Thursday, August 27, 2020

Brown Canyon Nature Loop again

I woke up to news of Hurricane Laura slamming into the Texas-Louisiana coast as a Cat 4 hurricane just before midnight local time, but then weaking to a Cat 2 once inland and then to a depression.  She left a path of destruction as she slowly swirled northeastward. Six people were reported killed.
Susan and I with dogs Allie, Zeke and the two pups did another round of the Brown Canyon Nature Loop, adding a half mile to the distance by walking the entire loop by the ranch house and extending our route along the perimeter fence with Fort Huachuca.  It was warm this morning (75F-85F) and the sky clear, but the dogs had just as much fun as the first time.  They got to drink from the duck pond and I dunked both dogs in the trough by the ranch house.  I can't wait to do this loop when there is water in the drainages.

We met no one on the trail this time.  We didn't have to leash the dogs up until we looped back to the big pond, and we both noticed that Gretel DID NOT BARK at two cyclists coming out of the canyon.  She and Hansel did pull on the leashes, but neither dog barked!  And she was silent when we walked past two women starting out on the hike as we were nearing our cars.  I am so happy to see progress with Gretel!  She is finally losing her fear of the unknown and showing more confidence. In fact, she is starting to show happiness having me as her mom and we are starting to bond.
There will be many more hikes in our future and the pups will continue to learn good trail etiquette and manners, but today the morning walk warmed me up too much that I made the 3.5 miles this morning my day's total.  Both the pups and I were tired when we got home.

***
Global cases: 24,649,597
Global deaths: 839,593
US cases: 6,046,595 (+46,556)
US deaths: 184,796 (+1150)
AZ cases: 200,139 (+680)
AZ deaths: 4929 (+33)
CA cases: 692,780) (+4938)
CA deaths: 12,691 (+138)
IN cases: 90,504 (+1145)
IN deaths: 3266 (+7)

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Another visit to the dog park

It was another hot day.  I overslept for a sunrise hike and ended up doing some gardening before taking the pups to the city's dogpark at 5pm.  This was the one event I did with the dogs today.  I've been slacking off on my duties because of the heat.

Both dogs barked as I came inside the dog area, attracting the other dogs inside to come running to the entrance.  But as soon as I let the dogs offleash, they calmed down and Hansel quickly ran with the other dogs.

Gretel, however, was scared during the entire visit.  She was scared and nervous and spent most of the time sitting next to me on the bench.  Hansel enjoyed the other dogs, but Gretel was unusually timid.

I stayed at the park until after sunset.  There were seven other humans there and about ten dogs of all sizes, including a King Poodle that towered over all the other dogs, and a one-eyed chihuahua-minpin named Daisy who gave Hansel a run for his money.  I chatted with the people around me but I was more focused on the dogs, making sure no one got aggressive.

I finished off the evening with two laps on the half-mile fitness loop, tracking a total of two miles by the time we were done.  The lights in the park shine on the fitness loop, but the dogpark is dark. The pups did very well onleash except for some people who were sitting outside the dogpark with two unleashed dogs that threatened my dogs.  I think they are getting the hang of leash walking!  It was just past 8pm when I drove home, tuning to NPR and listening to VP Mike Pence talk about the virtues of Donald Trump while speaking at the Republican National Convention.

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Brown Canyon Nature Loop

It was a busy and productive day.
Instead of a sunrise walk with the dogs and then a meet-up with the usual gang in Garden Canyon, I met Susan at 6:30am to walk the Brown Canyon Nature Loop.  This loop is part of a three-mile route in the mouth of the canyon. I took Zeke and the pups and met Susan and Allie in the Ramsey Canyon Road trailhead parking lot. Susan led the way. Some of the lesser-used trails were unmarked and I would have gotten confused without her guidance..

 It was overcast and breezy and not as hazy as it was all day yesterday.  "Today is our best chance for rain this week" said Susan, although the forecast called for a mere 15% chance.  We are not expected to get any rain from Hurricane Laura, approaching Louisiana right now.

The Nature Loop officially begins at the old ranch house.  One can pick up an informational panhlet that describes the various numbered sites along the way.  The actual loop is only  a half-mile long, but It's a mile to get to the ranch house from the trailhead via the forest road and them a single track off this road.

