Carr Falls

I stayed home for a few hours after the hike up Carr Peak to let Sadie rest. At 3:30pm took the entire pack back up to Carr Falls. When this seasonal waterfall flows, it's beautiful, and many locals make the falls a popular picnic area. As long as there aren't other dogs in the area, this is a fun spot for my dogs to romp.

We didn't stay long as the storm clouds were lingering overhead, and distant monsoon clouds in the valley were dumping rain over Sierra Vista. The entire visit to the falls, with the dogs scampering up and around mesquite shrubs to get to the water, lasted no more than 30 minutes.

It started to rain as I was on the return hike down, just as a few other people came to sit by the falls in the drizzle.

All the creeks were running everywhere, and grass, flowers and blooms were around me. Although this little adventure was short, I'm sure it delighted both Sara and Sammy.

Shortly after I got home again by 4:30pm it began to rain hard and the rain lasted all through the remaining daylight. A faint rainbow rose to the East over the Mule Mountains.

Carr Peak

I didn't hike yesterday but instead had a quick hike up Carr Peak planned. I am so glad I made it today, as I still have my Whitney lungs and made it to the summit in a PR of 1:02 hours. This is 20 minutes faster than my July ascent before Whitney.

My first impression today was how green and lush everything was. Wildflowers were everywhere, from yellow daisies and sunflowers, penstemons, verbena, fleabane, red thistle and a few others I didn't recognized. Even the red salvia was popping up in the higher elevations.

The skies were mostly overcast today and it rumbled in parts. The low cloud cover made this a nice, cool hike. I never stopped along the way, either, and neither did Sadie, until we got to the small creek crossing near the aspens.

The aspen grove today was covered in yellow Columbine, which resembled shooting stars. Most of the aspens' leaves have fallen off from the spotted virus (which will make the autumn colors blah next month) but there was so much green everywhere it was like hiking up a rainforest.

Several members from the Southern Arizona Hiking Club (SAHC) were also climbing up the peak. It was a busy area today! Sadie was off leash but I reassured others that Sadie "was a nice dog."

"But I am not nice" replied one older woman who dramatically raised her arms up to make herself thinner around Sadie so as to not get near Sadie. I kept my mouth shut.

When I got to the summit at 10:15am there already was another woman there taking photographs with a monopod. She was the hike leader for the SAHC. I had joined SAHC when we first got to Arizona, but never renewed our membership because the club forbids children, dogs and guns on their hikes. (It's the dogs I have a problem with, although I also understand why dogs are not allowed)

"Oh, so you're from the no kids/no dogs/ no guns group!" I said, which, in hindshight, didn't come out all that nicely. It was no wonder then that the hike leader didn't stay to chat with me.

"Gotta go down and check on the others, there's one who's absolutely petrified of getting caught in the rain" and off she went.

Another SAHC member who came up as I was ready to head back down turned out to be a German native who works for the UoA botany labs in Tucson, Wolfgang, a passionate naturalist. We ended up hiking down together until our paths divided 3/4 from the trailhead parking lots and I continued on to Reef Vista. Had it not been for him I would have raced back down to the parked car as thunder was audible in the distance.

Wolfgang has hiked all over the world. His passion for wildlife, flowers, geology, oceanography and astronomy is amazing. He also brought along his Canon EOS xs which he kept around his neck.

If it hadn't been for Wolfgang pointing it out to me, I would not have noticed the thousands of lady bug beetles mating in the shrubbery around me. I thought the reddish hue was mere lichen and didn't give them a second thought. August is the mating season for these beetles.

So lady bugs and late summer wildflowers are what made this month's trek up Carr Peak memorable. Carr Falls was also running quite nicely today.

The entire hike took no more than 2:45 hours. If I can continue this fast pace, I want to hike up Carr Peak more often just to stay in shape. I got back shortly after noon with the entire day still ahead of me. If it hadn't been for the threatening storm clouds overhead, I would have added two more miles to check on Bathtub springs. That will have to be for another day now.

Rain

Tuesday night I drove home in a pouring ran that created flash floods in the city. It's been raining hard every day since. It doesn't look any dryer for the weekend.

The club has a hike scheduled for the Chiricahuas. Will that still happen? I am not leading this hike. That mountain range is known for some serious rains.

I love this weather. Sure, the backyard grass is growing faster than I'd like, but we have at least grass, and I don't have to worry about watering any plants. The dogs don't care for overhead thunder or lightning but they do seem to enjoy the cooler temps.

Sandy Bob Canyon

Today's hike was lead by Paul, who has a good understanding of the hills around Bisbee. We drove in separate vehicles to Juniper Flats (off AZ 80) where one can see vistas into Bisbee and Tombstone Canyon. We had hiked here before perhaps a year ago, but today we were hoping for some waterfalls.

There was none. Whatever rain we got yesterday seems to have skipped over this small mountain range northwest of Bisbee. Although the ground was lush, green and damp, the pools in the creek bed were only moderately full of water. Only the dogs could enjoy the pools.

Paul, Big Steve, Rod and Cassie, Brenda and Gordon and Kevin and I plus two dogs went on this hike. It was a hot, humid hike that exhausted the dogs and which ended with a brisk hike back to the cars to avoid any rain; thunder clouds were brewing overhead. The only other company we had was running into a Colorado River Toad near the drainage. This was one big toad, larger than my fist, and from the class last semester also a very toxic toad to dogs unfortunate to lick it. Its paratoid glands behind its eyes secrete a white poison that is very toxic. The toad seemed lifeless in the sun and remained motionless while we oggled it, slowly sliding down the near-vertical rock it was on but refusing to move otherwise.

