Sunday, September 28, 2014

Carr Peak with Sadie, Minnie and Zeke

We never got any storm rains this weekend. Clouds were lingering over the mountains, but the real rain fell west and north of us.
I took this opportunity to hike up Carr Peak for the month. Weather was cool and overcast, but no rain was forecasted. I took all three hiking dogs: Sadie, Minnie and Zeke. Zeke has been doing so much better now, that he deserves to get out more. I took Kevin's pick-up truck, with Zeke and Minnie in the back. Eric had my truck for work. I don't think Minnie has ever been in the back of the truck. I watched them the entire way while meandering up Carr Canyon Road.

I packed the leashes, water and snacks and left the house at 12:15pm. We started the hike at 12:50pm. There was no one around. The trail head parking lot was empty and so was the camp ground across the street. Everyone must have been at the lower falls, where I saw so many cars on the drive up.
I could see the aspens were already in full yellow bloom. At this rate, by next week they will be brown. I timed this well. I did notice a few more trees had snapped in half, most likely during TS Odile from ten days ago.

Gina had seen a momma bear and her two cubs two weeks ago on this trail, and I had forgotten about the bears until I saw bear scat on the trail. I don't see much bear scat on this trail at all, but today I was on high alert. I even threw the stick for the dogs, so that they would bark and alert the bears to stay away. (It worked, I saw no bears near the saddle!)
Flowers are starting to fade. The many yellow flowers won't last much longer. The last of the late-blooming Columbine are still around, but in two weeks, the trail will be lacking all this color, and the lush grass will start fading, too. Autumn is now in the air, and the higher we climbed, the colder it got! By next month, I'll be back to wearing shoes and socks. I'd be happy if we had a wetter and colder autumn than the one from last year.

Today's hike was a peaceful, quiet hike. I didn't see many birds, though. Butterflies are also gone now. Maybe next month I can catch migratory hawks.

Water was still running from the rock wall half-way up the hike. I let all the dogs drink here and rest, despite having more water in my backpack. There's still plenty of green around, but next month will be different.
We took our time getting to the peak. I was quite surprised when two men were on the summit, since the trailhead parking lot was empty. They were bundled in heavy jackets. The wind had picked up on the summit and I, too, dug out my jacket and kept it on until I got back to the truck. I sat at a different corner and played with the dogs, threw a stick and even did a panoramic video. Once Sadie started barking at Minnie about the stick, though, I felt it best to leave so that the two men could enjoy their summit. It was 3:15pm when we took off for the descent.

Zeke has truly developed into a good hiking dog. He stays nearby and doesn't chase everything he sees. He still barks at passers-by, but in a more friendly manner. He seemed to really enjoy the hike, stopping from time to time to sniff the air.

A lone young man was starting the hike at 4:30pm, with not much gear. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt, too. He may have made it to the aspens before losing all sunlight.

Much to my surprise, I had left the truck's headlights on and wore down the battery. The truck's battery just burped when starting the ignition. Who would help me here? Luckily I flagged down a young family who was able to jump-start the truck right away. That kept me from having to spend a cold night up there. I tried calling Kevin twice but he didn't answer his phone. He normally drinks so much on the weekends, that he goes to bed by 4pm. Even if he had been awake, he'd be too drunk to drive. Luckily the strangers were able to get me out of that bind. The dogs would have wondered as well, because all three were inside the crowded cab.

I came back to a full chicken meal, eating while reading the news. A volcano in Japan, 10,000-foot Mount Ontake, erupted without warning, suffocating up to 30 hikers on the trail. Seeing the white plume would make me want to run down the mountain as fast as possible!

