Miller Peak

Ellen and I did a solo hike up Miller Peak yesterday. We had talked about doing this hike before year's end and we did it. Two others cancelled out so instead of a strong group going, it was just us two and Sadie. I hadn't done this stretch as is since 2005.

That turned out to be ideal. Although the temperatures at first were cold and I never took my outer blue fleece jacket off till 1pm, it turned out to be a wonderful day for a hike. The rain we got a few days ago left only a little snow on the peaks. Our day hikers were fine for this hike,, but I wore three layers over my torso.

We started out at 8:45am at Reef Campsite, where we usually start, and went up the usual Carr Peak Trail. There were no other cars around, and we didn't see anyone till two miles from the finish at 2pm, a young couple going up to Carr Peak.

We saw and heard several chickadees and one solo hawk. A lone lizard and a black beetle were also spotted, but otherwise it was a quiet hike. The howling wind was the only thing we heard.

I felt out of shape. For the first time since coming back from CA, my lungs were burning. That's from having been sedentary the last three weeks of the semester! This 12-mile r/t hike made me realize I can not let myself go.

Sadie loved the snow and frolicked in the dusting we had under the aspen groves. It was no more than a half-inch thick, which got to an inch thick below Miller Peak. She got her water from eating the ice, but ate voraciously from the chicken jerky I brought along. The cold didn't seem to bother her at all. She did all 12 miles like a champ.

We didn't stay up the peak for long. At 11:45am the winds were howling and it was quite cold up there. Ice was melting off the pine canopies and left pretty crystals on the ground. Views were, as usual, spectacular, but there was a brownish cerrus cloud over the Santa Cruz valley that was moving southward. There was much haze all around.

We didn't rest anywhere for long because stopping chilled us. The bathtub that I had cleaned out earlier this summer was dirty again, filled with algae and pine needles. The good news is that except for one large black plastic bag (most likely used as a sleeping bag), there was no other trash around.

This is a wonderful trail for training. The nice thing about this hike is that the trailhead is only nine miles from the house, six of which are on the forest road up the mountain. Ellen is the perfect hiker for me as we both have a strong pace going uphill and we don't stop often or for long. There are a few others who hike like that: Brenda and Debbie come to mind. Ellen and I agreed we should get together more often and contine doing these challenging hikes. We said that Finger Rock in Tucson would be a good start. It's a ten-mile, steep hike north of town. No dogs are allowed, though. I definitely plan on hitting Tucson more often next year to stay in shape. I need these challenging hikes more often.