My Sunday stay at the animal shelter was barely an hour long. I had planned on being there for a few hours like I had been spending but the tension between Judy and me was just too much. I picked Sundays because that's when no one was normally there, neither volunteer nor visitor. It was just me and the animals and I could given them all some attention.
This morning Judy insisted on coming over. She knew I was going to be there to meet another woman taking care of one of the black lab puppies she's pre-adopted. Judy's never been the same since she was bitten by one of the dogs a few weeks ago. She drove up in a haste and right from the start acted tense. And that tension immediately radiated into me and my stress level reached epic proportions. Now what, I wondered.
She had come in to inspect my way of cleaning the kennels. They weren't up to her unknown standards. I had cleaned the outside runs first while the dogs were inside, separated by the steel trap doors. I had always done it this way as it was easy for me, but she stated otherwise. She called me away from the woman petting her puppy and criticized my work. At least she didn't criticize me in front of the visitor, as that would damage her sweet image she has on Facebook.
I let her ramble. And then I finally said an expletive that I say only when angry. "You are a fucking control freak!" Why does it matter in what manner the kennels are cleaned, as long as they are cleaned and dry and the dogs have a healthy place to nap.
And then she lashed out back at me, saying she has always disliked how I did things at the shelter. Say what? Seeing me tenses her up, she said. And later on, back home behind the computer, she continued her rant with rather hurtful words like saying we had always hated each other. That simply is not true. I had always admired her for her drive to save the animals of Bisbee. Maybe she had had too much whiskey early in the day and was letting the alcohol speak for her. I'll never know for sure now. It's a shame, too because I enjoyed working with the animals and the volunteers were helpful.
Sadie patiently waited for me in the truck. She doesn't like being at the shelter. Perhaps the barking dogs make her uneasy, or perhaps it's the old Golden retriever from the rehab house next door that unsettles her. My short stay at the shelter thus benefitted her, as we left at 9:30am to hit the Dragoon mountains and try a short but strenuous hike up to the top of Sheephead's Rock. This is a four-mile steep r/t hike off FR4806, a dirt road that ends at a dead end near an old rusty watertank and windmill. It's only an 800' elevation gain, but the steepness and the loose soil at times makes this treacherous. This hike starts out level the first 1/4 mile, but once it nears the granite protusion, it quickly gains height as it meanders around boulders, yuccas, cacti and eventually oaks hussing the upper reaches of the rock.
From the top the valley view into Tombstone is quite spectacular, as one sits on the sundrenched granite rocks feeling the warmth. For me, it didn't turn out quite this way.
Thirty minutes after leaving Bisbee I was at the trailhead. There were a few other cars parked there, but most seemed to be campers out enjoying the warm weather.
This hike today was both a blessing and a pain. The discourse Judy and I had before I left the shelter left me angry and upset, and that affected my momemtum. The other part was my lack of conditioning. I was slow and often out of breath. Carrying a rucksack with two cameras and several lenses also weighed me down, causing me at times to keel backwards. I'm glad no one saw me like this today.
Since I didn't have company I had no one pushing me, and at times I took long breaks thinking about this mornning's events at the shelter and trying to make sense of Judy's irrational comments. In the end I realized that despite our shared love for animals, we are polar opposites. We simply can't work together. We must move on.
It warmed up nicely. The high of 62F reflected well off the rocks, and Sadie was getting thirsty. She drank close to a half gallon at the half-way point, and I was running low for both of us. Perhaps her thirst made her slow down, because when we reached the final 300 yards, a rocky ascent to the dome top, she panicked and refused to jump up the boulders to follow me. Instead, she ran back down and out of sight. She's never done this before. What to do? Quickly get to the top, take pictures, or follow her to make sure she didn't get lost? I ended up doing a combination. I ascended a bit more, but then couldn't find the final trail to the top. Had it been that long since I was up here to remember where the trail was? It's mostly a bushwhack over boulders, with some tight climbs where upper body strength is required. The trail I found didn't look like the trail I remember, which went through the middle of the dome to a vast opening. I gave up the pursuit and went back down to find Sadie, constantly calling out for her name.
Her head popped up from behind the first boulder she refused to climb up. Maybe she waited for me there in the shade? I was not upset, but rather glad I didn't lose her. It's not like her to take off like this, so maybe something spooked her, or she was telling me something else.
The descent was just as bad as the ascent. I thought I would make it down rather fast. Instead, somewhere in the treeline I lost the trail and bushwhacked most of the slope, even getting into the dry creekbed area before I found the level trail after making it through thornybrush. I was glad to be back on terra firma by now!
This area is popular with rock climbers. Today there were a few, a young couple from British Colombia were ahead of me. But for me this entire Dragoon mountain range is mystical. It's as if I can still feel the spirits of the old Apache that once lived here. It's a great place to hike around when needing some time alone, or perhaps even for some spiritual reflection. Although Sadie and I didn't make it to the top, we will be back.
Today was SuperBowl Sunday. Kevin drove up to Phonix yesterday to see the game with his friends. The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots 21-17. I didn't watch the game. Instead I saw a few commercials via YouTube and yahoo. I learned of the final score via Facebook.
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