Beth and I were originally going to do this together at 6am. She had sent me a message asking me if I was still going, but I didn't see that message until 2am during my usual wake-up. I responded that I was going to be there. She must not have gotten it on time as she didn't wake up until 6:30am.
I ended up doing this trail by myself with Sadie and Minnie. Beth and I have done this trail now several times this summer, usually mid-week after Beth gets off work, around 4 or 5pm. It's a five-mile loop in the lower canyon and is popular with hikers, joggers, mountain bikers and equestrians. It starts out at 5000' and gradually gains in elevation as it goes into the canyon, but then the trail turns sharply south and back to Ramsey Canyon Road to return to the parking area. A creek flows along this route, shaded with alligator juniper, oaks, sycamores and cottonwoods. It's a plesant conditioning route.
I took off at 6:06am. It already felt humid. Dew still glistened in the grass. It was peaceful this early in the morning. I never came across anyone else until that last mile, when two older joggers spooked me. Both dogs were off-leash although I watched out for others coming in the other way, as there was fresh horse poop on the trail. Our rains from recent storms has added so much green to the area. Even the smaller drainages have water in them. Both dogs frolicked around.
At the horse trough I rested briefly and decided, since it was early, to venture toward the hidden waterfall further up the trail. I had always wanted to see this fall while water ran in it. The waterfall is not far from the trail, although it is not marked, but enough people know about it that there is a trail from there. Illegals use this trail to hide themselves, leaving their food, backpacks and other trash hidden in the tall grasses. It's an area so unlike a desert landscape. Being there in the slot is like being on another world.
Sadie was by my side the entire time, but Minnie still has a habit of following a scent and then taking off. She did it again while Sadie and I climbed uphill. These climbs are no problem for Sadie and I pushed her along, but Minnie decided to stay low and sniff around. She never attempted to climb with us. When we got to the top of the pool from the lower side, though, she was nowhere to be found. I screamed out her name incessantly, afraid she had run off again. Please, I thought, don't let her get lost here in the forest. I didn't panic, nor did I stay at the pool area long (just long enough for a few photos), but continued to call her name as loudly as possible.
As we descended back to the regular trail there was Minnie, panting profusely with white foam around her snout and running toward us. Had she decided to hike back to the truck by following our scent, and then heard my cries in the distance? If so, she must have gone quite a while before she was able to hear me again. We were lucky this time, but this incident is another reminder that Minnie needs watching. Like a young Sara, Minnie is fascinated by scents and wants to follow them.
I let the two dogs rest back at the trail junction so that Minnie could get her breath back. I continued up the trail to the upper falls, zigzagging to the vista before climbing back down more rocks to the upper water area, now lush with tall grasses. This was also a treacherous area as the dropoff is steep here. Hikers could slip and injure themselves and not be found right away. Even screams may not be heard from hikers above as the cliffs hide the audio upward. There is no cell phone service here, either. I was very careful descending, both for me and the dogs.
Sadie is a pro at this mountain climbing but Minnie is still very unsure of herself. She came close to ledges a few times and was near falling. But since she was back with us, I gave the dogs the opportunity here to rest a bit while I enjoyed this view. I would not have descended down to the upper falls if I knew they couldn't make it on their own back up. I packed up eight weather-damaged backpacks on my way back to the trail, all heavy with moisture. I knew I wasn't going to be able to carry them all back to the truck. I managed to get them back to the trough, hoping someone not carrying a heavy camera and leashes could carry them back to a garbage can somewhere. My arms by now were too tried to carry them another mile. The rest of the hike by now was the usual uphill along Brown canyon Road, a private trail with secluded homes. Recent rains have further eroded sections even more, so mountain bikers would have to procede here with caution. I have slipped here before on previous hikes. Minnie sniffed a large pile of bear scat lying in the middle of Ramsey road. Bears are now coming down the mountain in search of food.
We got back to the truck by 9:30am. I hadn't felt this energized so early in the day. I miss those morning hikes and should really do them more often while I have the time. The dogs, however, both were tired, and in an unprecedented moment, both took to our bed after the hike to rest.
No comments:
Post a Comment