Carr Peak: Autumn is in the air

I didn't get called in to work, so at 1:30pm I packed up my pack and grabbed Sadie and Zeke and drove up to the Sawmill trailhead.  This would be my last chance to bag the peak this month.  Tomorrow I have a dental and a doctor's appointment that will cut in the middle of the day.  Friday starts the Labor Day weekend.

I got to the Sawmill trailhead just before 2pm.  This is perhaps the latest I've started the hike.  Once up at the starting elevation though, I stepped right into a cool, shaded environment.  I left the heat of the valley (89F) behind.  And it stayed cool for the duration of the hike!  A large pile of bearscat near the Sawmill springs reminded me that bears get active this time of year.  The dogs never alerted me to any bears and I didn't see or smell them, either.

Just like last month, there were asters in the beginning, yellow coneflowers in the middle, and at 9000' the deep red and blue penstemons covered the ground.  What a feast for the eyes!  The cool weather and the wide range of colors, along the the beginning aroma of autumn invigorated me.  I never stopped to catch my breath because I didn't need to, and the dogs seemed just as energized as I was.  A lone white-tailed deer was near the peak but the dogs left it alone.

We got to the peak in 1:31 hours, almost 20 minutes faster than last month and I wasn't even trying to beat any record.  The only proof that I hiked today is the track on my GPS app.  I hiked the 5.68 o/b trail in 2:53 hours.  That's over 30 minutes faster than in July.

I know the cooler temperatures helped today, along with a sun that was behind heavy clouds for most of the time.  When I got to the top I could see rain falling to the NW of me, an isolated shower that wasn't coming toward me fast enough.  All around me shades of green and all the colors of the flowers surrounded me.  No other human interrupted my bliss, along with very little wildlife besides a few song birds flitting among the shrubs, and dark collared lizards preparing for the colder months ahead.  I couldn't have picked a better time to climb this mountain, which from the valley looked so hot and exposed.

I don't normally like to be up on the peak so late in the afternoon by myself, but today proved to be ideal.  The aspens are still green but the upper grove is starting to turn yellow.  My favorite Golden Columbines are at their prime among the aspen grove now.  No water was running from the falls, but the lush green growth in all directions shows that the monsoon has nourished the mountains.

I stayed on the peak just long enough to give the dogs some water, take a few photos, and enjoy the solitude.  The experience was so blissful, I felt guilty for not sharing this with anyone else.  In two weeks most of the flowers will start dying off.  Do I have one more chance to hike up this peak with some like-minded hikers?

Dark clouds were moving in as I was descending, and those clouds got darker the lower in elevation I got.  It never thundered or blitzed, though, so I was under no pressure to race back to my truck.  I made it to my truck at 4:58pm.  Both Sadie and Zeke took straight to laying prostrate for the ride home.

Kevin was already home when I got in.  We had our usual meal together and chatted about our day.  He was focused on a Red Sox-Miami Marlins game, mentioning how the "Sox came back from behind to win."  The Red Sox have been doing very well this season and I'm happy that Kevin's home team is doing so well.  (As for me, I'm not a big fan of the MLB)

The clouds kept getting more menacing as sunset approached.  I wanted it to rain, but again the storm blew past us and no rain fell.  The monsoon is slowly losing its force.  Rain is predicted for the weekend and I'm still unsure what my plans are.  I'm on the hiking club's list to lead a hike to Jordan hot springs in New Mexico (I was put on the list without asking me first, but I was OK with leading a hike there if there were other people interested) but so far no one's emailed me to let me know they are interested.

I love this time of year here in the high desert, and today's hike reminded me of how blessed I am to be able to experience the sights, smells and colors of autumn in southern Arizona.

Brown Canyon Loop hike under a full moon

My friend HollyW had asked me two weeks ago to lead a full moon hike today.  It had been a while and I was ready.  August's full moon are hit and miss during the monsoon season.  And while we did have a hazy start, the company and weather couldn't have been better.  If only all groups were like this!

We met at the Ramsey Canyon Road trailhead parking lot:  BillK, SteveT, KimG, SusanM, HollyW, AJ, Anna, Pauline, Jeanet.  Two more were no-shows.  We started promptly at 5:15pm walking the first half-mile on the road before turning north on the old Brown Canyon Road.  I kept Sadie and Zeke onleash this first mile.  We kept a steady pace.  I stayed in the rear with Steve, who also kept a good pace.

