It turned out to be the perfect hike, logging in 4:15 hours on the trail and getting back to the car before the rain set in. Wildflowers were in bloom all along the way.
Emily and Rodney from the hiking club joined me at the trailhead. I was glad to have company, as this hike can get beset with illegals coming across from Mexico and I no longer feel comfortable hiking alone in the Huachucas.
The 2.6-mile hike up to Carr Peak (just under 9220') took us 1:20 hours. It would have taken us 15 minutes less had we not had to stop to look for Emily's camelback plug that had gotten stuck on a manzanita shrub or I having to run back down to the SUV to grab my camera. We left at 8:50 and got to the peak at 10:20am. The first mile was the hardest. It was hot and steep. Both Emily and I were tired, we hadn't slept well the night before, and I didn't want to slow her down.
This was Emily's first Arizona peak. She's originally from Maine and has hiked all over that part of the country. She is now in this part of Arizona doing her commitment to the Vista Program: a program to help disadvantaged kids. Carr Peak was my first ever mountain summit, so getting up this mound is a bit sentimental for me. I first climbed it in 1991.
"Is it always this pretty?" she asked me. She loved all the flowers along the way, stopping many times to take self-portraits, posing at times like a naturegirl in front of a statuesque mountain drop.
"In the fall it sure is. But hike up here every month and you'll see something different every time: red-tailed hawks flying overhead, wild flowers, autumn colors, spring flowers, wild onion, even black bears..."
There are black bears here?" she asked.
"Oh yeah! I hiked this trail in 1992 and came across a mother bear and her cub right before the Carr Peak trail to the summit. I had to abort that hike. There's a sign at the trailhead warning hikers that this is Bear Country."
(Later on, on the drive back downhill, I admitted that there had been a few incidences with old co-workers of mine who had gotten held up at the upper campground by several armed Mexicans.)
Yellow asters, Mexican Paintbrushm, fleabane, phlox, red and blue salvia, yellow columbine, St John's Wort, all covered the trail the entire way. The aspens were still very green but the smell walking through the grove energized me. These trees regew after the 1977 fire. They are now tall enough to provide a refreshing coolness.
Rod, Emily and I sat on the peak gazing at the valley below. Our shirts were all wet from sweat and humidity and it felt good to take the loads off. We stayed there just under 30 minutes, but dark clouds were gathering over Miller Peak from the south.
"We better get going!" said Rod and stood up at 10:50am. I figured we had some time to enjoy the top, but went down anyway. The clouds didn't look that menancing to me...
We had been at the peak for almost 30 minutes and I wanted to make sure we got back safely. It was a breezeless summit, and views were in all directions: The Whetstones, the Mules, The Dragoons, the Santa Ritas, the Mexican Sierra Madres. The next canyon to our north was Ramsey Canyon, perhaps the prettiest canyon in the mountain range. (Too bad the Ramsey Canyon Preserve is so anal with its management, though.)
Dark clouds starting getting darker as we made it back down to the Carr Trail. A mile further downhill it began to thunder. Emily got concerned and I could hear her pace pick up. A few rain drops fell at the .5 mile mark. If we were going to get hit with rain, it wouldn't be for long as we had a few minutes to go.
It was 12:15 when we all got back into the Ford to drive down the mountain. A Border Patrol jeep was parked near us, (perhaps an agent doing a quick cursory check as part of his daily duties) as there were no other vehicles around.
Fifteen minutes into our drive it began to rain; thirty minutes later it began to hail. We had been lucky!
I stopped at the feed store in town on my way home. From that vantage point I could see the entire southern range of the Huachuca mountains. Rain and fog shrouded the upper peaks, but had kept the valley mostly dry.
There was dogsnot on my windshield on the passenger's side.
It's now been three hours since I got back home and it's still raining and thundering. The weather guys say this is the last monsoon of the season. It's been a nice finale. I think I am going to hike Carr Peaj every month from now on, at least for a year, and record the observations.
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