It felt so good to hike up Carr Peak this morning. The Coronado National Forest (CNF) opened the road and upper campsites yesterday at 5pm to allow Memorial Day weekend campers the use of their sites. That meant I could finally bag the peak this year! Today's hike completes a summit for May. We were on the trail by 5:50am and had a cacophony of birds singing and chirping for us as the morning sun rose slowly over the horizon. This early start gave Zeke shade for most of the ascent.
We were the first ones at the Sawmill trailhead. It was 48F at the start and I wore my favorite Royal Robbins Expedition shirt with a camisole underneath. I never had to take out my windbreaker, even when we hit the breezy peak two (!!!) hours later. We didn't see anyone until we were on our return hike. We stayed at the peak just long enough to give Zeke water and treats, take a few pics, and drink water ourselves. It was very peaceful on the peak.
We were slow, though. Not because we were out of shape. It felt surreal at times being on the trail, and I had to remind myself I was on a familiar trail. Everything looked so different. Ellen told me this was her day off from intense mountain bike workouts. I stopped a lot to make sure we weren't surprising any bears that may have gotten used to no humans around for the past two months. We did smell skunk twice and what I thought could have been bear. We only saw two scat piles and only one was fresh and covered in flies. We both also stopped a lot to photograph the view. There are a few new snags near the trail, dead trees from the 2011 fire that were finally taken by high winds.
We were just before the spur trail to Carr Peak when we heard a loud shriek. It sounded like a hawk nearby, but it was instead a deer screaming. It was perhaps startled by seeing humans again, or perhaps it thought Zeke was a bear. The deer darted up the steep incline with its mate and Zeke didn't chase it.
The trail seemed more overgrown, especially through the aspen groves and where grass hugs the trail. Young aspen are plagued this year with tent caterpillars, too. Not a good sign, as they can de-nude a tree rather quickly. What a shame, as the aspen look otherwise healthy this year (no brown spot fungus yet).
We were back at our cars in 3:31 hours. It was 9:47am and 65F. By now I was hungry and after meeting Kevin at the Sierra Animal Hospital where Sadie and Minnie had a 10am appointment for their standard annual vaccines and geriatric exams, I stopped at Vinny's, our town's best New York style pizza and pasta joint. We both like their food and I picked up pasta today. The dining area is still closed, but the place does a busy take-out business now. Kevin and I both like supporting Vinny's because the owners always give back to the community via monetary donations and fundrives for schools, police and first responders. They have a small Statue of Liberty outside its doors wearing a black face mask right now, an appropriate symbol for our current pandemic and the loosening of the nation-wide lockdown with the "stay home, stay healthy, stay connected" mantra these last two months. I'm hoping we can all get back to normal, but scientists are predicting a return of the virus in September. I chatted a bit with a very talkative woman who was the first customer inside today.
Kevin paid for today's vet visit, but I'll be getting the annual shots for Zeke and Minnie and the two pups before the end of May. I always appreciate when he helps out. It's not cheap maintaining healthy dogs.
Carr canyon road seemed rockier than usual driving up this morning, and one corner seemed narrower than usual. Even Ellen and Batiste said the same thing. The CNF did remove a few precariously-hanging boulders off the side of the eroded cliffs. Quite a few CNF fire trucks were also driving up the mountain as we were leaving.
I love getting a six-mile hike in before 10am. It still leaves so much of the day for other things. Not that I did much else, though. Ellen said she was going to take a nap. I just sat outside with Kevin and played with the dogs before coming inside to recharge my phone and write this.
As for the pups, Gretel's ears are now lifting. Hansi is developing a shoe fetish. He likes to grab shoes he sees on the floor and then takes them outside. He doesn't destroy them or chew on them. Like Sammy, he just likes to slobber on them. Both continue to be attracted to Minnie, having learned to stay away from the other three dogs. She's been a good mentor for the pups. I really hope she can teach them to enjoy water. I know Minnie uses the kiddie pool because she always leaves dirt and grass in the water when she gets out of the pool. I catch the pups stepping into the pool to cool off their paws or to retrieve a ball, so that is a good sign.
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