Perimeter Trail loop

The Perimeter trail loop is 9.5 miles and a combination of three trails and one road walking counterclockwise: Carr Canyon Road, Clark Springs Trail, Miller Creek Trail and the Perimeter Trail. Most of the trail is exposed, making this either a winter hike, or a hike under dense cloud cover. My last time on this loop was last March. Nothing has changed on the trail.

Predicted highs today were in the mid 70s with some cloud cover. We started at 8:16am. JeffP and Migo, Marlenea and I with Sadie started promptly. SteveT had signed up but wasn't there, so I assumed he decided in the last minute not to show up, which he has done before. He later posted on the meetup that he was there at 8:15 thinking the hike started at 8:25am.

The three of us kept a steady pace. It was cool at first, but warmed up once we were on the Clark Springs trail 1.8 miles into the hike. Trees and shrubs are starting to dry up again; so much for a wet El Nino winter. We could see what looked like fire clouds coming up from Mexico, but the brown faded with the higher sun.

Sadie and Migo didn't seem to mind one another. I'm aware that Sadie is not too friendly with other smaller dogs. She snapped at Migo, but that was it for aggression. She kept by my side while Migo hammed it for the rest of us as he pranced on ahead. We never had anyone come the opposite direction until we made it down to the Miller Creek trail, where we stopped to let the dogs drink water from the creek and take water breaks ourselves. The son of the Beatty Orchard fame walked upstream carrying a rifle over his shoulder and four unleashed hounds by his side. These hounds are the same dogs that chased Sadie around the parking lot several years ago, and were determined to harm her, even trying to barge into my truck where she quickly ran into. I don't trust those dogs and I don't trust that man. The old parking area that once was surrounded by trees and several trash bins has now been removed and that land designated as private land to the Beattys. We let Beatty walk quietly ahead without talking with him. It's always best to avoid contact with an armed man.

Sadie and Migo enjoyed their duck jerky treats which I fed both as I sat on a rusty waterpipe by the creek. The shade felt good. One older man walked uphill as we were resting;perhaps a visitor to the Beatty orchard B&B. Further downstream were younger kids hanging out by a swimming hole, minding their own business.

The creek looks like it did last spring, with big boulders now strewn all over the widened creekbed. I remember how much I enjoyed walking up and down here with Sammy and Sara ten years ago. The creek has changed its character so much since the 2011 fire and monsoon flood.

We kept a good pace for the entire hike. Marleana wanted to be back at the parking lot by 1pm. We got back by 12:19, just over four hours, which included three breaks. The only other people we met coming back on the Perimeter trail were two mountain bikers who intitially passed us as we started northbound on the Perimeter trail, but who had to stop to fix a flat. They were only three miles into what they planned on riding as a ten-mile loop (the same loop we were hiking, only starting from different trailheads). The young men had patch material but no extra tube and the flat looked rather large.

The dogs had water in two more shaded spurs along the Perimeter trail, perhaps from snow melt higher up. The last 1.5 mile seemed hard on me and I was slowing down. When I got back home I was exhausted, went to lay down and read and didn't do much else after that. My back never stopped hurting, either, despite the usual glucosamine-turmeric capsules I take to fight the chronic pain.