Friday, September 26, 2014

Ash Canyon


The peaks were shrouded all day in clouds, but the clouds didn't get dark until mid-afternoon. I stayed home today, but at 2:30pm decided to take all four dogs to Ash Canyon Creek. I hadn't been there in a while and wanted to see if there was still water in the creek after the storm from ten days ago.
There was water in the upper creek. Water in the lower creek was covered with a new and thick layer of creek bed sand. What concerned me more was the erosion. There is even more erosion in the creek bed from several years ago! There are ruts four feet deep, and boulders piled higher. Sammy had a hard time jumping over the big rocks and I tried to keep him on as level ground as possible.
We kept walking uphill in the rocky creek bed. There were a few puddles of water, some held together as little ponds by the sand around them, but the dogs' paws broke those puddles open like little dams bursting open and its water flowing downhill. It was 2:30pm and I figured we'd be gone an hour. We were gone twice that long, meandering around and along the creek, hoping over boulders, climbing over snags or around brush. I didn't even recognize the place, some parts were heavily overgrown with herbaceous plants or covered in debris. Years before the 2011, this was a quiet, secluded place to walk the dogs unless the target shooters were out there. Now is boulders and burned trees.
We made it to the old target shooting place and even that place was hard to recognize. Whatever junk was left there by target shooters had been pushed downhill and into the debris. The grass has overgrown and the dirt mound has eroded into the creek bed. Green trees got uprooted and are now part of the creek bed. Water was running well here, and the dogs got their water before I opted to go back via the road to give Sammy less pain. This three-mile walk was his physical limit, much as it was Sara's those last few years of her life. I stayed with him while the three young dogs ran ahead. I was deep in thought with Carol's health, worried about what her biopsy would reveal. She has 28 cats, many with special needs that will need special homes. If the news next week reveals a cancer stronger than stage one, we may have to come up with a viable emergency plan. Her husband can't take care of all those cats AND their dogs by himself.

It was so quiet here. No trucks came by, no one was shooting. The ban on shooting is still in effect, but I soon discovered why there were no cars: the road was washed out at the first creek bed, dropping into the creek by at least four feet. It's impassable! Two full-sized pick-ups with older men were on the other side of the creek and had to turn around. Turns out the men had bypassed the four barriers but had to turn around anyway!
The force of nature is impressive in this canyon. Ash took a heavy brunt in the 2011 and the water flow in this canyon continues to tear away at the creek bed. It's getting wider, and also more boulders are coming downstream. This makes the creek bed more of an obstacle than an easy, sandy walk. Much effort will be needed to repair this road for the hunters.
We got back to the house at 4:30pm. Kevin was already home. While the sky got darker to our west, it never rained overhead, although more severe storms are expected later this weekend. I'm liking this rain, and I don't mind if this means a cooler autumn rain, as we need this moisture for a while to help fight our drought. But I'd like to see California get some of this as well, as its northern regions are hurting badly from wildfires. So many places that I visited during my last road trip are now gone.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Walking around Bisbee

My iPhone 4S died on me yesterday morning and I missed an opportunity to work at the middle school. No other offers came, so I used my day off to head out to Bisbee, drop off the cardboard, and walk around the historic section. I took Zeke with me, perhaps the first time in well over a year that I took him by himself. I expected the worst, but he was wonderful. He never pulled on the leash, tried to run away, or bark at other people or dogs. He was a totally different dog and I was so proud of him.
He likes to ride up front when he's in the van, pointing his head directly into the air vent for that cool air. After dropping off the recyclables I drove into the historic district, parked by Tack Avenue where Gina and I saw the rock slide, and walked uphill. There are many homes for sale, and some are quite affordable! My old dream of living in Bisbee came back to me, but after seeing so many cracked retaining walls, have to wonder if living in Old Bisbee is even feasible. The next massive storm will take more than just a few rock walls. Dreams and lives will go down as well.
It was a lovely day for a walk. I tried looking for unusual things to photograph: quirky artwork, which Bisbee has plenty of, curious cats and dogs looking at me from behind fences, old cars, grizzled people. It was quiet in town and not too many were in the streets, even in the business section, but I walked around nonetheless, enjoying the first smells of autumn. Water was still running down the streets from recent rains. Even Zeke seemed to relish the many smells, often stopping to stick his nose in the air while analyzing the aromas of city life.

