Sage Peak (well, almost!)

What a strange day.

At 4am I was awakened by noises in the back yard. Sara darted outside and when she flew outside, so did the others. She didn't bark, but the little foofoo dog across the alley started to bark, which caused Sammy to howl, then Sara, and then Sadie attempted to howl as well. There was something out there that had spooked the dogs, but ten minutes later all was silent.

I had to get up to check around. All I saw was a beautiful black sky lighted up with stars. What planet shined so brightly in the eastern sky?

Two hours later I was up for real, sipping some of that WaWa coffee that Kevin's taken a liking to as well. He's now coughing like I did a few days ago.

The clouds from yesterday were gone as the sun came up an hour later, and I was determined to drive out to the Chiricahuas to explore the Sage Peak trail. After some gardening I was finally out of the house and in the Escape with Sadie, driving east, at 8:40am. I counted ten USBP vans, SUVs, cars, even an SUV towing a horse trailer and another one towing an ATV trailer before I made it to Bisbee.

It's a pretty drive through Bisbee and then the Silver Springs Valley. The ocotillo and pink fairy dusters were in full bloom. Adobe homes dotted the landscape. Even the border with Mexico lookeded calm. I drove on AZ 90 east to Double Adobe Road to USHwy 191, through Elfrida and took that right turn east on Rucker Canyon Road, that doublewide dirt road into the canyon.

But as soon as I made it to the western slopes of the Chiricahua Mountains off Rucker Canyon Road, all I saw ahead of me where dark clouds. Then it began to rain as I drove up to the trailhead. It was 11:30am when I got to the trail head. I sat inside the truck for 40 minutes reading an old copy of Rolling Stone Magazine from April 2009 to idle the time. When the rain subsided, I decided to give the hike a try.

Ah, I thought, what's a little rain? Answer: A lot, especially when the rain jacket didn't repel rain. The drizzle turned into a downpour, then thunder and finally lightning. It was getting hard to see far ahead of me. Sadie was already drenched. A few shakes of her fur and she'd be dry for a few minutes, but the rain seemed to rejuvenate her. Perhaps the enhanced smells of the trail got her energized? The strong essence of juniper and sage had gotten me motivated. Too bad the rain just wouldn't relent.

I turned around at the 2.3 marker, at the Red Rock Springs. It was bone dry. I could no longer see the red rocks ahead of me, opted to turn around, and when I got back to the Escape managed to avoid a second hard downpour. I was now wet and chilled.

The dry washes I had passed going into the mountains were all flooded now with red, muddy, swirling waters churning downhill. I quickly drove through them all. Depressions in the road were also filled up with water.

Once out of the mountains and closer to the town of Elfrida, though, the sun shined. The storm had huddled the peaks but had kept the valley dry. I could see the front of the storm to the south.

I had the heat on since I was still wet and cold; my finger tips were feeling nippy. Ahead to my west were clear skies, which also turned dark once I got into the San Pedro Valley and once again got hit with a rainstorm when I got home at 4pm.

Kevin by now was feeling very sick and went to bed shortly after I got home.

So, what did I accomplished today? Not much. I drove almost two hours each way to hike just over four miles. I didn't even get to see the peak of Sage. But, I will be hiking this trail next Saturday, weather permitting, to the peak. The grade wasn't too bad, as half of the 5.4mile trail (o/w) is an old jeep trail. I would have had an elevation gain of 2654' had I made it to the 8360' peak today, which is not bad considering the five plus miles it takes to get to the peak. I can't wait to do this complete peak under more ideal weather conditions, such as the early fall! It's a quiet, secluded trail hugged by red rocks.