Hiking 12 miles to both Miller and Carr Peak was Ellen's idea. She had contacted me via Facebook Friday morning and I said, "Why not!" I've always wanted to bag both peaks at once, but it's not an easy hike. We met at the Perimeter Trailhead parking lot off Carr Canyon road, and at 8:10am we drove in separate vehicles. She had a cycling friend from Tucson down with her, Adam, and he drove with her while I drove with Sadie. Temperatures today were scheduled to hit the low 70s in the valley, which meant 60s on the peaks. I packed a heavy rain coat but never needed it. We began the hike at 8:40am and were the only ones on the trail.
We kept a steady pace, but it was a slower pace than we normally do because we had to keep our strength for the distance. We averaged 33 minutes the first two miles. I wore my Italian-made Montrails which were starting to feel tight around both big toes. I wore these thinking there'd be some ice or snow on the north slopes, but there was none. The only ice we saw was at the waterfall at the two-mile mark. The shoes are cumbersome in snowless terrain, and too tall and stiff for this kind of hike. I kept my eyes to the ground for that reason.
All the wildflowers have died for the season. There was very little color anywhere. We saw several mule deer in the lower elevation, and a few jays, but surprisingly few hawks or falcons that fly through this time of year. Adam had never hiked these peaks before and stopped at every vista to photograph the scenery. I photographed scenes using my new Samsung S5. (It feels weird not carrying my Cannon 6D around.) Sadie stayed close to me, although she would go up front, circle around Ellen, make her stop or move to the side, and then come back toward me. That is typical shepherd behavior. Adam had never hiked any distance with a dog before. I hope Sadie left him with a good impression.
I had my "Mapmywalk"app running the entire time. We made it to Miller Peak at 12:20pm at 5.75 miles. We were the first on the peak and enjoyed our lunch. Sadie got her can of Nutro which I spoonfed her. I had three hotspots developing on my right foot, bandaged them up, and as we were ready to leave, a group of what turned out to be 12 hikers came up the summit. Two of them were Arizona Trail through-hikers finishing their last section at the Mexican border. Another man was a Polish exchange officer from Fort Huachuca, Roddick, who thought Arizona was a flat state. I had to chuckle at that (and I'm sure all the other hikers around us, too) and I pointed at the flat foundation from a former fire look-out tower nearby that is perhaps the only flat area of Arizona. He got the message.
The peak quickly filled up with hikers lounging in the sun. Indeed, it was a perfect day to sun oneself at 9400' but we were only halfway done and had to move on. We bid our farewells and descended, resting only at the bathtub springs before continuing on up along the Crest Trail and then the Carr Peak trail. This one-mile long trail is little used, and frostheave has crumbled parts of this trail. Prickly shrubs along the path whip against one's body in relentless fortitude.
My left ankle by now was hurting. I had to slow down and watch my footing. The trail was full of rocks and loose soil and very narrow for a singletrack, but after climbing up Miller Peak, was easier than expected. I was the last to summit the peak and wasn't that exhausted. We were the only ones here now, with the mass of hikers on Miller Peak. The wind was still calm and warm (so unlike other December summits) and we ate more snacks, drank more water, and took in the panoramic scenery. The horizon over Mexico clearly showed a white, then brown ribbon above the terrain, as wind-swept high-altitude clouds whisped across the sky. It was a perfect day to do this hike.
We descended for our final three miles after 3:20pm. My feet were hurting, but we all kept a good pace. My backpack was leaking water (perhaps a water flask that was not properly closed) and by the time I got back to the van, my entire back and butt were wet. How embarrassing!
We all managed to get back home by 4:30pm. Kevin was already in bed watching YouTube on his laptop and left a pot of turkey-rice soup on the stove. I didn't need to be told to help myself. Sadie rested peacefully nearby the rest of the evening.
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