Carr Peak with Zeke

I posted another Meetup hike for Carr Peak for today. Initally there were six wanting to go, but come Sunday morning, two dropped out for health reasons. It was just Lee, his friend Karen, Susan and I. I brought Zeke along and he loved all the attention he got from passers-by and Susan.

We met at 9am at the lower Carr Canyon road parking lot and promptly left when everyone showed up. There were plenty of mountain bikers here as well and I even saw Ellen finish her ride. She had to go home and get ready for her church service. It was in the upper 60s with little wind and clear skies. A near-perfect day for a hike.

The entire mountain road was busy today with cyclists, walkers and people driving up to the trail heads. Was there some kind of spring event going on? People were gathered at the falls, the creek and even at the upper campsites. Even the trail head parking lot was crowded, which means the trail was, too. We met a group of 12 hiking down and most of them were doctors from Fort Huachuca who hike the trails every weekend to stay in shape. One of the women was carrying an infant named Axel in a baby wrap up to the peak and back. Axel looked very comfortable and never made a sound.

I was concerned about Lee. Lee started out slowly, and he was the pacer. I made sure we stopped many times for him to catch his breath. I always kept him within sight. One mile from the top he decided he couldn't go any farther, and he and Karen returned to their car. They drove off as Susan and I were on the top enjoying the scenery.

My only disappointment today was the lack of wildflowers. There was plenty of water coming off the falls, but the only flowers were small yellow alpine flowers near the peak. Everything still looked so asleep; vistas lacked any color. The firs growing since the 2011 fire seemed to have gotten a growth burst from all the added water this year, but the aspens were just now in pre-bud mode, the elms were still naked. It looked like more dead trees blew over in high winds. The only wildlife were ravens and what Susan described as juncos, birds that resemble robins at first glance. Susan kept her pace and was a delight to have. Indeed I told her she was in better shape than she gave herself credit for.

I enjoyed today's company and will do another group hike in April to see the flowers come up. Zeke was a real delight today and stayed by my side. When he's the only dog he's a true delight. Susan thought the world of him today, and was impressed with how devoted he was to me, nudging me closely when others approached me. No other dog gets this much attention as Zeke does in public.

There were still plenty of people in the canyon when we got back to the lower parking lot and I dropped off Susan. I stopped at the Ramsey Canyon Feed store for another round of dry dog kibble before heading home.