The bushwhack is no more than 2.5 miles down a creekbed. No real trails exist here, only a fading stock trail from years ago. Morning glory was growing everywhere, but so were the cholla, mesquite, thornybrush, prickly pear, oaks and pigmy pines. I was the only fool to wear shorts today. Jeans would have been better! No one was dressed as if to get into any water, although Brenda did wade in with me in some of the deeper pools.

We made the waterfall our break area. I climbed down to the bottom of the falls while the others stayed at the top. The pool wasn't deep but it was refreshing and I went in. Maybe someday I'll explore the end of this canyon, but Paul said it ends on private property.

No other people were around us. The only other sign of life was a blue pick-up parked a mile down the badly-rutted trail.

I enjoy this hike for its remoteness, proximity to our house and the scenery. Today's heat and humidity made this a bit more strenuous than last time. Perhaps next time we should explore side canyons and ridges we haven't explored yet.

Lemmon Pools

This past Sunday I joined Bill B, Andy, Rod and Steve on a nice five-mile hike to the hidden Lemmon Pools. It was a hot day and the high elevation and cold water were a refreshing treat. Sadie came along.

My Canon Rebel battery died before we got to the pools, so any photographs of the pools were taken by Bill. He is the only person I know who takes as many photos as I do. I was not expecting battery failure as I had my batteries charged overnight. My mistake is that I didn't bring a second battery. Normally one battery takes over 200 photographs.

The hike started out just like my recon hike earlier this spring (22 May). We parked two cars at the Mount Lemmon trailhead and the third car lower at Marshall Gulch. Unlike my hike, this was a shuttle hike which made for a shorter and more relaxing hike. We got started after 8am and had plenty of parking spaces.

We continued on from the trailhead along the power substation toward the Lemmon Lookout trail. We stopped at the lookout station but it was not manned. Dave, the popular ranger there, was no longer manning it for the season. Views here were toward the south and west.

The Lemmon lookout trail had been cleared of all downed trees, which made the descent to the Wilderness of Rocks trail much easier than a few months ago. Even Sadie showed no fear this time as she didn't have to hop over, scoot under or gallop around large Douglas firs.

We made it to the hidden pools before noon. Bill had been here the week before and knew the route. We all jumped in besides Steve, who sat along the edge of the tannin-laced waters for the hour we were there. "Jumping in" is an overstatement as I hate getting into cold water, so I slowly walked into the pool with a bit of dramatic verbage. Once in, though, the water wasn't so bad.

Sadie acted as guard and didn't whine this time. Normally she doesn't like to be too far from me when I go swimming. Her only misbehavior was barking at some of the dogs along the way, especially other German Shepherd Dogs. I have got to break her of that behavior as it's embarrassing when she gets ugly toward other dogs. Otherwise her trail behavior is quite good. (I watched several "The Dog Whisperer" episodes and Cesar Milan recommends a vibration collar; I will try that out in the next few weeks).

We got back to our cars at 4:30pm, which seemed late for such a short hike. Where had the time gone? The trailhead parking now was full. Shortly after we all left the trailhead, with me nervously watching my gas gauge show LOW FUEL, we all ended up driving right into a violent thunderstorm as we descended the mountain. Once back in Tucson, though, the skies were clear until I arrived back home at 8:30pm and another volley began that lasted most of the night.

Kevin was already in bed but I was anxious to hear his day at the Arizona Border Tea Party rally. That rally was attended by the New York Times and other big media. The Lost Angeles Times, according to Kevin, was not there. Figures.

Exploring the Gardner Cyn-Cave Creek Trail loop

It was a scourcher of a day all over southern Arizona. My original plan to explore the Dos Cabezas wildnerness never happened because of the heat; I didn't want to take my dogs on a hot trail that didn't have reliable water.

Instead, I chose the Santa Rita mountains and the eastern slopes of Mount Wrightson. The creeks there are reliable. Most trails are old mining trails; now they are popular with ATVers. I had been here over two years ago and wanted to see how the area was, now that new growth since the 2005 Florida fire would be obvious. Seedlings are now about two feet tall and there isn't quite that feeling of desolation anymore. It will take another ten years for most of the pines to be tall enough to offer any shade, though.

I was pleasantly surprised. The Forest Service had repaired the trail along Cave Creek, constructing new trailhead gates and signs. Although there's still plenty of rockslide and burned tree stumps along the way, the access now to Baldy Saddle is easier to reach. Parts of the trail are still steep and littered with rocks.

I didn't hike far nor long due to the heat. Sammy was showing signs of heat exhaustion as there were plenty of exposed sections along this trail. His tongue was a deep purple and he was acting sluggish. It's unlike him to drink a lot of water, too, and when he'd stop and lap up a lot of water, I knew he needed to get out of the heat. Sara seemed to fare better.

I hadn't taken either dog on a long hike since this winter, so today's five miles was a nice change of pace. I stopped a lot so they could lap up from the creeks along the way. We never encountered another person until we got back to the truck.

I will lead this hike later this year, when it's cooler out. A loop around the eastern slopes would be around 10 miles, offering plenty of vista views and a chance to see the forest slowly come back to its prefire days.

Back in Arizona...

I got back from my month-long sojourn last Saturday and pretty much slept the weekend away. I stopped in Flagstaff for two days to climb Humphreys Peak, which at 12465' seemed easy after Mount Whitney.

But now the summer is coming to an end and school and work soon resume. I took the dogs on three walks since my return and I swear they hadn't been walked all month; all three of them couldn't wait to get outside and run. This afternoon the same thing happened during our walk in Hunter Canyon: all three dogs took off on a sprint down the forest road. They don't normally take off like that.

I personally enjoy watching the dogs have fun being dogs.

I still have to compile my trail notes and photos for my JMT blog which is still in the works. I hope to get most of it written this week.