that wound closed enough by the time we got to the truck.

My truck is always messy, thanks to the dogs and my camping gear I keep in the back, so I had plenty of fleece blankets to cover up the seats and keep blood stains to a minimum.  The dogs quickly jumped into the truck but I needed to control Sweetie's bleeding; her snout was looking more bloodied the more I looked at it.  My bandanna proved to not be very absorbent.

I now had to worry about getting back to Sierra Vista to see my veterinarian.  Office hours are until 6:30pm on Saturdays.  I was both angry and disgusted at Sweetie and because of her repeated display of aggression, not at all sympathetic to her pain.  Would today's encounter mellow her out some?  Did this teach her a valuable lesson? At any rate, this will be her last hike with me.  Luckily the coati survived with minimal injury and Sweetie got the brunt of the injuries.  Deserves her right.  That doesn't mean I was not worried about her welfare on the ride back home.  I kept glancing back at her to make sure she was not showing any signs of shock. At least the incident happened at the end of the hike and not halfway down the canyon.

I was slowed leaving Casa Blanca Canyon Road because of a slow-moving RV ahead of me that seemed to have a water tank leak.  A pick-up behind the RV was the look-out vehicle. Then two horses came bolting out of the forest and galloped on the road next to us, again getting the dogs aggitated.  What else would go wrong now?!  Barking dogs, a bleeding dog and a disabled vehicle in front of me on a dusty road were all bad omens.

Sweetie looked in pain as she leaned against the truck's right door all the way back into town.  Sadie and Minnie were next to her while Zeke rested in the far back. She finally lay down as we reached the vet's office, where I glanced at her now dry mouth (Minnie helped lick it clean) and I rationalized that there wasn't much more to do for her and she was stable.  The worst was over for her.  It was 6:10pm, the parking area was full, and I had four dogs in the car.  The office would close at 6:30pm. Granted, she was in pain, but she was not in any danger of bleeding out and dying.  I opted then to just go home and focus on cleaning her and providing her some rest.

When got home at 6:30pm.  It was already quiet as Kevin was already in bed.  A strong whaff of alcohol emitted from the bedroom, another sign that he had been drinking again.  Sweetie took her usual spot along my side of the bed and lay her head down on her doggie bed.  She remained there the rest of the night, foresaking her after-hike snack.  I checked on her twice.  She was resting, breathing normally and no longer bleeding. She was resting like she usually rests after a long hike. A stroke of sympathy crossed through me as I glanced at her sad eyes, knowing that in most other households she would have been euthanized for her unpredictable behavior.  She is a loving dog toward Kevin and me and I know she would risk her life to protect either of us.  That fierce loyalty is her salvation, but I can no longer risk her injuring other dogs and wildlife.

The total hike was 6.4 miles.  Had I gone on the correct unmarked trail straight to the overlook, it would have cut the hike down by almost two miles.

Back to Thunder Falls

Today was the last day of my four-day weekend.  I woke up to a partly sunny blue sky.  No rain clouds hovered over the mountains.  I couldn't let this nice weather slow me down.  While I lollygagged in the morning, I took Sadie, Zeke and Minnie with me to explore the rest of Thunder Falls in the Patagonia Mountains.  I wanted to see where Forest Road 4701 ended, and to explore some of the mines.  I did more driving than hiking today.

Sweetie stayed home because of yesterday's erratic behavior.  I knew I'd be driving past open cattle ranges and didn't want to take the chance with her chasing cows.  While she sulked being left behind, I knew this was the better decision, especially after yesterday's behavior.

I was last on FR4701 in January with the hiking club.  I thought I knew where its location was, but I ended up driving at least six miles out of my way before I realized that FR4701 was just past the historic town settlement of Harshaw.  It's the first forest road south of Flux Canyon, the canyon that is now closed off to the public because of mining operations so secretive, that the company has NO TRESPASSING signs posted off Harshaw road, with threats of legal action should anyone even stop to photograph anything.  The signs and the secrecy behind what is really going on here has me wondering what is truly going on here.

Forest Road 4701 is still open for hiking, thankfully, but for how much longer?  Back in January the hiking club parked right off Harshaw Road and hiked in.  This time I drove my Ford Escape as far as I could go, with three anxious dogs eager to get out and explore.