I had never taken this trail although I knew of its existence.  Taking this trail to get to the Nature Loop gives one a different perspective of this scenic canyon.  It would be even more scenic had the pond been alive and any drainages flowing with water.  There weren't too many flowers out besides sunflowers and yellow ragwort, but there were plenty of tall agave getting ready to bloom.

As soon as we got on the trail from the road, we let the dogs off leash.  Susan likes coming here because one can see the trail and what's coming, and we can see hikers and cyclists ahead of us.  This trail wasn't busy this morning, but twice we had to leash up the dogs.  And the pups listened, too!  Most people who walk Brown Canyon stay on the road. (Snakes are easier spotted while on the road)
Even Susan noted that Gretel is starting to listen to me.  She is finally bonding with me.  Her recall is getting better, too. She'd come back with Hansel when she needed to be leashed.  She didn't fight me.  The dogs all stayed together, although today it was Allie's turn to be the lead dog.  Allie would prance around in the grass and the pups would follow (while Zeke stayed by my side).
It's a mile to the duck pond from where we started at the trailhead.  The pond is very low right now, with tall reed hiding most of the water.  The dogs were happy to prance around and drink the water, cooling off their paws.  From the pond we then circled back to the ranch house, took a short break,  had more water, and then walked back via the road and then trail.  The only glitch was Gretel's leash getting loose from my hand and she then menacing several visitors at the ranch house with her barking.


The entire walk took us two hours.  By 8:30am the heat of the day became obvious.  The clouds made this walk enjoyable, but on a hot day the exposure would make the loop less pleasant.  I'd even want to try this walk earlier, like at sunrise (5:54am), but Susan says there are too many javelina out then.
We then departed.  I stayed at home working on the bathroom, then took the pack minus Sadie to the river for a quick mile romp before coming home, bathing Gretel, and taking her on her first obedience class at a local pet boarding facility, Going to Grandma's.  The class was more for me to know how to train her.  For Gretel it was more of a socializing hour, as she barked and growled at the dogs around us for a good ten minutes before calming down. She was one of four German Shepherd Dogs out of 15 signed up for this class.  Another dog was a young Mini Aussie Shepherd.
And she did quite well  I thought she had forgotten her "sit" and "stay" commands, but she did fine. always looking up to me for approval.  She did not do too well when the instructor, Rocky Boatman, asked to use her for an example.  Gretel was shy and nervous but then opened up as the hour progressed and I finished off the day with a loop around the block with her on leash.  It was too dark for her to see other dogs on the way, but she walked nicely by my side. I was very proud of her progress.

***
Global cases: 24,078,788
Global deaths: 826,674
US cases: 5,954,712 (+40178)
US deaths: 182,357 (+1250)
AZ cases: 199,273 (+859)
AZ deaths: 4792 (+21)
IN cases: 88,421 (+829)
IN deaths 3259 (+18)

Sunday, August 23, 2020

A good day for Sadie

It was a good day for Sadie.  She joined all the other dogs on a mile-long sunrise walk, then rested in the Honda with Minnie while I did a second mile with the other four dogs.  She was slow and did trip while jumping out of the car, but her ankles held up well. She stayed by my side while the younger dogs pranced in the grass.  I praised her the entire time. Seeing her so confident again made me happy.  What did not make me happy was seeing Hansel come out of the grass with a dove in his mouth.  It looked to be already dead as there was no blood when he bit into its head for some bird brains.

It got hot fast, though.  I went with SteveT to the Copper Hop Ranch farm brewery, taking Zeke and Hansel who joined Trace.  We went in one car again, the first time since this covid pandemic, and were the first customers. The boys were mellow together, even though there was some growling from Zeke toward Hansel during the car ride.  Other customers came by after 1pm

There was no barking, even though no other dogs came by for beer.  Trace was offleash for much of the time while my boys settled down being leashed.  I didn't want Hansel sniffing the entire farm down, as the owners have livestock like turkeys and goats in the back area he could stress out. Bringing only Hansel was an experiment to see if he is one of the barking instigators.  He clearly was not.  Now I need to focus on Gretel.  Would she bark if she were the only dog I take on an event?  Is she over-reactive because she's usually with her brother Hansel?