I walked uphill in Tombstone Canyon, the town's main thruway. Water was running down the culverts, still rushing at high speeds. This water will continue to gush for as long as rain keeps coming down, and more is forecasted this week. I saw remnants of sandbags around some of the 100-year-old miner's houses, fallen trees, damaged wooden fences, and repairmen were in some of the smaller alleys busy repairing pipes and sidewalks. Zeke took his water from the runoff, and there was plenty of it to cool off his paws.


I don't always walk up this far up Tombstone Canyon, but there is attraction here and I kept going. I didn't have a phone to contact Kevin, though, so he had no idea where I was. I walked into Moon Canyon, then took Adam Avenue along a ridgeline to Laundry Hill, a crumbly road I remember from my Bisbee1000 days. The road ends here, but I discovered that behind private homes are more stairs that take pedestrians back down to the Circle K in town. There are even signs showing tourists the public sidewalks. I had never noticed the signs before, and residents were more than helpful showing me the way.

The sun was starting to set, lights were coming on, and the town gave off its pretty fall aura. It was a quiet Monday evening, and I walked down to the brewpub for my usual two pints. Zeke was a big hit at the brewpub. Everyone wanted to pet Zeke, and he ate it all up. What a real charmer he was today, and I fell in love with that little rascal all over again. Even one of the brewmeisters came to pet Zeke, telling me what a great dog he is. Zeke has a happy face and happy demeanor about himself, and that's what makes him attractive. Both Sadie and Minnie look and act more menacing.

My former OB-GYN was at the bar (always so embarrassing to see "Doc" there, but he's an evening regular at the brewpub) and people are starting to recognize me as well. Shannon, the bartender, even told me that one of the photos I had taken of her from behind on Sunday was tagged on a Facebook page I post my photos on ("Bisbee People").


I got home at 7:30pm. I got online and got the news that Carol does indeed have a lung tumor. Now she must decide what her next move is. Years of smoking have ruined her lungs, and lung cancer is always a possibility when one smokes so long in life. I will support her in whatever decision she makes. I'm not ready to lose her.


Monday, September 22, 2014

Walking around Bisbee

My iPhone4S malfunctioned after only a month: I was called in at 7:30am but the phone's screen had frozen, so I couldn't answer. No new offers to work today came my way. I packed the van with the recycablbes and took Zeke with me. That dog really surprised me, as he didn't bark one time while we walked up Tombstone Canyon.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Hunter Canyon

I ended up not going on a hike today. The original hike was planned for Rucker Canyon in the Chiricahuas, but recent floods have closed off all the roads, with extensive damage in and around all the campsites. Rod, the hike leader, changed the hike to Sandy Bob Canyon, and I didn't want to do that one again. I slept in, read a book. Clouds over the mountains were forming and the peaks were hidden. We had a nice overcast sky all day.

I ended up spending close to two hours at the mall in the afternoon to get a tire replaced. Eric was getting ready to leave for his 3pm shift and told me the truck had a flat. The Ford Escape had a front left flat. I had driven over a nail yesterday and the nail caused the slow leak. The tire's tread was low, lower than the front right tire, so I know the tire needed replacing. Sears at the mall is the only car shop open on Sundays, and I was a last-minute walk-in. Luckily the leak came on a Sunday and not a workday for me.

We had an intense downpour while I was at the mall. I sat in a couch reading one of my Amazon review books when loud thunder overhead caught my attention.

More dark clouds were coming in from the south. Once home,I packed all the dogs, took them to Hunter Canyon at 5:45pm, where we hiked into Stump canyon. The sun was now setting and pastel colors came across the horizon, the kind of pastel that comes after a storm. But wait, there was more thunder and lightning from the south!


Colors quickly faded and I was losing sunlight fast. The dogs got their fun and I always feel better when they get exercised. I didn't see any new flood damage in the usual areas I walk around in. I drove back in the dark by 6:40pm.