There were a few muddy spots but any water from Thursday's storm had long evaporated.  We gathered at the water trough which is still looking dry (I'm now convinced the old pipe deviating from the stream has busted, preventing fresh water from collecting in this old horse trough).  I spotted a painted rock under a rock overledge, and AJ said that rock was placed there by a local Facebook group that creates these painted rocks and then leaves them for others to find.  Bill took the rock home, and only later did I notice the fine detail on that rock.

From the trough to the overlook for the moonrise is 45 minutes at a moderate pace, and this group was well within that limit.  No one complained, everyone socialized, and everyone watched out for each other (something I always encourage).  We had 15 minutes to spare once we reached the overlook.  We all chatted with one another.  What a friendly bunch!

But then the moon didn't show its halo by the forecasted 7:18pm moon rise.  Was the moon hidden by a layer of haze we couldn't see?  That is exactly what happened.  We finally saw light form below a dense cloud at 7:25pm, and then I strongly suggested we hike off the hill to avoid stumbling in the dark down the loose soil.  We made it back to the cars at 7:45pm.  A few drove off right away, but AJ, Anna, Steve, Holly and I got together for a late meal at Native Wings in Sierra Vista, which is still my favorite sports bar.  I had a chicken wrap and mango-flavored iced tea.  I didn't come home till 9:30pm.

The sky continued to clear up during the night.  At 11:40pm (!) I took Sweetie and Minnie on a final lap around the 'hood, basking in full moon light and enjoying the waning warmth of summer.  Autumn is making its arrival known, as I felt a slight chill in the air.

Brown Canyon Loop at sun rise with Sadie and Bill

Last night I was asked for a half-day commitment at the middle school.  I accepted, then immediately asked Bill if he would like to walk the Brown Canyon loop at sunrise this morning.  He agreed, and together we tackled this pretty loop.  We hadn't hiked together since the day before school started in early August.

The morning colors this morning were beautiful.  Clouds hung over the Mule mountains as pink and purple spread across the horizon.  Sun rise was at 5:49am and subdued due to clouds, but still very nice.  Unlike most mornings, today it was quiet this first hour.  I didn't hear any birds as usual.  The only wildlife at the start was a lone deer in the field across the road from the trailhead.  Bill and I were the second and third car in the lot when we started

Both Bill and Sadie were behind me.  Bill was noticeably slower today and seemed lethargic.  He said he is always tired after driving up to Phoenix and back over the weekend on his Kawasaki motorcycle.  The trail was muddy in parts, but the trough is still rather dry.  A couple with their four dogs (two were carry-ons) were our only company, and they were going the other direction.  We met two more people with another dog  just before reaching Ramsey Canyon Road for the final half-mile.

No new flowers were discovered this morning.  The ones from three weeks ago are slowly fading.  White clover seems to be thriving right now, as well as the several species of sunflower.

Weather was calm and warm.  The blimp was still tethered at the start, but slowly began rising during our hike.  It didn't feel humid until 7:30am, when we got done with the hike.

Aion and his owner were in the parking lot getting ready as we got done with our hike at 7:30am.  He's only 16months and already has a calm demeanor.

I talked briefly with Aion's owner.  I'll be seeing them both again on Sunday, the last dock diving class for the season.  

The parking lot was near full when we left.  I'm glad we had an early start!  

Getting a dog-friendly car...

Ever since my engine blew a gasket in Amarillo, I've been worried about the truck dying on me.  I knew I had to get a newer, more reliable vehicle very soon.

I went online Tuesday night to look at newer used SUVs in town.  My choices were Ford Escape and Honda CR-V.  I have no qualms of getting another Escape again.  My 2002 held up very well all these years (much better than the POS Dodge Grand Caravan).  I wanted to spend $16,000, the price of a used 2016 Ford Escape.

On Wednesday I went to my bank on Fort Huachuca to withdraw enough money for a down-payment. I went to the Lawley-Honda place in Sierra Vista where Glen, a young car dealer, approached me. I test drove a 2017 Escape, then a 2014 Honda CR-V.  Steve had come by to look over the cars.  Even he said he'd go with the better-engineered Honda.  After more online research that night, I opted for the Honda.  The deciding factor was reading sever reviews stating that the CR-V was comfortable for dogs.  I picked my latest car not on how much cargo space was in the back, but because reviews said it was a dog-friendly car.  Sold!  The car was delivered to the driveway Thursday afternoon.

