I had originally scheduled a Meetup hike up Carr Canyon Road at 5pm today a week ago when I learned that chance of rain for early this week was only 20%. The monsoon has just started, so rain is still sporadic. Three people out of four who had RSVPed to come then cancelled due to fear of rain earlier today. We had had a tornado warning last night that I was unaware of, and I understand peoples' concern. Chance of rain was set at 20% but at 1pm the dark clouds over the mountains did look menacing. By 3pm those dark clouds had diminished. We are in the start of the monsoon season, when rains come short but hard in the afternoon and early evening, but we haven't had a true downpour yet this season. Whatever rain that's fallen so far has been absorbed by the plants.
I was OK with cancelling the hike to the reef. Getting caught up there in a storm would not be nice, in light of the news that a group of seven hikers were struck by lightning in Colorado on June 28th just below Mount Bierstadt, killing the 7-month-old German Shepherd Dog Rambo right away. The dog took the jolt for his owner. I won't take those kinds of weather chances with a group. I'd have hiked up the road by myself with three dogs because I needed the exercise and the radar showed no threatening storms coming my way. The daytime temperatures have made hiking unbearable lately. In the end I was better off hiking with two than hiking alone.
Susan M asked on the Meetup site if I could do a shorter hike somewhere (rather than walk up Carr Canyon Road), so I suggested the Perimeter trail since it's close by and offers great views of the San Pedro Valley (the same views as from the Reef only lower in elevation). She agreed and so did Nina, and that is what I did, making the start time 6pm instead of 5pm. I took Sadie and Zeke along.
I kept Minnie at home in case she would get heat exhaustion. That poor girl can't even do the three-mile loop around the neighborhood in the evenings lately. She needs to lose some weight. Perhaps Minnie's constant panting is because she's overweight and struggling with that.
Susan and I arrived at the Perimeter trail parking lot at 5:55pm. Nina showed up a few minutes later and at 6:05pm we were on the trail going south. The skies were a nice blue with NO storm clouds! We never saw anyone else on the trail until we got to the "Rocks" at the 3.6-mile mark where we rested and chatted under a full moon. Another man was already there to watch the moon. He'd been coming to this overlook since 2006, but left shortly after we arrived.
Susam showed us a nice overlook near the green water tower that's close to some homes. It's right off the trail. An access road from SR92 meanders up the hillside to the water tower. I'd never been this close to the water tower. This spot would make for a nice four-mile r/t hike to watch the sun rise.
The dogs had their fun although I could tell they were a little warm on this hike. There was no water in any of the drainages except for one shady location, despite the rain we've had this week that helped the grass get greener. I had enough water for them in my pack, though, so I wasn't worried about not having enough for us all. They darted off only once, when they spotted two white-tailed deer. Zeke took off after them and so did Sadie, but both came back right away. That short sprint tired them enough.
We came across a tarantula on the way out and met a Blacktail Rattler on the way back. There were plenty of ants after dark as well, doing antsy things. The man told us to be watchful of mountain lions as he's seen them here as well. We chatted louder than normal once it got truly dark to warm the wildlife that we were coming through. The moon rose at 7:19pm, the sun set at 7:34pm (the latest it will be all year for another week) and at 8:03 we had the end of civilian twilight. Watching the moon rise and the lights of Sierra Vista and Hereford come on is always a beautiful sight.
The moon was too far south in the horizon to give off much light. It was behind us as we walked north again. Flashlights on this trail are a must due to the dark corners of the spurs. And since the trail is a singletrack, it makes it harder to talk with others who must stay in front of or behind you. Here's where the road makes it easier to chat with other hikers,and I hadn't seen Susan in several weeks.
The dogs were at their best behavior walking back. Both stayed close behind me with their red lights on. Those red lights made them more visible in the dark.
The perimeter trail is such a pretty trail that hovers around the 5000' elevation mark, but the many ankle-twising rocks on the trail make this trail more treacherous than hiking up Carr Canyon road at night. While I'm glad I was still able to host a hike under the full moon, I think I will stick with the road for future hikes. It's more user-friendly and sociable.
The hike took us 3:30 hours, a decent night hike. IT was 9:35pm when we got back to the cars. Susan drove off right away, but Nina and I went to McDonald's for a late meal and chatted there until just past 10:35pm. We hadn't talked much lately since she was gone for three weeks in Alaska and I stopped day hiking once the heat came earlier in June. We mentioned the last three Supreme Court decisions in the last two months: Keeping marijuana illegal (until the US government passes an amendment stating otherwise), approving gay marriage and approving the use of lethal injection for death penalty cases. The dogs stayed in the van while we ate inside, patiently sitting in the front seats and watching me through the window the entire time.
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/06/29/lightning-strike-victim-whose-dog-was-killed-believes-the-animal-saved-him/
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