I got back home from the brewery visit at 3:30pm and met up again with Susan at 5:15pm.  Again Sadie came along!  I was so proud of her.  I never force any dog to go on a walk and today she wanted to come both times, walking to the back gate with the rest of the pack so they could get to the car. Her walking today resembled that of an old dog with a slow gait and not one suffering from myelopathy.  She went down to the river with ease and had fun with the rest of the pack.  She also had a nice trot at one point.

Again we met Bob on the return walk, and again the dogs came running toward him and his two dogs.  He did not have his new puppy Daisy with her.  Bob had mowed the trail down, making it easier to walk through the grassy maze.  We walked a total of 1.6 miles.  That means that both Sadie and Minnie walked a total of 2.6 miles today when both walks are added up. The rest of the pack did 3.6 miles.

My allergies held off for most of the day, but were slowly kicking in as the day waned. My eyes were burning again once I got back home and I was forced to take on another antihistamine.

***
Global cases: 23,673,378
Global deaths: 817,795
US cases: 5,875,869 (+34,178)
US deaths: 180,618 (+432)
AZ cases: 198,103 (+208)
AZ deaths: 4771 (+15)
IN cases: 85,932 (+615)
IN deaths: 3220 (+2)

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Please, let it rain

I got to walk the dogs for a short 1.3 miles on the ATV road.  It was a breezy 76F. Minnie came along and walked the whole distance.  Only Sadie stayed home.  She is still able to walk and get around, eat and enjoy her treats, but she is now watching life from the sidelines.

It was a pretty pastel sunrise, but the colors didn't last long at all.  As soon as the sun rose, the pastels turned into a grey haze.

I'm now starting to see more markers across my old walking route.  The area that is now fenced in belongs to ERA real estate.  Stakes are going up with pink streamers where utility boxes will go up.  And that big hole that was dug up over a month ago looks to be a water tank or power station.  Nothing has been built anywhere.  Everything is all still preliminary work.

The pups will never get to experience that open field like the big dogs once did.  We are losing our free-roaming land for development.  The entire southern section of SR92 will one day belong to Sierra Vista.  My question going into the future is asking if we have enough water to sustain all this growth.

I'm still watching San Fancisco's KPIX-CBS for updates on the Bay area fires.  Eric texted me later in the day saying he and Margaret are back in their apartment but must remain vigilant.  The area is expecting potentially severe t-storms later this weekend, with more lighting.

It was another hot day that I spent at home.  I didn't venture out until just before sunset, when I took the pups for a mile around the neighborhood.  Again Gretel went ballistic seeing other dogs, but there were far fewer out walking today.  I dropped her off at the house after the first lap, then went another block with just Hansel and he did beautifully, staying close to me and looking up for approval.

The sky over the mountains looked stormy, but we didn't get any rain until late at night, when I was already in bed.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/08/21/live-bay-area-fire-updates-firefighters-forced-to-rescue-residents-who-refused-to-flee-czu-complex/

***

Global cases: 23,237,215
Global deaths: 809,155
US cases: 5,801,924
US deaths: 179,293
AZ cases: 196,899 (+619)
AZ deaths 4688 (+4)
IN cases: 84,317 (+1040)
IN deaths (+17)

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Miller Creek Trail; fires in the Bay Area

I did not walk the dogs at sunrise today, sleeping in too late to make it to the maintenance road in time for sunrise.  I knew I'd disappoint the dogs.

What I did instead was take both pups and Zeke and drove up to the upper trailhead of Miller Creek and walked down the entire trail to the lower parking lot, then looped back up.  This is a 2.8-mile walk under shade and with water.  The parking lots were both crowded, so I knew I'd be meeting plenty of people.

I had both pups on leash the entire time.  Zeke was offleash but he's cool and stays by me.  I wanted this to be a training walk, so we went slowly.

The dogs are doing well onleash.  They no longer panic. They continued to sniff the flora along the trail, stopping a lot to explore.  That I granted them.  I also rested at least three times by the water to let them cool off, as it got hot today, hitting 88F by 111am and topping off at 96F by mid-afternoon.