Saturday morning I had it registered with my car insurance, then drove into town to get an XM radio signal.  I had Sadie, Zeke and Minnie with me. I couldn't get any signal from our house since we are too close to the mountains.  Even driving north for eight miles by the McDonald's wasn't enough.  I didn't get my XM signal until near the huge Walmart plaza in town.

The dogs didn't seem bothered by this new truck and its smells.  They took their normal spots in the truck:  Zeke up front with me, Minnie behind me so she can look out the rear passenger windows,  and Sadie in the rear behind the latch.

The car rides smoothly and quietly.  I now have AC again, brakes that stop on a dime, and a truck that doesn't smell of moldy dog.

I will still drive the Escape to the local trailheads and transfer station.  No one would ever think of stealing that thing! 

Dockdiving and the Perseids

Minnie had her first experience at dock diving this morning.  Thanks to my friend and neighbor Valli, I was encouraged to enroll her in this class.  Minnie loves fetching and swimming and needs the exercise.  Valli told me to meet her at her house and that we would drive in separate cars to the class in Whetstone, AZ.  The class is taught by "Animal Watchers," a training and bording place with an above-ground pool for certified dock-diving instructions.  We left promptly as agreed upon, at 9am.  The drive took us 35 minutes.

I met Valli while volunteering for the Huachuca Animal Shelter six years ago.  I walked the dogs, took photographs.  She helped walk the dogs and promote the animals at the shelter.  We hit it off as dog lovers, but Valli, being German, can also be very straightforward.  While I can be easily pleased, Valli has the expectations of an old-world German: be on time, follow the rules, pay attention to details, and ask no questions.  She is usually right and I don't argue with her.

"Did you bring your paperwork?" she asked, referring to the registration form and basic information on Minnie.  The forms are accessible via the website.
"No, my laptop crashed last night.  (True story.) I can fill it out here in the office, we have time."  And I did.  Paperwork took just a few minutes.

"Did you bring cash?" was Valli's next question.
"No, they accept credit card."  And I was correct again.  I paid my $60.  Since I wasn't in the introductory class last Sunday, I got a $20 discount since I missed the first of four classes because the owner of Animal Watchers told me over the phone that the class was booked, but that she would place me on a waiting list and call me for updates.  She never did.  It was Valli who told me late last Sunday to just bring Minnie in early today since there was a cancellation at the last minute. Minnie started in a class with other dogs already familiar with what is expected for a beginning dock diver.

The class that Minnie is registered for is from 10am-11am.  Six dogs are allowed per class and each dog gets three mini-sessions in the pool.  Each session is about four attempts.  I had no idea what to expect and was a bit nervous about Valli's criticisms.  Like I said, she can be brutally blunt.

"Did you bring a kennel?" she asked.
"Was I supposed to bring one?"  While I did see kennels in the area, the dogs that were waiting for the 10am class were obediently sitting by their owners on leash.  I got no information from the business reminding me that I must bring a kennel.  The thought of putting Minnie in a kennel is ludicrous.  She would need an XL crate and carrying that thing would be quite a chore.  In the end, she was well-behaved around other dogs, although she showed an interest in the anxious MinPin next to us, a female named Buttons.

"Did you bring a toy for her to fetch?"  Now this was something I should have thought of.  Again, my answer was negative.  Valli went back to her SUV to retrieve a fetch toy for me, an orange rubber water toy made by Chuck-it.  She had a smaller one for her dog Cowboy.

The final blow was not bringing water and a bowl for Minnie, although I keep both in the truck.  Would I really need water for the one hour there, with dogs in the pool cooling off?  Again Valli got her portable blue water bowl out for me and poured some water for Minnie.  Minnie lapped up a few sips.  I  know I failed as a responsible dog owner in Valli's eyes, although she said nothing.   

Only four out of six dogs showed up for today's training.  Minnie was #3.  A young Newfoundland pup, Bella, was first.  Then came Valli's Border Collie Cowboy, then Minnie and Buttons.  Cowboy, I learned, is easily stressed around other dogs.  After every session, Valli took her dog straight to her SUV to calm Cowboy down.  That explains why Valli covered her Ford Escape in a sunshade.  I watched the other dogs dive.  Bella and Cowboy are pros at dockdiving, running from a long deck and then jumping far and high into the water to fetch the toy the owners threw.  In competition, a metering tape along the side would measure how far the dogs leaped.  It's impressive to watch.

