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.
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