Carr Peak with Zeke and Sadie

After three weekends of no substantial hiking, I opted today to get back out.    I told Kevin I'd be leaving at 6am.  That turned to 7am, then 8am, all while I was trying to get some reading for Amazon done.  Kevin gave up on me leaving the house by 9am. "It's going to get hot this afternoon!" he said.

Clouds started forming late in the morning which actually provided cool shade for us, rather than the heat-throbbing rays under clear skies from earlier in the morning.  I finally left the house at 10:30am to drive to the trail head.  I'm glad I waited a few hours to hike this, as today's hike up the peak proved to be full of wildflowers, butterflies, two hawks and water at the rockfalls by the aspen grove.  I only met two other people going up and one couple going down.  The increasing shade in the late morning proved to be refreshing for me, Zeke and Sadie.

My lack of any decent hiking in three weeks did slow me down some, but I was never out of breath or feeling exhausted.  I do, however, know that I must not become a sloth despite my busy work schedule this semester.

As usual, I started up the Sawmill trail, the steeper but shadier trail up to the peak trail.  I always let the dogs drink from the springs at the half-mile mark.

I had enough water for the dogs, but was glad to see water flowing from the waterfall rocks in the aspen grove.  My favorite Golden Columbines were also in full bloom, but the aspens are already naked.  The black spotted virus has made the trees' leaves go from green to dark brown, without any yellow hues to admire from afar.  The scent of autumn is already on its way through the grove.  In another month the tall yellow flowers will be dead and the tall grass through the grove will pinch the legs.

I really need to learn my Arizona wildflowers.  There are plenty of yellow varieties in bloom now, but the one flower I do miss since the 2011 wildfire is the red sage that used to be so prevalent above the aspen grove.  Now yellow flowers, which the forest service dumped en masse over the burned area in August 2011 to prevent landslides, are thriving and making any surviving red sage hard to see from the trail.

The trail was muddy in parts from yesterday afternoon's brief but violent downpour, but it didn't cause me to slip or slide.

It took me two hours to reach the peak.  We stayed on top for 15 minutes before resuming the descent. We had the trail to ourselves until we reached the last mile and I passed a couple going up.  It was after 2pm and they planned on making it to the top.

Winds were calm all throughout the hike.  I'm glad I made it my goal today to bag my favorite peak in the Huachucas.    

More later

French Joe Canyon (Whetstone Mountains)

Hiking French Joe Canyon was Bill's idea.  He invited me to join him and one of his teaching colleagues, Ray, and I obliged.  Lately, I have been isolating myself from other hikers and have been hiking alone.  Today it was nice to have company and be the guide.  Neither men had ever been to French Joe Canyon.  It's remote and not easy to get to, and the dirt roads can get impassable after heavy rains. Hiking with Bill was a great excuse to get out today, despite the high 80s and cloudless sky.

We met at the Pizza Hut off Fry Boulevard in Sierra Vista and continued in Bill's high-clearance Toyota pick-up.  Zeke rode in the back and was a big hit with Ray. We found the turn-off and managed a half mile over a rocky trail before Bill decided to pull over and walk the rest in.  It's two miles from State Road 90 to the trail head parking area, so we added at least three miles to what was to be a four-mile walk.

Ray quickly fell behind.  I worried about his conditioning as he's a large man and it was hot today.  The heat and recent storms also make this ideal for spotting rattlers.  One thing we didn't have were cows staring us down.  Zeke had nothing to chase and that kept him close to me.  Lately, he has been listening to my commands better.  The road seemed in better shape today than the last time, when Doug drove his big Chevy over deep ruts.  Maybe we were on a different trail then?

Ray ended up dropping out and returning to Bill's truck at the 1.5-mile mark, just a half mile before the shady start of the old trail.  He would have enjoyed this part.  Bill, of course, is like an enthralled boy in a candy store when he's out in nature, stopping every few feet to take 20 photos.  I walk on ahead and then stop to allow Bill to catch up.  It's a nice rhythm we have on the trail since we are about the same in speed and strength.

The pretty part of French Joe Canyon begins at the shady trail head, along the boulder-strewn creek bed, past an old horse trough, and finally along the rocky creek going toward the mines and intermittent water fall.  There was water flowing quite nicely, too, proving Zeke with all the water he needed.

This first mile of the official trail is the prettiest part of the canyon, with its unique rock slabs forming a natural trail.  Water collects in these rocks.  All kinds of birds, lizards, and mammals call this canyon their home, but today we didn't see the horned owls, chameleons, and vermillions that I've seen in the past.  Bill was in awe of the geology as I walked on ahead, stopping to let him catch up with me.

The higher into the canyon we hiked, though, the more overgrown became the flora.  A recent flash flood eroded parts of the narrow canyon walls and felled a few more weak trees.  Despite the green grass, there were no wildflowers as we approached the mine.  We spotted one firecracker penstemon near a rock outcropping. We opted to turn around .5 miles from the finish to rejoin Ray.  We walked back the way we came with a slight detour to the swimming hole.  I picked up Zeke and threw him in the deep part so that he could cool his belly off.  He was startled at first, but quickly appreciated the refreshment and became animated.

When we returned to Bill's truck, Ray was still napping and a curious Black Angus bull stared at Zeke and me from a safe distance.  Zeke was smart enough not to take chase.