While Minnie loves fetching and swimming, she first had to learn how to use the rubber ramp, which gently guides the dogs in and out of the pool. She learned fast that the ramp was her access out of the water.  But she also liked to swim around first with the toy in her mouth, which the trainers discourage.  The dog must learn to take a run, jump, swim to the toy and come right out of the pool.

The trainer was pleased with Minnie's progress, but mentioned that Minnie's excess weight (OK, she's fat) keeps her from jumping high.  Minnie did learn to jump off the ramp.  But when she graduated from ramp to deck, she stalled.  That drop down from deck to water looked high for her and we had to encourage her.  Her dives were more like drops into the pool, much like I would while jumping feet first off the high dive.

Minnie was in the water four times.  She will have two more Sundays to practice.  I am pleased with her performance and I hope getting her into the water is a safe alternative to the walks I do, as she is easily tired and sometimes flat out refuses to walk and prefers to wait on us in the truck.

I enjoy watching working dogs.  Cowboy ran and jumped into the pool like a pro, going straight for his toy and the exit ramp.  He's advanced enough to start "speed retrieving," which measures the distance of the jump and the time to swim to the end of the pool and back.  (Photos of Cowboy by Michelle Heater, taken from Valli's Facebook page).  Today, though, he too, needing coaxing from the trainer to jump in and swim to the end of the pool.

By 11:20am all activity for Minnie's class stopped.  Bella and Buttons had left.  Valli got Cowboy ready for the drive back to Hereford.  She and I acknowledged our departures and went our separate ways.  I stopped at our local Walmart to get a new Chromebook.  The one I got, an Acer Chromebook 15, was over thirty bucks cheaper than on Amazon.  I had that thing quickly set up once I was back home in the afternoon.

***

The annual Perseids meteor show came to its prime tonight at 10pm.  I had seen a few meteors during yesterday's night walk, which was quickly interrupted when the dogs encountered a skunk.  Tonight the show resumed, with a bright red Mars toward the Southern horizon.  I purposefully didn't start my walk with the dogs until 10:30pm, and quickly saw three impressive meteors, all with long tails.  However, my walk was again interrupted when Sweetie bolted at something and the other dogs, minus Sadie, took after her.  Zeke came right back and so did Minnie.  The reason?  Another skunk.  Minnie and Zeke are familiar with skunks now and avoid them.  This time Sweetie took the brunt of the spray. She wasn't coming back right away, though.

I returned home with three dogs.  Sweetie finally came running up from behind, frothing at the mouth.  She had taken a direct hit by what seemed like a surfeit of skunks waiting in ambush.  I banned her to the backyard while the other dogs went inside.  I rubbed what scent I could off with an old towel, but was too tired at this time of night to bathe her.  I didn't want to wake Kevin up.

Zeke and I resumed our late-night walk alone for almost two more miles.  He heels so well by my side when he's not distracted by Sweetie and is a joy to walk with.  The entire neighborhood smelled of skunk.  We crossed over Hereford road and walked north on S Golden Valley Drive, a narrow one-way street, for another half-mile.  Distant dogs barked ahead.  Yards are recessed here, so that any roaming animal would need to make an effort to invade the privacy that comes with front yards and fences.  There were many faint meteors in all directions.  What a peaceful, albeit smelly, night walk.

I turned around before encountering any more aggressive animals, be it dog or skunk, and returned home.  I saw one last bright meteor flash across the western sky, leaving behind a wide tail of cosmic dust above the silhouette of the Huachuca mountains that quickly faded.

That one meteor made the late-night experience with the skunk worthwhile, as normally our late-night August skies are cloud-covered during the monsoon.  This year's monsoon is proving to be far below-average, but at least I got to see this year's Perseids.  The last good year for that was in 2005.

When I got back from my walk with Zeke, Sweetie was back inside the house.  Kevin had let her back in when he got up to smoke on the patio.  He said he couldn't smell a thing.

Shady Glen

Another heat advisory was out today:  highs in the upper 90s and humidity in the 60%.  I did not go on yesterday's scheduled hike up Split Rock Canyon with the hiking club because of this heat, as much as I like the canyon. (Turns out the hiking club president turned the hike into an unannounced trail maintenance hike!)  The monsoon so far have been a bust, with little rain and mostly just dry electrical storms that only cause more lightning-caused wildfires. Our ground is too dry for this time of year, and water levels are below average.  The Tucson area has received above-average rainfall for us, but Cochise County has been dry.  This is a big concern for me.