Gretel barked and lunged at every hiker she saw.  I stayed near the water and off the trail so that she wasn't a perceived danger to anyone, but she definitely kept me busy.  Hansel also barked, but not as intensely.  By the time I was done with this nearly 3-mile walk, I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I was also very thirsty. I don't remember any of the other dogs being this reactive in their early years.  What brought this on?  They were so gentle two months ago.

I met up with Susan again at 5:15pm by the river, this time with all six dogs.  Sadie's legs were holding up well today, but I knew I couldn't make her walk far.  She walked slowly and cautiously.  She is still enjoying life and enjoying her walks. We waded in the river for a total of just one mile, just long enough to give all the dogs some exercise.

The big news for me today was getting a text from Eric at 3:20pm, and then two hours later from his wife Margaret saying that they are having to evacuate from their apartment in Fairfield, CA due to the fast-growing LNU Lightning fire that had crossed Interstate 80 by Vacaville earlier today.  California had over 11,000 lightning strikes over the weekend that caused these merging fires and winds are turning these small fires into growing infernos.

Margaret told me that the fire is now three blocks from their apartment complex.  There are currently over 24 fires burning in the state, 6000 firefighters are engaged, and over 40,000 acres burned.  The fires are 0% contained.

Eric and Margaret are now staying with her cousin in Woodland, CA, 15 miles from Travis AFB.  She is there with their cat Archer, but Eric has to work on base and help his airmen evacuate.  He's naturally worried that his apartment complex will burn and he loses everything he's worked up for.  I know he's an adult, but I can't help but worry about both of them.

I thus spent the rest of the night watching updates via media streaming on CBSN Bay Area news (KPIX).  It's all about the fire, smoke and bad air over the Bay area.  The fires are affecting my friends Darlene (with whom I backpacked the John Muir Trail in 2010) in Napa Valley and Karen in Santa Cruz.  Both are safe, but are smelling the bad air.  Karen sent me a photo of the burned-out visitor's center in Big Basin State Park, the state's oldest state park. The last big fire in the North Bay area was in 2017, when some Napa vineyards were consumed by fire.  Normally the hot, dry season is September and October; this year the fire season has come early.

There's a tropical storm coming north from Baja, CA, TS Genevieve.  She's approaching Cabos San Lucas right now. Hopefully she will bring rain to both California and Arizona, as we need the rain, too.  She's expected to continue northwest and weaken to a tropical depression, but should also bring moisture along the coast. This is one of the driest monsoons I can remember in the last 15 years.  Perhaps we will at least get some good winter rains, like we did last year.  Those winter rains got us through the first six months of 2020.

https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/08/19/lnu-lightning-complex-firewildfire-blazing-toward-vacaville/?fbclid=IwAR2o8VhFJ4TGA8ek_L9_2uRYcIrhjy2uklbN5ddJKjCcxjNSfNgiixrbWvw

***

Global cases: 22,609,385
Global deaths: 794,432
US cases: 5,701,113 (+43729)
US deaths: 176, 342 (+1266)
AZ cases: 195,557 (+637)
AZ deaths: 4634 (+101)
IN cases: 82,336 (+489)
IN deaths: 3180 (+15)


Tuesday, August 18, 2020

The pups along Miller Creek

I walked all dogs minus Sadie at 5:30 for a mile in a mysterious haze from what looked like wildfire smoke from Mexico.  Even Minnie came along, but her gait today looked very stiff.  I parked down the end of the maintenance road and walked north on the ATV road, turning around at the new barbed wire fence I still have no clue what it will be fencing off.

I got back home at 6:20am and it was already 78F.  I'm so tired of this repressive heat.

The big event didn't happen until 5:45pm when Susan and I met at Miller Creek.  The same dogs as this morning came, and this time Minnie was anxious to get started, but I had to wait a bit on Susan and the dogs were getting restless.

It was in the upper 90s all day and now 91F. The sun was starting to set behind the mountains, but we still had a good hour of daylight. This was the first time the pups were on the busy Miller Creek trail. They started out running with Sweetie and sniffing around. There were plenty of scents  they found interesting. I was worried about snakes. I discovered that they need more practice running elsewhere as a lone female jogger came down the trail and the pups went crazy barking.  Gretel's aggression is really starting to bother me.  Even Susan has a hard time calming her down once she gets going.