It rained again hard for a while, and twice tonight Pache meowed loudly by the front door. That's a new one for him, to meow so loudly to be let in. He was wet, so I placed him in the garage with the other two cats. We are expecting two more days of rain but then another storm is brewing off Guatemala. Hope that brings more rain our way.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Hiking up Escondido Falls

Today Gina and I decided to hike up the falls in Bisbee, instead of hiking down Sandy Bob Canyon. She had done that yesterday with Steve A, so why go back there again? The falls turned out to be an idyllic setting, as we sat there a long time taking photos.

This time Gina showed me the trail to get to the falls, a discreet, unmarked trail across state land that one accesses from the highway. I was worried about the dogs as I only had one leash, and traffic was busy here. I parked on the side of the trail and we quickly ascended.
The trail is very easy to follow. Several impressive rock formations hang out there. Gina and I took lots of photos. The dogs enjoyed this short trail, as no one else was up here. Everyone else was down at street level, where I had been a few days ago. Being up close to the falls today was more fun!

These falls are quite impressive from above. The water plummets in stages over slab rock. The water was still coming down hard, but we were able to sit on the rocks for a long time and enjoy the scenery. The dogs stayed nearby, although once Minnie found a stick she was unstoppable in wanting to play fetch again.


Another photography couple were coming uphill from the street, taking the hard way up. The dogs began barking at them, so when they got closer, I moved away so that the dogs wouldn't be a nuisance. As it turned out, once the couple got to Gina, the dogs were fine. They were just giving the couple their warning bark.

I was wet from the back side, and the jeans wouldn't dry too easily. We easily spent two hours here, talking and taking pictures and looking at the falls from various angles. We didn't hike as much as we sat and just enjoyed the surrounding beauty. Dark clouds lingered over the hills but no rain fell. Skies over Sierra Vista were clear

We opted then to drive to Bisbee and do the hike up to the cross, but the dark clouds over the town only got darker. The rain clouds hovered only over Bisbee. We then opted to walk up Brewery Gulch to follow the water, which was coming up from Zacatecas canyon. Flash floods had eroded the rock road quite badly, surely stranding the people in the upper canyon. I have never seen water come down the road like this.


We turned around at the trailhead, returned to the truck that was parked in the road, and stopped at the Old Bisbee Brewing Company for two beers each. We sat and chatted, chatted with others, ate popcorn, watched locals play in the water coming down the street, all while the dogs rested. A short but intense downpour did come down, but all was dry again when we finally left town at 4pm. There's still some flood damage in Old Bisbee, with one home owner's retaining wall dirt collapsing. Every time there's a massive flood in Bisbee, someone loses a retaining wall and part of their home as the hillside flows into their home.


Friday, September 19, 2014

The Bisbee Falls (Escondido Falls)

It rained constantly all night from Wednesday over Thursday. It was a steady rain with no storm activity. In the early morning it turned into a constant drizzle, then fog, and the rain stopped around 9am. Clouds were still overhead and the storm wasn't over, but it gave people time to regroup.

The storm and flooding that was supposed to hit Tucson instead fell east of the city in Cochise County. We got 3.5 inches of rain in our back yard. The San Pedro River had flooded its banks. Hereford Road bridge by the river (where I take the dogs) was under water, causing the county sheriff deputies to close off the bridge and the bridge on SR92. This made it hard to get to Bisbee. I had planned, once I knew I wasn't working, to drop off the recyclables at the transfer station and then check out the waterfall. I have never seen the Bisbee falls and the falls only run after heavy rain.