I drove two miles up and over this scenic one-lane road.  Mines are scattered along it, with tailings rich in malachite and azurite, minerals that indicate the presence of copper.  A creek at this point leads to the waterfall .6 miles, but I continued on as far as I could go.  The road gets heavily eroded just before the large Thunder falls mine.  I parked in a shady turn off and continued my hike uphill.

As it turns out, the road comes to a dead end a half-mile uphill from the Thunder Falls mine.  It looks like an earlier landslide covered up the highest mine shaft.  The road comes to an abrupt end with no indication it continues.  Mature pines offer shade and the views east extend to the Huachucas.  I turned around here without a break to get back down to the main mine and explore that area.  Here again a heavily-eroded creekbed washed away the road that was once here, ending in a lush box canyon.  Smuggler trash is evident. I picked up the recycable stuff and later dropped it all off at the recycling bins in Patagonia on my way home. This area was burned in 2013 (?) and many of the dead pines stand as burned, broken pencil sticks.  Many of the trees look freshly fallen by recent wind storms.

The interesting thing about Thunder Falls is that the old shafts are not clearly visible.  I found a lower one near the dry creek bed, but climbing uphill to explore proved not only futile, but also dangerous.  The dogs were ahead of me and their motion set the loose tailings to tumble downhill toward me.  The upper hillside is growing back with manzanitas and pine, but I opted to return back to terra firma.

This hike from the truck up to the end of the road and along the mine bottom was just 2.8 miles.   I now returned the way I came, stopping again at the Y-intersection, parked the truck once more and explored the lower road.  This was a eastern-sloped mining road that ended .4 mile at a grated mine opening with views again of the east.  The shaft was closed off to protect the bats that are now taking over.  I could see inside the opening and recognize it as a large opening big enough to provide shelter for border crossers.

The sun was now dropping low and I didn't want to be too far from the main road while it got dark.  My total mileage hiked was just under four miles today.  I needed an "off" day and I'm sure the dogs didn't mind.

I was parked briefly at a Forest Service marker when a large white Ford F350 came uphill.  Lucky me I was at a spot wide enough for two vehicles.  This truck was driven by a Pennsylvania couple from Altoona, PA, out road tripping across the country.  They were looking for a scenic spot to camp for the night.  They had been on the road escaping Pennsylvania's harsh winter this season.  They were in Florida during the brunt of the cold and were on their way to California for next week before heading back home.  Dave is a retired physical plant operator from Penn State, and Maureen retired after 29 years in Special Education.  They sleep in the back of their F350 and boondock whereever they can.  They are driving a F350 because it offers 4x4 capability.  They travel like I do!  I stood outside their truck as we chatted about the local area (I did warn them of nightime smugglers) and gave them other ideas for scenic boondocking.  In fact, Santa Cruz and Cochise County in Arizona offer endless opportunities for the boondocker; they came to the right place!

We could have chatted more, but now the sun was setting low behind the hills and I was getting cold.  Dave and Maureen decided to camp at that spot for the night while I resumed my return trip back to Harshaw Road.  Pick-up trucks were now heading out of Flux canyon.  I parked briefly at the Harshaw Cemetery, a little historic site off the road where many of the first settlers are buried, many with Hispanic names.

The Patagonia hills are a regional secret for the outdoor recreationist, but the trails and roads through the hills are slowly getting swallowed up by foreign-owned mining companies.  I need to get back into these hills before the rest of the land is taken away from us and the history in it is lost forever.

Another winter storm

California is getting pounded with rain this winter.  The state hasn't seen this much water since 1997, when I lived in Pacific Grove with the kids.  We had gotten so much rain that year that the road we lived on, Ransford Avenue, became a deluge whenever it rained.  Water would rush down the hill and create powerful streams along the sides.  This year landslides, killer floods and sinkholes are making the news, with a precarious dam in the northern region, Oroville, showing damage from excessive water in the reservoir.

We now are getting those storms.  I'm happy Arizona is getting all this rain, but like California, wish it came in smaller increments over a longer period of time.  Our weekend was forecasted for rain both Saturday and Sunday, with high winds starting Friday night, so I didn't make any travel plans this four-day weekend.

It howled early in the morning, waking me up at 4:45am.  By sun rise it looked ominous outside, but the rain was still a light drizzle.  I didn't want to miss a day of walking the dogs and took them to an abandoned housing area off Avenida Saracino, just south of Ramsey Road and the city limits of Sierra Vista.  I've been here a few times for shorter walks with the dogs.  Today this area seemed like a better choice for a walk since the clouds were much darker to the south where I normally take the dogs.