There is still water in the creek, but it's slowly fading away.  Part of the creek had a copper hue and smelled of sulphur. So much for a dry monsoon season.  We got more water in Nov-Jan than we have June-Aug.  Cottonwoods are turning prematurely yellow due to lack of water.


There were some campers on the other side of the creek with a little dog.  The pups went back onleash and stayed on leash until we got to the mile turn-around at a small waterfall.  Minnie took this opportunity to cool off in the water.  Sweetie was also onleash and did well.  She didn't even fight me!

Tangie and Rick and their Yorkie were coming as we got to the parking lot.  We hadn't seen them in a while. The pups were onleash, and again Gretel went nuts barking. The older dogs were calm.  Both Tangie and Rick looked a bit frightened by all the barking and I don't blame them.

We walked two miles in 1:45 hours, but that includes the time we sat at the waterfall, and then chatted with Ellen who had driven up the road to cool off by the creek.  She stopped to talk to us when she saw us in the parking lot and recognized the dogs and me.  She wanted to meet the pups but by then I had them in the Honda with the AC on.  I needed to have the pups calm down. It was dusk by the time we all departed.   It had cooled to 80F when I got home.

While I enjoy walking up Miller Creek, I may have to leave some of the dogs at home and focus on the pups going forward.  Walking five dogs there is a risk.  I hate leaving some dogs behind because they all look forward to their exercise. Sadie's hind legs are getting too weak for her so she willingly stays home. Minnie needs her aqua therapy (she swims smoother than she walks).  Zeke stays by my side and is no problem.  It's the pups with Sweetie that may be the wrong combination as they are now running with her through the grass.  I'm not even sure she likes that as I saw her aggressively snap at Hansel when he got too close to her.

***

Global cases: 22,388,178
Global deaths: 788,061
US cases: 5,655,838 (+42,762)
US deaths: 175,075 (+1280)
AZ cases: 194,920 (+915)
AZ deaths: 4529 (+23)
IN cases: 81,847 (+841)
IN deaths: 3165 (+30)

Sunday, August 16, 2020

Carr Peak with Zeke



I slept in again and missed the sunrise. I didn't get started with the hike until 11:30am.

The parking lot was full when I parked at the Old Sawmill trailhead.  I parked next to a Border Patrol SUV, the only space still open.  My car registered 88F.  This looked to be a hot, crowded hike.  Ugh.

My eyes were still a bit sore from the recent allergies, but I was slow more because as I found myself in deep thought about a lot of things.  The sky was mostly clear and I had to rest Zeke more than usual to cool off his warm fur.  We didn't get a cooling breeze until we reached the peak.

The trail was not as drenched from last night's rain as I had hoped.  The grass around me looked mostly dry, too, and the hillsides weren't covered in the flowers as I had hoped, although there were the usual late summer flowers of white aster, yellow coneflowers, and higher up the lantanas and red salvias.

The upper springs waterfall was dry, but at least the aspens are still a healthy green and the Golden Columbines reaching out toward the trail as if wanting to grab passers-by.  Wild onion were blooming on the peak.  While the flowers were not in mass quantities as usual for mid-August, there were still plenty of bees and butterflies enjoying their nectar.


The big news today was smoke billowing from a lightning strike last night south of Brown Canyon.  I could see it early on whenever I faced the south. It looked to be on the east side of Ramsey Peak, thus putting it on Fort Huachuca.  There were no efforts to put it out as it wasn't threatening any structures.

There are still ladybugs up on the peak.  I don't ever remember seeing ladybugs this long on Carr.  They were already swarming the peak in June.  A few dropped into Zeke's waterbowl.

Clouds began forming once I made it to the top in 2:30 hours (!).  I met a retired couple, Greg and Dawn, and their daughter Maddie and dog Cairo.  The couple had moved here three months ago after discovering how badly land is managed in Belize, where they wanted to retire.   While propety taxes are low, it takes years to get any homes built, so they chose Sierra Vista.This is their second climb up Carr in three weeks.  Another young couple showed up shortly thereafter, but I left by then.  The peak was getting too crowded.

