Carr Peak for July with Sadie and Minnie

July 31st, 2014

I had no intentions of waiting until the very last day in July to hike Carr Peak, but in the end the weather was perfect while I was on this hike.

It was raining hard in the morning as Kevin and I were up drinking coffee. I wasn't sure I'd have a dry hike, and braced myself for the worst. I packed a heavy rain jacket I pulled out from the van (where all my road trip gear still is and probably will be until my next road trip!)

I gardened in the early morning. I enjoy this work when temperatures are still cool. The dogs had no idea that some were chosen for this hike. I packed the truck peacemeal, putting the Camelbak inside the truck ahead of everything else. My truck keys were already in my pocket so there was no jingling to alarm them. I am learning to be quite stealth around these slick dogs.

I finally managed to get on the road at 10:30am and to the trail head at 11:13am. Skies were a light grey, but there was no wind nor rain. It was actually ideal weather.

Again Minnie panted from the start, but it didn't slow her down. She picked up sticks, twigs, branches and stumps for me to throw for her to fetch. I tried to ignore her so that Sadie wouldn't bark. Minnie likes to tease Sadie this way.

There were plenty of wildflowers out, but only a few new species since last month's hike. Pink Penstemons, Indian paint brush, fleabane, and many other colors dazzled the landscape. Grasses everywhere were greener and fuller, as expected, and birds were chirping and twittering throughout the hike.

One thing I noticed is the lack of red sage. The sage has not returned since the 2011 fire. The upper elevations were always dotted with red sage this time of year, especially on that last 1/3 mile up Carr Peak. Today it was mostly yellow and lavender flowers, but no red sage.

There was water coming down the falls, which both dogs used as a water source coming and going. I always stop to let them drink for as long as they need to when I get near any water, even though I had enough water for both dogs in my pack. Minnie panted relentlessly but followed me without whining.

Minnie's panting is what made me determined to rest for as long as possible at the peak. We got to the peak at 1:06pm, which seemed slow for me but could be because I stopped for Minnie a few extra times. The dogs had an entire bag of chicken jerky treats and all the water I carried. I was in no hurry now. No storm clouds threatened us, although I saw a front coming in from Mexico and a smaller rain cell dropping its load over Mount Wrightson. It was a very pleasant 50-minute break, all alone, on top of Carr. I took a few selfies but concentrated on giving the dogs a break. Minnie appreciated that. We saw no one for the duration of this hike. I could have brought Zeke along, since he's often left at home due to his excessive barking at strangers and other dogs.

Once we finally descended, the blue sky appeared overhead, but a mile downhill that blue sky turned to a darker, thundering cloud. We had an uneventful rest of the hike and returned to the truck at 4pm. This was a nice hike for the dogs, especially Minnie, who needs to get back into an exercise regimen.