The Coronado National Forest has its Sierra Vista office off SR92 and Avenida Saracino, which runs in a northeasterly direction and ends at Ramsey Road. There are no homes here, but at one time this was supposed to be a neighborhood.  Now Saracino is a mere thruway.  Some of the side roads are paved and end in cul-de-sacs, but some roads are dirt roads.  This area was supposed to be the San Pedro housing development. Why and when was it abandoned?  The 2008 housing crash seems to have permanently halted further development in the greater Sierra Vista area. Some roads show up on Google Maps that don't even exist, but one can tell by walking across the grass that the area had been graded for a future road.  There are several ruined homes on the southern portion of this land tract, remnants of a time when this was the edge of town before the sprawl spread southward.

This is a flat area with scattered mesquite trees, desert bloom and tall grass.  Elevation ranges from 4600'-4730'. The area provides a nice areal view of the Huachuca mountains. The Coronado National Forest maintains its maintenance shop here, and a stock pond for wildlife.  The pond is now overflowing from the recent rains.

I've never come across another person here while on my walks, although evidence of people walking here remains in some of the trash I come across.  The far eastern section of this abandoned housing area has now become an illegal dumping ground.   Perhaps the lack of a dedicated parking area prohibits walkers from exploring the area.  I don't come here often because it's a bit farther away than the other abandoned housing area, Oak Estates to the south of us.

I walked 4.3 miles with Zeke, Minnie, Sadie and Sweetie in 1:24 hours.  It was 48F when I finished at 10:20am. Weather alternated between cold and blustery to sunny and then drizzly.  The dark clouds fixated on the mountains.  It was calmer east toward Bisbee and Tombstone.  The storm was moving north. The dogs didn't care about getting wet, they were having fun running up and down the straight roads.  The lack of massive trees allows me to see them better as they frolic in the grass.  I wore two fleece jackets and didn't realize until I came home how wet I was.  I drank tea for most of the day to keep my hands warm.

I'm glad I got the walk out of the way early.  The drizzle turned to more steady rain in the late afternoon, when I tend to walk the dogs, and the winds persisted all day long.

An urban walk around Bisbee-Warren

I didn't host a hike today.  Instead, after school I met Kim in Bisbee and together we walked around Bisbee-Warren, a quiet residential neighborhood several miles from Old Bisbee at 3pm.  This is where Mexicans lived when Bisbee was still a prosperous mining town, as no Mexicans were allowed in Old Bisbee.  Warren now reflects a more family-oriented atmosphere, with wider, more level streets, plenty of parks, and old mining shacks that haven't seen any maintenance since they were erected 100 years ago.

We had no set route and I hadn't been back here for several years myself.  I do remember walking along the perimeter streets with views back into town. We parked across from City Hall on Arizona Street, and walked north and then southeast on Briggs Avenue to get to the hillier section with views back into Warren and the mining area.  Kim had never been here so she relied on me to show her around.  This neighborhood has quite a different feel that the more energized Old Bisbee and its tourists.  There are dry hills all around Warren, marred with mining trails and all of them are on private property.  So the only option is to walk the streets slowly and explore the art work and yards.

I remember the last time I was here that this neighborhood had plenty of cats and dogs walking freely.  That was the case again today, with cats staring at us from behind windows, from porches, or sauntering down the street.  Sadie was offleash for half this walk and wasn't bothered by the cats, but she did have her fur rise up on her honches when dogs would approach her.

While some homes clearly look condemned, other homes sport ironwrought art in the yards, or have antique cars parked up front.  It's the creative artwork in Warren that makes walking around rather interesting.  Sometimes a friendly homeowner comes out to chat.

It was in the 60s and we both had thick fleece sweaters on.  It felt warmer than 60F.  Spring was visible everywhere! The exposed sun wore us all out so we cut the walk short at three miles, finishing just after 4pm with plenty of time before the 6:30pm astronomy display in the Warren ballpark.  (Another hiker friend of ours is a member of the Cochise Astronomy Club and invited us to look at the stars after sunset.)

