I got up at 6:30am to walk the dogs at sunrise (7:18am). As soon as I got home, Kevin and I went out for breakfast at Chuckwagon down the street. I had my biscuits and gravy and homefries, and even ate Kevin's homefries. The meal filled me up, but that was the plan, as I was determined to hike up Miller Peak today, my last chance to bag a peak for January. I wanted to start at the southern trailhead from Montezuma's Pass (6575'). I had last bagged Miller from this trailhead with SteveT in April 2017 and with Ellen from Carr Peak in March 2018. Weather in town was 66F for the high with minimal wind and mostly sunny.
I didn't leave for my hike until after 11am. On the way to the trailhead, cousin Hank called to let me know that my stepmom Carol is back in the hospital, her fourth admission since August. I wanted to call Carol before starting my hike, but got no reception at the Montezuma Pass parking lot, from where I began my hike.
I had no idea what to expect. Would there be a lot of snow on the peaks? There is snow visible on the eastern slopes when looking from town. Would I even make it in time? Would I have the strength, stamina and energy to do this hike? I hadn't done elevation since October 2019, when I hiked up Carr Peak with Nicole and Theresa. I started at 12:03 and this is at least a six-hour hike. So I decided to hike until 3:30 and turn around if I wasn't at the peak by then. I put my cellphone on airplane mode to save battery power and took off.
The first two miles from Montezuma's Pass is from a southern direction, The trail is follows the hill from an eastern exposure. The grade is comfortable: there is only a 200' elevation gain in the first mile, but then the grade increases to 1000' in the second mile when one passes three closed mine shafts.
I was doing surprisingly well. My first stop was for Zeke at the highest mine, just below the wilderness sign, where a water trough provided some water. I brought a gallon for us both, but I always use natural sources first.
The first evidence of snow was just past the wilderness boundary on the eastern slope, but the snow was iced and packed densely, so no postholing needed. The old pine grove that once stood here is gone, destroyed by the 2011 fire, but a few new pines are coming up! I won't live to see a new grove, but I enjoy any and all new growth after a fire. The scrub oak that came back after the fire is now about six feet tall and in some places overgrowing the trail. The oaks were tall enough to give Zeke shade.
My pace was steady. I wasn't feeling exhausted. At 1:50 hours I was 3.17 miles into the hike and now on the western slopes. Zeke was looking good, too. I knew then I could bag Miller by 3pm and make it back to the car before sunset.
The last mile to the peak is a rocky section along the western slopes, with a few switchbacks. Here is where I came across SteveW, a 70-year-old retiree from Skokie, IL. He had retired in October and took several months to arrive in Sierra Vista, stopping every day to hike somewhere. He had bagged Miller and was on the descent. I stopped to chat with him for 20 minutes, finding his optimism very infectious. He praised Zeke for being so well behaved. I told him his strength and speed would make him a great candidate for the Huachuca Hiking Club. "Oh, I heard about that club!" Steve smiled, "and was told some of those guys take hiking a bit too seriously!"
Well, yeah, they do.
It was 2:47pm when I finally continued my hike. The intersection to the peak from the Crest Trail is not that far from where Steve was resting. I made it to the top at 3:27pm, drank some water, gave Zeke more jerky treats, and turned around. There was no snow on the peak and just a slight breeze. I had two hours to get back down in daylight. I could do this!
Clouds were forming and I kept my pace on the descent. Steve was long gone when I got back to where we had first met, and I couldn't see him on the Lutz Canyon trail when I made it there at the 6.35 mile mark. The longest stretch of snow was in this small patch of untouched forest, but I must say that I picked a good day to bag Miller. Hopefully this is the first of 12 monthly peaks this year.
Once I crossed back over to the eastern slopes, I was in the cool shade. I met one thru-hiker, Colbert, hiking to the wilderness boundary for the day. He has until March 5th to hike the Arizona Trail and hopes to at least make it to the Mongollon Rim.
At the lower saddle in my final mile, I met up again with Charlie, a thru-hiker i briefly chatted with on the ascent. I didn't recognize him now as he was bundled up for the cold night temperatures, but we chatted for five minutes. I managed to take a photo of him before my phone died. He was also a pleasure to talk to. Sixty-six years old, he retired from government service in Alexandria, VA and travelled west with his wife for five months, exploring and hiking. They settled on Sandy, Oregon when the wife developed an illness that required medical attention and the traveling "was no fun anymore."
My Honda was the last car in the parking lot. The hike had taken me six hours. Stopping to talk to hikers cost me 30 minutes, but it was so worth it.
It wasn't until after 7pm, while talking with Kevin in bed, that I read that Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Kobe Bryant, who just retired after 20 years with the Lakers, died in a helicopter crash that also killed his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others. The helicopter crashed in dense fog near Calabrasas, CA.
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