My plan was to take Sammy and Zeke, but that plan was quickly nixxed when Sadie and Minnie knew of my scheme and bolted out the door. I now had four dogs and a van full of recyclable trash!
I ended up going to the Sierra Vista transfer station, driving north via Moson Road. Parts of that road south of Ramsey still had flowing creeks over the road, but the smaller creeks had stopped running by the morning. What kind of force would it require, though, for all these creeks to flow? It was obvious that water had recently flashed across the terrain. The many east-west dirt road off Moson Road were all still heavily pooled with water.
The only access I had now was SR90. The bridge here was widened and improved on just last year, so it was standing and above any flood water. But the river below was still flowing fast, full of light-colored mud, dead trees and other debris. Water saturated the fields next to the river. Cars were slowing down to take a look and people were parked off the road to walk on the bridge to take a look. That's what I did, letting the dogs run around away from traffic before calling them into the van, and walking to the bridge. A sheriffs deputy came by, visible pissed, to direct traffic. The many lookie-loos were hampering the natural flow of traffic.
I drove on, east toward Bisbee. The dogs were now restless, looking around and wondering where I was going. SR90 into Bisbee is a beautiful drive, as it meanders through a canyon. Here the creek was flowing fast, too. And the closer I got to the famous town, the more water was flowing off the rocks along the highway. It's like the hills came alive with water! The sound of cascading water was everywhere. I can now see the attraction to this place after a rain. Cars were pulled over along the turn-off across the falls, and here's where I finally got to see the falls in all its splendor.
My goal now was to drive to the Old Divide, which is above the Mule Tunnel. There's an unnamed path there that goes along the lower ridge of that hill. Is that the trail to Fissure Peak? "No county maintenance" is all a partially-hidden sign says here. I didn't pack for a hike, and with Sammy with me, there was no way I could go on a four-mile hike, But I could take the dogs on that trail for at least a mile each way. Online write-ups mention that the trail goes past private property, and as long as the land owners know you aren't hunting or trapping, they are OK with hikers walking through.

Water was running off this path, which looks like an old mining trail. The path went steady downhill, following the creek. SR90 was across the creek from this path. The creek was flowing powerfully. I walked past one gate, then a second, but felt I was in the middle of someone's land. It didn't feel right. I turned around at a third gate with "Oak Thicket Ranch" on it. This looked more like a path to someone's house and not a path up a hilltop. This didn't seem like the trail up Fissure Peak.
The walk back was uphill, at a steady pace. The dogs continued to frolic, chase each other, and the girls played with sticks. This was about as much as Sammy could handle. No one else bothered us until we got back to the parking lot, where a couple was sitting on a barrier watching the traffic below. The roads were wet, the paths were saturated, and water gushed out of cracks in the side rock. For one day this year, the area looked like something out of the Northeast. It's no wonder people here want to see and experience the water!

The drive back had the same crowds at the falls and at the river. The rain had stopped now and there were blue patches of sky to the north, but more rain clouds from the south east. It rained again hard once I got back home. This was the final volley of rain. By sunset the sky was mostly clear. Looks like the storm is now behind us, although we may get more moisture from Tropical Storm Polo, that's still churning off southern Baja California. We have rain forecasted through next Tuesday, but Polo is expected to blow northwest into the ocean.


Now I must make plans for this weekend. I will try to visit Carol at her CT scan appointment. A suspect lymphoma is mentioned, which worries me. Carol is only 71 years old and the reason I got into the animal welfare group and stayed with at the Huachuca City shelter. I am not ready to lose her yet as a dear friend. Tomorrow, Saturday, I'm taking Gina and her girls down to Sandy Bob Canyon, and on Sunday it's back to the Chiricahuas, Rucker Canyon and the Grotto.

http://www.jrn.com/kgun9/news/Odile-topples-retaining-walls-in-Bisbee-swells-San-Pedro-275690531.html

In other news, Scotland voted to stay in the United Kingdom (with more autonomy promised from England), Congress has voted to arm Syrian rebels to fight the Islamic State fanatics, and Ebola is now seen as "exponentially increasing" across western Africa with 60,000 infected people expected by December. Over 2600 have so far died from that virus.

Monday, September 15, 2014

A walk through Hunter Canyon

It was a busy day for me today. I got called in at 6:45am to get to the high school, and shortly after getting home, get a call from Kevin to pick him up from his office; his truck wouldn't start. Tomorrow morning at 5am I'm driving him back to work and he'll call AAA to get it towed to a garage.