With time to spare before sunset, we dined at Thuy's Noodle Shop in Bisbee where I had a delicious bowl of curry chicken and noodles.  This small diner seats 18 (!!!) and we luckily were the first two to enter for a meal.  Ten minutes later all the seats were occupied.  Sadie rested in the van outside the Noodle shop.

We stopped for apres-dinner tea at Kim's house, then drove in separate cars to the astronomy display.  It was 6:40pm now and quite cold.  We didn't stay long at all because of this.  I looked through two telescopes but bypassed the other three.  I didn't want to wait in any line since this display was oriented toward families with children.

Today's walk was a quiet walk with a good friend.  Kim is a retired zoologist with a plethora of knowledge about butterflies.   We haven't known each other for long but she is interesting to talk to. For years she traveled the country with her partner John, who died two years ago from complications related to alcoholism. He left her a roomy home in Bisbee which is sparsely decorated.  Her social life is now centered around her hobby of butterflies, other hikers, and other artists.  Next week she leaves for her home state of Texas but will return in June when I should hopefully be on my road trip to Alaska.  I won't see her again until November.

Hiking the Ridgeline trail loop in the Tortolitas (Marana, AZ)

I like hiking in the Tortolita mountains.  This is a small, dry range north of Marana, clustered with saguaros, cholla, palo verde trees and unique rock formations. The range isn't as crowded as the higher Catalinas, or the more similar Superstitions further north. It's a true Sonoran experience.  The trails are maintained by the Dove Mountain Resort where the trail head is and access is free to anyone.

I had this hike scheduled at the January hiking club meeting.  I wanted to hike this loop while the weather was still on the cool side.  A few days ago the forecast called for cloudy skies and 76F.  It turned out to be partially cloudy with a high of 81F.  Still, this was better than last year's 88F and clear skies.

The Tortolitas once were popular with miners.  Saguaros and Crested saguaros call these hills their home.  Elevation ranges from 2700' to 4130' on the trails.  I wanted to experience the Ridgeline trail, the newest trail in this range that connects with the popular Wild Burro trail.

No one had RSVPed me via email before starting time so I wasn't sure anyone was interested in this long hike.  I got up early this morning, ate a small breakfast, fed the dogs and packed the van with recyclables. (I always take the recycables with me when I drive through Tucson because that city recycles everything and the drop-off bins are easily accessible 24 hours a day.  I drop mine off on Park Avenue, less than a mile off I-10 and next to a police substation)  I wasn't in the mood to hike this trail alone.  Would I cancel the hike if no one showed up at the designated meetup?

As my luck would have it, SteveA and Pat S were waiting for me.  I hadn't seen Pat since last summer.  She had spent the last four months in Pennsylvania working a temporary job and returned last week. We chatted a bit, waiting ten minutes past our 7:30am departure date for a 4th person, Mel, but he was a no-show.  We drove in two vehicles, since my van was packed with two excited dogs and two boxes of recycables.  I gassed at for $1.99/gallon at the Pilot gas station off Craycoft Avenue and arrived at the Dove Mountain trail head parking lot at 9:20am.  Pat and Steve were already waiting.  We started our hike at 9:42am, starting with the Wild Burro trail along the wash, (.6m) then climbing up via the Alamo Springs trail (4.2m) to the Ridgeline trail (3.1m), the highest trail that offers spectacular views of the much higher Catalina Mountains and Mount Lemon.  The rather level Ridgeline trail then joins the Wild Burro loop trail (1.7m and 2.4m) before joining the Wild Burro trail (5.4m) back to the trail head parking area.

The first six miles were the hardest for me. I hate climbing steps while ascending and the first 4.5 miles were all uphill on rock steps.  I'd rather just have a level trail to hike up.  Zeke seemed overtaken by the heat and was panting heavily when we got to the intersection with the Ridgeline trail.  I contemplated turning around here, just before the half-way mark.  I only had a gallon of water for the two dogs, with two more gallons in the van.  I should have packed one more half gallon so that I didn't need to ration our water.  I stopped at every shaded spot I could find once we hit the three-mile mark, just to keep Zeke from suffering and allowing him to dig in some cool soil.  Both always drank heavily from their water.

