Miller Peak from Montezuma's Pass

The week after returning from my roadtrip went by fast. Kevin was away on business so I was alone with the dogs and the house. As soon as Kevin left Monday, I was determined to wash all my winter clothes and put them away for the season. Unfortunately the laundry pole outside broke from too much rust, and for the rest of the week I had clothes hanging from all over the backyard.

Thus I didn't get much cleaning done, but I did manage to get out with a short hike with Beth on Thursday, with a sky view from the UA's telescope afterwards to see Orion's Nebula. The big hiking events weren't until this weekend, when I promised a hike with Ellen up Miller Peak on Saturday, and a hike with Alicia and our pups Sunday morning.

Saturday's weather was forecasted to be the hottest yet this year, with temps in the mid 80s. That meant that at the peak it would be in the 70s. I dressed in my favorite hiking shirt and shorts. I brought enough water for both Sadie and me.

The hike Saturday started before sunrise, since we both had commitments at 2pm and this gave us the extra time needed to finish the hike. I left the house with Sadie at 5:15am and arrived at Montezuma's Pass at 5:38am. To my surprise there were no USBP anywhere at the top, no surveillance antennae or any other vehicles. The lone USBP had driven down the pass as I was driving up. It was an eerie feeling to be up there, exposed, with no security around. Naco was still dark, but the reds and purples of early morning twilight were growing across the horizon. I had never seen the pass this early in the day.

Ellen joined me at 5:50 and ten minutes later she, Sadie and I were on the trail, the trailhead still subdued by shade. The sun didn't rise for another ten minutes and that still kept us in the shade the first mile due to the steep canyons to our east. I didn't mind, as I knew this southern-facing trail would be hot on the return hike.

We were both hiking at a good pace. We pushed each other. I was impressed with my own strength. Had my hikes from the week before conditioned me already? We were walking in badly-burned desert, with all the shade trees burned and other flora charred so that more detail of the hillsides were evident. We could see old mining trails I had never noticed before. Ellen was excited about the abandoned mines along the way, all which she explored either going up or coming down.

Only Sadie seemed to be hurting a bit. She was passing rancid gas the entire hike. Had she caught another bout of giarrdhia?

We made it to the Miller Peak Wilderness boundary in just over an hour. It's a 1.7- mile hike that starts at 6575, and another 3.3 miles to the peak. We never saw any snow and the trails were dry. It's as if it had never stormed here the week before. To my sadness all the tall pines that before the fire offered the hiker the first good shade, are all dead now. The eastern slopes hiking northwesterly offer no shade at all. The scrub oak along the trail is growing back and new growth is about two feet tall, but all that will take another ten years to reach useful shade. All the manzanitas are charred and gnarl heavenbound "like fingers" said Ellen.

A lone USBP agent caught up to us after 90 minutes. He was walking at a fast pace. "There's five more behind you, so you are safe!" he said. We later saw him at the Lutz saddle waiting for his team to catch up to him. (We never saw the other agents until we were leaving the parking lot at 12:34.)

This ten-mile hike has always been a hot one with so much south and east exposure, but now with the fire damage even the western slope is exposed. It doesn't get cool now until that final mile north of the Lutz canyong intersection, where mature Douglas firs still provide shade that is reflected off the tall boulders. This steep section was the only cool section both going up and coming down the peak. The last few snow patches were here as well.

We made it to Miller Peak just before 9am. We were the first up there for the day. We could see the dust blowing in from Mexico, and in fact the wind was giving the panorama a hazy view as a result. A cold wind blew and once again we sat in the old foundation wall, that provided some protection from the wind. We sat up here for 45 minutes, and left as a lone AZT backpacker took over the vista. IT was 10am as we descended. The wind got stronger as the day grew on.

Now the trail was filling up with hikers and AZT thru-hikers. Three more hikers were at the Miller Peak/Crest Trail intersection; one woman asked for water. A group of four young people followed. Despite the loss in elevation, we didn't make it that much faster back to our cars because our legs were hurting, and my toes were being pushed up against my hiking boots. Even Ellen, who had caved and mountainbiked earlier this week was feeling fatigue.

This was her first time up Miller Peak from Montezuma's Pass. Although this stretch is shorter, it's steeper and more exhausting than starting from Reef Townsite off Carr Canyon. That elevation is almost 1000' higher up. But I'm glad I was able to sqeeze in my first real peak for this year in March.

The parking lot was crowded as we got back to the cars. Both of us drove off right away as we had other things planned. For me it was a photo event at Ramsey Canyon Feed: a Customer Appreciation Day from 10-2pm. There were dogs there available for adoption and a rescue organization asked if I could take photos. My legs were very sore but I managed to photograph some of the animals, but I wasn't feeling my perky self and lasted barely an hour. I didn't meet many people, either, that I was expecting to see, but my fatigue was probably one factor that kept me from staying long. Sadie was exhausted, too and still had the shits, so she was glad to break out of the van on the drive home to relieve herself.

Kevin had a delicious patty melt waiting for me AND a case of Blue Moon beer. If only he could have massaged my legs!