That gave me 5:30pm to start the dogs on a nice walk, and I took all four to Hunter Canyon, along the creek trail. I hadn't taken them there in several weeks. I have been so busy with reading books for Amazon that I've lost track of time during the week, and kept telling the dogs "I'll take you out tomorrow!" But these dogs can't be ignored for so long.

It's always nice to see them frolic among themselves when they get on an open trail. The lack of target shooters is also allowing grass to grow back. The canyon is looking rather green.

A large branch cracked off a dead tree near the trail. Luckily it didn't hit any of the dogs in front of me. It was a charred tree from the 2011 fire. There was no wind at the time the branch snapped off.

Skies are starting to thicken overhead, thanks to the front coming from Hurricane Odile that hit Baja California Sunday night with 135mph gusts. Odile is now downgraded to a tropical storm, so flooding can be next for us. It's starting to rain as I write this, and we are expecting three more days of rain. Will this rain be as intense as the surge from Hurricane Norbert? We need the rain, we just don't need it all at once!

I love stormy weather. I'd feel better if Pache were inside. Bobby got out again as well, but he never strays far. He'll be outside the door meowing to be let back in as soon as he sees my office light come on.

While Arizona is now facing another deluge, southern California is facing two severe wildfires that are threatening structures.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Sycamore Canyon (Santa Ritas)


Distance: 5.5 miles (Magellan GPS track)

Elevation: 773 ft (4891’ - 5664’)

Hiking Time: 8:29 AM to 2:15 PM (5 h 46 min)

Weather: sunny all day, some easterly breezes outside of canyon



Yesterday was a successful adoption event. All five of my kittens were adopted out to new homes. One man, Jessie, who adopted my favorite tuxedo boy, told me he had come to Petsmart just because of my photographs. That made my day! I had these kittens since 1 August, and five 13-week-old kittens in one XL crate was getting too much. They were starting to fight with one another.

I never saw myself as a local celebrity in the animal welfare area, but people do know me and recognize me, and give me compliments. I've always been one who prefers to remain anonymous.

Now I can have my Saturdays back for hiking, as so many of my hiking friends only hike on Saturdays because Sundays is their church day. Today was one such day with Steve A, Rod, Gina and me. Steve is a trained naturalist and always has some great comments to make about the wildlife and geology we see along the way. I took Sadie and Minnie along, because both hadn't been hiked all week. I've been spending my free time during the week trying to catch up reading books for Amazon.

Today's hike was led by Steve, a 5.75-mile hike that began on the Box Canyon Road off SR83 toward Madera Canyon at 8:32am (we followed the parallel shaded Mill Creek, where a plethora of butterflies entertained us), then north on FR231 to FR4053. The FRs were high and exposed, and Minnie quickly overheated. I had to stop a few times to give her water and let her rest in the shade. I also need to focus on a diet for her. While Kevin says she's "solid," I say she's overweight. Time to stop the free-grazing for the dogs and time to start feeding them portioned meals twice a day.

The Santa Rita foothills are a lovely alluvial plain with vast views in all directions. We were walking on a road that will soon be closed off for a new copper mine, and that means the foreign-held company will pollute the water underground and get away with it. This may be our last chance to see this area in its natural state. ATVers and cattle still roam these foothills at their leisure. We didn't see any cattle, but we did see one ATV.
The area north of here had been heavily mined last century and what was mined then still remains a scarred area if tailings, rock slides and nude hill sides. The oaks, mesquites, chollas, bear grass all will make way for machinery and noise.

It was 85F today with little cloud cover. This direct heat affected us all. Had it been 20 degrees cooler with overcast, and with perhaps more water in the canyon, this would have been a great little hike. The hike up the mining road was at a moderate grade and not too long, but the lack of much shade made this a hot walk. I had enough water for both dogs, but every chance I had, I made them drink creek water. At one point I picked up both dogs and put them in a water tank so that they could drink at head level and cool off their bodies. There wasn't as much water in any of the pools as we had hoped for.