Once we stopped for lunch at an overlook at the 5.7 mark, with a bench overlooking the canyon, the dogs and I seemed to do better.  Steve and Pat sat on the bench, I sat in the shade with the dogs, where both dug up the dirt to stay cool. The high cirrus clouds now made their appearance and that hot midday sun was quickly diffused.  I noticed both dogs immediately felt better in the diffused light, even me, and we took off energized. A refreshing cool breeze also helped.  Most of the people we met on the trail were in the first six miles.  I noted that some of the younger people, including two women with no visible water source on them, also lacked head gear.  The Ridgeline trail is popular with mountain bikers, as they coast downhill on a well-smoothed trail downhill for 3.1 miles.

The Ridgeline trail lived up to its write-up.  The views north and northeast and southeast were spectacular.  We could see Tucson and Marana, Mount Wrightson, Picacho Peak, Baboquavari Peak, and the hills south of Tucson.  Two of the park's Crested Saguaros are in this area, with one right off the trail.  (Many more died in the 2011 killer freeze and their skeletons remain across the hillsides.) The level grade was easy on us, but the high sun made finding any shade difficult.  The good news is that the descent was on the northwestern side of the hills and we had more shade now.  This trail went past an old goat corral and a solar-powered water tank with trough, in which Zeke jumped in right away to cool off, even though the water looked stagnant.  Sadie rested in the shade along the northern wall of the trough.  In another 2.4 miles we were back on the Wild Burro Trail, familiar territory from last year's hike.  I gave the dogs a long water break.

We were now in the lower elevations again as the sun set behind the peaks.  We had to stop at the nine-mile mark when Pat stepped on some cholla thorns that went right through her boot sole.  This required a minor extraction with tweezers by Steve.  The dogs rested and waited.  Shortly after we resumed our hike, we came across a stainless steel cross right off the trail, held up by a mound of rocks.  "Molly, 1989-2012."  Pat said that was a cross for a dog that had died on that spot, but I questioned the age.  Dogs don't live to be 23 years old.  (It turns out that Molly was Amalia Barber, a Purdue student visiting her family in Tucson for her birthday.  A five-mile hike on a 93F day in May turned out to be a deadly mistake.  She died of a heat stroke (heart attack).  Lack of cellphone signal made getting help more difficult.  The cross is a somber reminder to come prepared for a desert hike.  Even I avoid hiking in 93F weather.

We were now perhaps the last people on the trails as the last two miles were in the cool shade of the wash.  Zeke chased a few rabbits but Sadie stayed by my side.  We got back to the parking lot with the last rays of sunlight.  There were four other cars left.

We ate at Nana's Kitchen, the same Mexican diner we ate at last year after hiking this range.  We arrived at 7:10pm, just before a mariachi band began.  It was the last thing we wanted to hear!  We were tired, hungry and wanted a quiet meal and not a loud, boisterous band blaring right in our ears.  At least the dogs were able to nap in peace, sprawled out across the back of the van.  They got their raw meat when I got home at 10pm.  Both dogs slept soundly through the night.

Bisbee's Seven Hills

The hike along the Arizona Trail led by SusanM is tomorrow, not today.  I didn't realize that until early this morning when I checked the hiking schedule.  This allowed me to join the fast group in Bisbee for the 4-mile loop around the Gulch.  I took Sadie and Zeke.  It was 48F at 8:15am in the shade at the start.

Thad led this hike.  KD was also there.  Thad is a fast hiker and does this loop several times a week just for exercise.  It was noticeably warmer today than two weeks ago when I last did this with him.  We hiked the loop four minutes slower, finishing in 1:48 hours.  Even Sadie seemed slow today and I hope nothing is wrong with her.  She's been acting weird all week.  While she likes to hike ahead of me, she was hiking so close to me that I often stepped on her paws, and requests to "Scoot!" fell on deaf ears.  Even back in the van she looked exhausted, leaning against the van's wall while looking at me sadly.  Zeke, however, was his usual hyper and goofy self.

The trail was busy today.  We passed three couples, two with dogs.  Young and old alike were taking their time, from birders with binoculars to a young couple jogging with their two rat terriers, people were out enjoying this mild weather.

We were all back at our vehicles at 10:20am.  Thad and KD took off right away. The Gulch was still quiet and there was plenty of parking spots open.  I stopped at the Bisbee Safeway to get the dogs some fresh steaks.  There was chomping and gnawing all the way home.

Maybe it's the heat that's slowing Sadie down?  I haven't noticed her slow down for the dog walks I lead with my pack after work.  She had loose stool when she got home.  

The neighborhood was quiet.  I enjoy getting a good workout and still having so much day left.