I had been wanting to hike up Carr Peak shortly after coming back home, but the first weekend back I was too exhausted and last weekend was too hot. Last weekend's double mass shootings in El Paso and then Dayton didn't help my mood. Yesterday it rained and then drizzled all afternoon but today things had cleared up enough to take the chance. I'm glad I did. It was a near-perfect day for an afternoon hike, with no winds and temps in the mid-to-upper 60s.
I left the house after 11:30am and got on the trail by 12:13pm. Dark clouds lingered over the peaks, but they weren't billowing. The valley was sunny with some clouds. My Honda had no problem driving up the mountain road. Nothing was too badly eroded to prevent me from getting to the trail head. I went up the Sawmill trail at a steady pace, admiring all the colorful flowers. Everything was so green!
It took me two hours (!) to get to the peak. I was stopping too much and photographing all the flowers. The common mullein, the first flora to sprout after winter snows, are now fully stalked and ready to bloom. Bees love to swarm around the white flowers. I saw lots of yellow, purple, some red and whites, and a few blues.
Lots of young pine trees, around 2-3 feet tall, are finally starting to fill up the area hit hardest by that 2011 fire. In twenty years, those pines will provide the shade their parents provided for me.
The trail wasn't muddy, either, although I could see water marks from recent rains. The trail was soft and saturated in some parts, but the road to the trailhead and the trail were quite passable.
I hiked at a steady pace. Not once did I feel winded, or needed a break. I was so worried I'd be out of shape, having spent six weeks at below 600' elevation in Northwest Indiana. What slowed me down was stopping to photograph all the flowers. I do this every August, photographing the same flowers every year, as if every year is the first time I see them. Still, the varied colors are a feast for the eyes.
What did surprise me was the lack of water coming down from the springs at the falls in the aspen grove. Water was trickling down the rocks but not pooling at the base. There were plenty of Golden Colombine and raspberries, but little surface water. Luckily I had a half gallon with me, but this spot is normally where I stop to let the dogs drink. Zeke had to dig a bit to get some water to surface. We found more water behind Contemplation rock, that big shaded boulder I like to sit on right before tackling the last 1/3 mile to the peak. The dogs like resting here, too.
Big drops started falling in that last half mile. I figured that was from clouds farther away even though there were grey clouds above me. Those drops luckily didn't last long. I didn't feel like stopping to take out my windbreaker.
Just before reaching the peak I noticed the ladybugs. Ladybugs normally mate above 9000' the third week in July (which was the weekend I got back to Arizona). I was even lamenting missing seeing them, because I was too tired to hike the day after coming back. What a delight to see! They sure were busy! They were in the shrubs, on tree stumps, even on rocks.
Apparently the peak was too cold, too wet or too windy for them, because only a few vagabonds were up there. I stayed on the peak only long enough to give the dogs a break and to take some pictures. I got to the peak at 2:15 and descended ten minutes later, leaving the scent of wild onion behind. Those flowers don't normally bloom until September or October! This year, everything is wonked!
The descent was much of the same as going up. I passed three men, all on their own (one had a one-year-old female GSD with him). Near the end I passed a family from Texas. Lots of late starters today!
I stopped at the middle falls on my drive down the mountain. I let the dogs drink from the rushing water, then walked over to the viewpoint. Down below by the lower falls I could see flashing lights. Upon closer examination, it was at least five Cochise County Sheriff Department vehicles and two ambulances. Oh uh, had someone fallen? I know the lower falls is party central for the younger crowd, who like to hike up the falls, drink their cheap beer, and then leave their beer cans behind. I had picked up six cans myself after leaving the middle falls.
When I got back to the lower falls I could see the commotion better. The road going uphill was closed, but the deputies had no choice but to let me through. One Search and Rescue volunteer assured me that there was no fatality (later I learned it was a 39-year-old man who had slipped on the rocks and fallen 30 feet, possibly breaking an arm, with a left knee and head injuries) Carr Canyon Road at the intersection of SR92 was still closed when I made it through.
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