Once we turned off into Sycamore Canyon, the trail became the narrow creek bed, which meandered around and through thick brush and tall grasses and down steep rock beds. Poison ivy lingered here, and I had to be careful not to touch it. It looked like it recently experienced flash flooding, but there was very little water left. We didn't see much water until the last half-mile of the canyon near the road again.
The canyon was narrow and overgrown, and in parts along high cliffs. This provided shade for the dogs. If they got ahead of us, they lay down in the cool creek bed and waited for me to catch up with them. Dry rocks here become active waterfalls during a rain, but all we had today was a little residue.

The few sycamores here were near the end of the canyon. There was some water flowing, but the water contained a high level of copper residue (the water looked rusty) Leftover flash flood debris also crowded the creek bed with organic trash we had to get around. I was quite glad to be back on the road again and at the parked vehicles!

We pulled over into a shaded spot and sat there for well over an hour, drinking beer (one each), water and fruit juice and we talked about other hikes and life in general. It was 4pm before we drove off and headed home.

I like this group of friends. Everyone is upbeat, calm, willing to try new things, and courteous. Today's hike wasn't the best hike we have been on (too hot), but under ideal weather conditions, this could have been a nice, enjoyable one for everyone.



Sunday, September 7, 2014

A refreshingly rainy weekend

Hurricane Norbert in the Pacific gave us a very wet weekend, starting with shortly after coming home from work on Friday. Saturday was even wetter, with a deluge arriving in town shortly after noon, cutting off the adoption event while I was in outside of Petsmart with Ruby (another foster) and Chasity. No kittens were adopted and I drove home in a downpour that lasted several hours. The nearby mountains were in a shroud of fog, but in the early evening the clouds lifted and one could see Carr Falls in a powerful waterfall. Even another hiker, Nydia, called me to let me know. That's when I loaded up all four dogs to see the falls up close, but Carr Creek was overfowing its banks and I dared not cross the road. I took the dogs on a mile walk east of Calle Tranquila, where an abandoned housing development lay in overgrown lots. They hadn't been walked all week and needed to get out. They looked so happy chasing each other down the paved road. I found an ATV trail and we walked on that as well, but the mud and puddles made us turn around. The sun was setting as well.


On Sunday Gina and I drove up to Carr Falls just before noon. She had her 14-year-old daughter Ashley whom I finally got to meet. One other woman was already there, sitting high on a rock close to the fence, just to hear the water's roar. We chatted a bit, but then let her enjoy her solitude as we walked into the canyon.

The water was still powerful, but less so from Saturday, and again we hiked up into the canyon, just as Eric and I did several weeks earlier. Minnie was with us, and naturally all she thought about was having me fetch sticks for her. Gina and I were taking photos at every corner, while Ashley wanted to climb as high as she could, before Gina held her back. The higher we got into the canyon, the more treacherous it became, and Ashley was angry at Gina for forbidding her from going with me to the upper rocks. Even I had to be careful, and Minnie followed me regardless.
Ashley climbed up the wet rocks so effortlessly, but followed me up the route. I made it as high as Eric did the last time, and turned around when I felt rain drops.

We never met anyone else until we got back to the fenceline, where several families and dogs came just to see the water. So many people were here once we got back, that it was getting too congested. Everyone and their dog was at the falls today!
We closed the evening with a late lunch at McDonald's, where Minnie sat in the shade and was at her bet behavior. She got an entire double Cheeseburger all for herself, leaving only the pickles behind. I didn't get back home until 4:30pm.

Sadly, Pache is once again gone, missing for four days. I keep looking out the front door to see if he's around. I hate it when he takes off like this, but he always insists on getting out and gets mean when he's not allowed outside.



Monday, September 1, 2014

On the way to Hidden Pasture


One of my hiking friends, Steve A, emailed some of us diehard hiking club members last night to see if we were interested in doing a short-notice hike toward Hidden Pasture north of Benson today for Labor Day. I have heard of this place and yet have never been there. Kevin and I had no other plans so I figured why not.