I can not sleep in this weather, let alone hike in it, so at 3am I got up with Kevin and never got back to bed, making me even more exhausted by 9am.  When Ellen asked me at 9:40am if I were interested in hiking a "slot canyon off the Hamburg Trail west of Ramsey canyon" in the Huachuca mountains, I agreed to do so anyway.  We met at 1pm and hiked in.  Had she not contacted me, I would have spent most of the day in bed trying to get some sleep.  At least this way I was forced to stay awake during a normal awake cycle and then being too energized to sleep during normal hours.

Despite my recent hikes up high peaks, I was exhausted hiking the 800' to the vista lookout.  Sweat was pouring down my skin and I felt miserable.  There weren't too many people in Ramsey Canyon today.  The few we saw were hiking out, not in.  Skies were cloudy but no chance of rain.

The heat even kept the birds in the shade.  I saw a flicker, but no humming birds. Just a lot of friendly deer off the trail staring at us.  Just like in June, the creek through the canyon was dry.

I soon realized that the "slot canyon" that Ellen was talking about was Shady Glen.  She had never been down this way before, hearing only about this from a canyoneering co-worker, so I led the way, following a faint trail along the creek toward the rhyolite crags at the end of the canyon.  There was flowing water here, but most of the flowers from June were gone.  A lone Golden Columbine stood guard, a few other firecracker penstemons bloomed in the sunny areas, and some orange Monkeyflowers  grew along the water's edge.  I saw mostly horsetail weeds and lush green foliage, but no other colors.

We made it farther than when Bill and I were here in June, but not by much.  The canyon quickly narrows and the ground pools with water.  There are several pools of water here, each one dropping 3-5 feet lower than the previous one.  Water looked to be thigh-high.  I would normally want to explore this, but I didn't have the proper clothes, nor any gear. I didn't want to slide down the slick rock and discover I couldn't get back up again.  Ellen agreed, and we didn't proceed any further.  The temperature around the water was cooler and less humid; it felt good!

The canyon is just below the vista overlook on the trail, but unless a person uses a loud whistle or foghorn (and who carries those around on a hike?), hearing calls for help would go unnoticed.  With no one on the trail this late on a Sunday afternoon, it wasn't worth the risk.

Had I known that this was the "slot canyon," I would have worn shorts and my Keens as well, just like Ellen did.  Keen sandals with their Vibrams soles are the best water shoes.   (I have a new pair coming this week.  My current pair are from 2015 and are getting weak in the ankle seams.)  We admired the water scene and then turned around to hike out.

We got back to the cars by 4pm.  Clouds overhead were getting darker and we heard some rumbling.  Darker clouds were to the north of us, toward Whetstone 20 miles away. The hike was a mere 3.5 miles r/t. I fell asleep shortly after coming home, but woke up again from hunger at 6pm.  I hadn't eaten all day.  Kevin was already asleep. At 9:30pm I took the dogs out for a quick 1.2-mile walk down the dirt road, and again saw distant lightning over the Mule mountains to the east.  The dogs seemed fine with the shortened walk.   The cool evening hair, void of humidity and freshened with a bit of a breeze, was invigorating.  I simply didn't have the energy for a longer stroll. I will make up for it tomorrow.
_____________

Robert, a hiking friend of mine, posted a picture on his FB page today of a scalp with long, reddish braided hair, aka human remains, in a "deep canyon after daylight" hat he and his pals had come across on an early morning hike in Rustler Park in the Chiricahua mountains.  It clearly looks like woman's hair.  He and his pals he was with reported their find with GPS location to the local sheriff's office.  Seeing the photo of the hair is a reminder that even though border crossers are coming across illegally, they are still suffering and taking risks to come here, even losing their lives to be here.  I am always aware that I, too, can come across human remains on any of my hikes, since so often I'm off the beaten path because of my dogs.  I'm not sure what the protocol is when one comes across deceased personnel, though.  I would think that not touching the area is the first rule, so that investigators can come in and rule out homicide.  I would not want to inadvertently "destroy a crime scene."

PS--September 13,2019: the remains have been positively identified as belonging to 44-year-old Lydia Castrejon, missing since June 2015 when she was camping in the area with her parents and brother.  Lydia suffered from a severe brain injury sustained after a car accident, leaving her near blind and with the intellect of a six-year-old. How she wandered off alone is a mystery.  She was last seen walking to the campsite restroom.