I got back to the Honda at 3:47pm.  It began raining as soon as I made it back to SR92.  The rain was coming from the east side of the mountains. I made it home at 4:15pm, ate some hotdogs and beans that Kevin had made.  I was hungry and thirsty and not so much tired from the hike. Once relaxed, I got a well-timed text from Susan asking about walking the dogs.  We had a good hour of daylight left and I said yes.

We met at 5:15pm for a quick mile-long ramble.  Only Sadie stayed home.The river was muddy but not rushing. This way the pups got their much-needed exercise.  We even met Bob as he was finishing up walking his Golden Retrievers.  Gretel barked loudly at him and he reminded me that I need to train her not to bark at people since German Shepherds have a bad reputation as being aggressive guard dogs.  I agree with Bob and know I have to work on her barking. Gretel has become more of a barker than Hansel.  Hansel now would rather stay near me and assess the situation before joining the barkfest.

***

Global cases: 21,960,685
Global deaths: 782,797
US cases: 5,569,471 (+35,327)
US deaths: 173,143 (+490)
AZ cases: 193,537 (+883) 1761 in Cochise County 
AZ deaths: (+14); 57 in Cochise county
IN cases: 80,415 (+739) 
IN deaths: 3133 (+5)


Saturday, August 15, 2020

A visit to Tompkins Dog Park in Sierra Vista; finally some rain!

Sierra Vista Dog Park (off 7th Ave)

I'm not normally a fan of dog parks. I've heard of too many aggressive or sick dogs infecting or injuring other dogs at these parks.  I made an exception today and took both pups at 10am.  We stayed for 90 minutes, and it took 20 minutes for any other visitors to show up.  I met HollyW walking her laps around the park, but the pups did not recognize her and barked loudly at her.  Yes, both dogs need more socialization.  That's why I will take them to the dog park more often.

The dog park in Sierra Vista is a nice park.  It's part of a larger park, Tompkins, with picnic areas, a basketball court, grassy field and playground. A paved half-mile path goes around the entire park.There is a fenced-in area for small dogs, and an equally-large section for big dogs.  The sections are easily three times longer than our back yard, so dogs can chase each other until they get tired.  There are plenty of mature trees for shade, water fountains, and a covered area for humans.  I'd visit this place more often if it weren't out of my way.

The water is currently turned off and visitors are bringing their own water for the dogs, leaving the empty plastic bottles behind.  I took my seat on a bench and watched the pups sniff the area and then chase each other around.  When the first couple arrived with their two dogs, the pups barked and ran toward the new comers, but quickly played with them.  Then another man and his Aussie Shepherd showed up, stayed for 30 minutes, and then left.  When he left, I left as it was getting warm now. At least the dogs got to interact with three other unfamiliar dogs.

Clouds were beginning to gather by mid afternoon.  Rain was not originally in the forecast, but now it was certain to rain.  Grey clouds hovered over the mountains and storm clouds were moving in from the southeast.  I wanted to take the pack down to the river for a quick river romp at 3pm (hoping to beat the rain), but instead got hit hard by rain on my way to the river.  I saw Susan drive toward her house so I followed her, and what followed was an unplanned but pleasant visit with Susan for the late afternoon and evening.

Susan took the entire pack around her property, walking her desert the way she walks Allie in the morning on her property.  Even Sadie walked the laps.  The dogs barked with her neighbor Great Danes, with Gretel really getting into the barkfest.  I hope to train her out of this.  Susan says it is fear barking, not aggression barking.

The rain began in earnest by 5pm.  We had walked two laps, then sat in the back patio and watched the rain come down hard.  We also watched lightning over the Huachucas, and later saw smoke from an apparent lightning strike somewhere high in the mountains on post. The dogs didn't seem to mind the rain, but we went inside, fed the dogs, and then had the usual gin and tonics that Susan makes.  The only time I ever have one of those is at her place.  My camera had died so I could not capture the red sunset after the storm.

We had a good time together, talking again until past 11pm. I left at that time, and by now the pups were more at ease riding in the car, although six big dogs in a Honda CR-V begs the question "How many German Shepherd Dogs can you stuff in a CR-V?