Thus a plan was born. Everyone that Steve emailed responded with a positive: Steve, John S, Rod, Gina and I. We met at 7am in town to carpool to Benson to pick up Rod. I drove my Ford Escape with Minnie and John, and Gina drove her Jeep with Steve and Rod.
Getting to the trail head was shorter than expected; it was 48 miles from us, on FR 35 off J Ranch road from interstate I-10. There was lots of traffic here, but no one else was at the trail head.

Here's where I discovered that my full camelpak of water and snacks was still on the kitchen floor. Steve and Gina shared some stuff with me, thankfully, but this is a first for me. Luckily there was water for Minnie, or else this could have been the nightmare hike from hell, as temperatures were in the upper 90s on a cloudless sky.
We were on the trail by 9am, and the heat was rising. Steve had us hike up the Ash Creek bed, where many pools of water had accumulated. Parts of this rock scramble were like being in an Arizona Highways edition, but away from shade or water and this was one grueling hike that only got hotter as the day progressed. I couldn't enjoy this as much as I could in cooler or wetter weather, and the others agreed. We could feel the heat reflecting off the rocks.

I kept my eyes on Minnie the entire time. I was afraid of coming up to a rattler. She never veered far from the trail, but her obsession with sticks lasted all throughout this hike. She brought me sticks, branches and stumps of various sizes, from a foot long to over five feet.


According to the GPS systems that Rod and Steve had, we had only done five miles round trip. It felt longer than five miles (I was thinking more of eight) but the heat had us all slowed down. All around us were granite hill sides, mesquite, fishhook cactus, cholla and prickly pear. It was all exposed. It was a dumping ground of rocks, a "badlands" that is neither good for agriculture nor ranching. We never came across any trail signs; the entire path was marked by cairns. The end of this unmarked trail is three miles one-way. We had made it 2/3 of the way, according to Steve.
Rod and John took turns leading the way. Steve stayed in the back with Gina and me to take pictures. He showed us a few Apache metates, some that were hidden by dirt that he brushed aside. How quickly history can be buried by sand and dust. John didn't seem interested in that park and hiked forward, only to have to wait for us when we finally came up to him.
No doubt this is a wonderland at the right time of year. Much cooler temperatures and more water would be ideal, like after a nighttime blizzard, when the rocks would melt the snow by daybreak. I'm sure two weeks ago, while waters in Slavin Gulch were running, this place was ideal, too.

I'm sure mountain lions live here. I saw two hawks fly overhead, and indeed this is a perfect hawk habitat as they can build nests in the cliffs. I also saw a few lizards, dragonflies and butterflies.

I had bad allergies all day today, which only got worse once on the trail. My eyes were burning so badly that at times I couldn't see my footing. I've never had a case this bad before, and especially not on a hike. What is the allergen? Rubbing my eyes only made it worse, too. I perhaps didn't drink as much as I should, but once we got back to the cars we sat there and drank lots of water; I finished off the quart that Steve had given me. I was in no mood to drink any beer or salsa that Steve had packed, although on a normal day I gladly would have accepted a beer. We talked about upcoming hikes, as there are many trails in Happy Valley I have never been on! Minnie dug a little pit to cool off in the sand as we chatted for quite a while about the hike and other hikes. Traffic roared nearby but never came to our trail head.

The trail head is also popular with target shooters shooting at the oaks and sycamore here, and I picked up some brass and some other trash.

I was tired now, and barely could stay awake. Plans to eat out for dinner were cancelled, as I was also feeling nauseous. It all felt like classic heat exhaustion to me. John even drove for me from Benson to Sierra Vista. Those 20 minutes were enough to rejuvenate me to take over and drive the rest of the way home soundly. Minnie quickly drank her water and rested the remaining of the day. The full Camelpak was still on the kitchen floor. I shared the pork bones with all the dogs. Eric was at work and Kevin was already in bed when I got home at 4:30pm.

Photos to follow.