Zeke's wound still looked too raw for this hike, so I left him at home. Sadie showed an interest and excitedly leaped into the back of the Honda.
Twelve people signed up for this hike. Three came from the Hiking for Hops group out of Phoenix, the group that requested this hike. Nine more came from the SVHikers meetup, and three more from the Huachuca Hiking Club. I had cross-posted this hike. In hindsight, I should have kept the Hiking for Hops group separate, as they were all speed demons on a high-powered mission.
We met at the Brown canyon ranch house. It was the Phoenix group that showed up last, still getting their gear ready at 8:10am when start time was at 8am. At least it wasn't too hot this morning and we had a bit of a breeze, but we had no cloud cover. Normally this is a hike we'd start earlier, but I started at 8am to let the Phoenix group sleep in. They had arrived at 10:30pm last night.
There were a lot of new people today. Peter and his dog Roscoe were part of the fast group. Peter is a Chinese linguist teaching at Fort Huachuca. Chuck drove down from Tucson and was thankful for the late start. Then there were newly-retired Marie and Ken from Washington state, who moved down here a year ago. They seemed so excited about this hike and proved to be very interesting to talk to. I never got to talk much with Jill, Brian and Dan from Phoenix because they were way up front.
The flowers that bloomed earlier this month are now slowly fading away. Even the grasses are going to seed. I didn't stop too often to photograph wildflowers until we were on the upper Pomona mine trail, where purple penstemons still bloomed in the southern slopes. By now the group had spread out far. I stopped to give Sadie water as she looked tired and thirsty. This is an especially steep mile, but the sedimentary rock formations along the way are fascinating.
I was last on this trail in January when Ellen and I hiked up Ramsey Peak. My legs were hurting going to the upper mine. Today I wasn't in such pain. Today I was just tired.
I like resting at the upper mine. The mine provides cool shade, there are rocks to sit on, and one is protected from any wind. Ken and Marie enjoyed the cave and even photographed a bat in it. Here I gave Sadie her lunch and more water. What she didn't eat I gave to Roscoe.
SteveS and Doug turned around here while the rest of us continued above the mine. Rod showed us a stone cabin that I never knew about, then an old rusty engine higher up among the pines. Trees here luckily weren't damaged by recent fires and the pine needles soften the ground. What other mining relics remain hidden here? We then walked across the old helipad to the overlook, which was another new thing for me. The fissured granite rock crags protrude from the edge of the mountain to the east. South one sees Carr Peak and the saddle between Brown and Ramsey canyons.
The rest by the overlook was our last break. The dogs sat under the shade of a juniper as Peter and I chatted. But he seemed ready to go and I followed him down to the mine at 12:30. He went on and I waited for the rest. I thought they knew I was leaving, but apparently I wasn't loud enough.
The hike down seemed more perilous than before. Luckily no one tumbled, although I and several others took a few slides. The steep grade didn't seem to bother Sadie, though. She was more worried about finding shade as now it was getting warm.
By 1:30pm the Phoenix group told me they had to hasten their speed to make it to Sonoita for a wine tasting that ended at 4:30. We were now down to the slow group: Me, Rod, SteveA, Chuck, Ken and Marie. They were all behind me as I wobbled down the trail, feeling pain in my ankles from all the loose rocks. When I arrived at the Brown Canyon trail, I got into the shade, gave Sadie the last of her water, and waited there for the others. Chuck came in five minutes later, and the rest followed in 15. We finished the trail together by taking a parallel side trail where another rusty car lies. Here's to another new discovery!
We got back to our cars shortly before 3pm. We had hiked 8.3 miles. I was famished. Rod had to get back to Benson, but the rest of us went to the BoneDry Taphouse where we each had two beers and chatted for over an hour. The place serves no food but I brought in a chicken meal for two from the neighboring KFC. Sadie was not allowed inside the building and she looked longingly through the glass door. She was tired, too, but at least she was in the cool shade. She was too tired to greet passers-by.
I got home at 5:30pm. The house was quiet but the remaining dogs were happy to see me. I could now feel the tired muscles in my ankles and thighs.
No comments:
Post a Comment