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!