Mount Wrightson, 9453'

I finally made it up Mount Wrightson again. My first climb up this big rock was in February 2003, fighting blustery winds and ice sheets. Today, I had company, a trusting dog and warm weather.

It was a perfect day for a November hike. Skies were mostly sunny, there was little wind and the temperatures were in the 70s. I had forgotten my beloved Cool-max cap and instead wore a goofy-looking Aussie outback hat my mother had given me a few years ago. The brim doesn't lay right and the hat looks cock-sided. But since when is hiking attire fashionable?

Bill and I met at the Madera Canyon parking lot. This was an impromptu hike as we both wanted to bag this peak. This was Bill's 59th ascent up Mt W; my second. We were on the trail by 8am, going up the Lower Super Trail (the way Steve and I did earlier this summer). I felt stronger and in better shape this time, but the cooler temperatures and a summer of hiking peaks surely helped. Sadie, who was wearing her Hound Pack for the first time, was carrying her own water and snacks, taking a load off of my back which I greatly appreciated.

She didn’t seem to mind the added weight around her, and the weight seemed to slow her down where she stayed closer to Bill and me—sometimes too close—and could be taken off the leash and be trusted once we got away from any crowds. She didn’t disappoint.

There weren’t too many people hiking today, certainly not as many as were here last Saturday. We passed four people going up, met five people coming down, one who was Bill’s optometrist in Green Valley. She had her German Shepherd mix dogs with her who did not take a liking to Sadie. Sadie didn’t like them either and all dogs started barking. I opted to hike on ahead of Bill to give the dogs some peace.

Bill quickly caught up to me near Sprung Springs which stood bone dry. I guess the spring had sprung months ago!

In fact, all the springs and creeks were dry again. Bell Spring, further up the trail, was even dryer. This is the spring that Bill and his friend Joe come and repair the piping on a few times a year. They work hard on fixing the piepe so that water falls into the cement catch but someone keeps disconnecting it.

Fall colors had faded. Bill pointed out various oaks that had been broken by black bears during their attempt to climb canopies for acorns. There was bear scat and what looked like bear diggings near the trail, but Sadie showed no interest in them today. Maybe she was concentrating on her pack, which shifted from side to side and had to be constantly readjusted.

We made it to the lower saddle in 1:20 hours. From here we continued on uphill, now facing the steepest part of this hike to the peak as it meandered steeply around the northern slopes of the giant granite outcropping. From the upper Baldy saddle, where Steve and I made our turn-around last time, it was a mere .9 miles to the peak.

We got to the peak at 11:35 as two more men reached it a few minutes later. I was chilled in my orange dry weave shirt and bright yellow cycling jacket and my hands felt slightly cold. I sought some warmth in the corner of a stone wall as Sadie drank her water and devoured an entire bag of chicken chews. She refused to drink anything until we got to the top, but she made up for it in one long drink.

“It’s a 100-mile visibility day” said Bill at the peak. And indeed we could see clearer today than last week. If I wasn’t so cold I could have taken a nap on a warm rock, dreamed of Mexican peaks, but even the rocks today weren’t all that warm. I just couldn't get warm. Bill perused through the summit notebook while I tried in vain to get my hands warm.

The chill in our clothes is why we took the Supper Trail going back down, looping around Mount Wrightson to the south and adding almost two more miles to our hike. We walked through the remnants of the 2005 Florida fire, where young pine seedlings are now a foot tall and several oaks have regrown to a few feet. These seedlings will be the next generation of oaks,fir and Douglas pine on this slope, although neither Bill nor I will be around to see another green canopy here.

The Upper Super Trail offers pretty views of Josephine Canyon as we slowly made it back to the saddle, rested for a bit and resumed the last 2.2 miles down the Old Baldy trail, completing a figure eight loop and getting back to the cars at just after 3:15pm. We had hiked 13.5 miles, climbed from 5400’ to 9453’ and enjoyed the views in all directions.

This is Sadie's 6th tallest peak she's bagged since she started hiking in January, bagging Miller Peak with me. Miller is at 9466' making that peak a tad higher. All the other higher peaks were in Wyoming, New Mexico and Montana.

I have finally developed strength to hike high and long again, thanks to the inspiration of people like Bill, Donna and Debbie. Today was my first hike with someone during which I didn’t have to slow down, wait for others to catch up, or worry about anyone not drinking enough water. I was challenged today and it was the first time in a long time. I don’t want to lose the conditioning that I’ve built up this summer. I want to go higher and longer, and there are plenty of peaks in Arizona to get started on. Winter isn't going to stop me, either!