Saturday, August 8, 2020

Slavin Gulch watering holes in the Dragoon mountains near Tombstone

Distance: 4.2 miles
Elevation:
Significance: hiking among hoodoos, wading through pools of water

Ellen had this hike planned a week ago, when we were slated for an intense rainfall that ended up bypassing us.  The rain this monsoon season has been minimal for our area.  Temperatures were also expected to reach near 100F, so I agreed to do this with caution.

The Dragoons are a popular snake habitat and they lurk among the cacti and rocks this time of year.  I left all dogs at home for that reason and also because I didn't want them to suffer from heat exhaustion.  I'm glad I did that.  I walked a mile with Sweetie, Zeke, Hansel und Gretel at sunrise to make up for their absence.  (Sadie stayed home and Minnie walked back to the Honda and waited for us there.)

I rode with Susan and we met Ellen on Middlemarch Road, getting to the trailhead at 8:50 and starting off from a campsite just before the dry wash.  This wash normally has water flowing in
it, so this dry wash was not a good sign.  There was only one car at the trailhead and no RVs anywhere.  Normally RVers take over all the dispersed campsites.

What we did see a lot of were cows wearing cowbells.  There was plenty of cow shit on the trail, too, perhaps because the cows were walking toward where they knew water would pool nearly 3/4 mile into this hike.



The first watering hole is a mile up the trail, just past a rusty barbed wire stomped down by hikers.  It's an easy step over this wire. This barbed wire is to keep the cattle out, and it seems to work.  This barbed wire, however, does not keep snakes out.  We had just looked at the first watering hole  and gotten our hair wet when right off the trail, under an agave, a pissed-off Mohave was rattling and wouldn't stop rattling.  Susan and Ellen stepped back, but I grabbed small rocks to throw them at the snake so that it would slither off.  I didn't want to hurt the snake.  I just wanted it to get out of our way. It wouldn't move.

Ellen was ready to continue up the hill via the creekbed, but when we decided to go that route, I noticed that the snake finally slithered off.  We all did record-breaking 20-foot dashes to get around the agave and continue up the trail.  I was now branded the snake whisperer.

Most of the shallow pools had dried up.  I had not seen Slavin Gulch this dry in years.  We were not expecting the upper pools to have much water, either, but the three big pools were indeed trickling with water, enough for us to get our hair wet and dunk into the water for a refreshing cool-down.  Red and yellow dragonflies followed us along the water.

There weren't too many flowers in bloom, but the red desert honeysuckle lined the upper trail with its tubular flowers.  Susan got excited to see the flowers, saying "It's like an English garden in here!"





The farthest pool on the trail is two miles from the trail head and requires walking down a grade to the creek, dodging shin daggers that poked my legs bloody.  There was enough water here.  We had lunch at the pool, then lay in the 'bathtub rock that Ellen showed us.  Little tadpoles near the bottom were probably quite surprised to have their home disturbed by humans.  Susan was having fun in the water; it was nice to see her open up and relax.  She's a nature lover and I really like that in her.

We now were on our return walk, using the rocky creekbed to get back to our cars.  We stayed in the creekbed for as long as we could before getting back on the trail to avoid a big drop, got back on the creekbed and stayed there until the creek took a turn north away from the trail.  We got back on the trail one last time right before the barbed wire.

Clouds had been forming most of the morning and early afternoon, and this unexpected cloudcover made the heat more bearable.  We didn't feel the full impact of the heat until that last final mile, over the hot sand.  The heat was radiating off the rocks as well.  This hike would have been too much for any of the dogs.  Susan and I were glad we didn't have to worry about them on this hike.

We had hiked 4.3 miles in 3:5 hours.  We were all tired now, but glad we came afterall.  The Dragoons are a beautiful place, but they are best enjoyed in cooler, overcast weather when snakes aren't such a problem.  Susan wants to go back this winter and explore some hidden passes up the rocks.

Susan and I got together one last tine at 5:30 to walk the dogs for 1.25 miles along the river, up and down a stretch near the famed bed and breakfast.  This way all the dogs, including Sadie (!) got at least that much in exercise for the day.  They all enjoy the water

***

Global cases: 20,026,594
Global deaths: 735,822
US cases: 5,192,572 (+44,249)
US deaths: 165,545 (+594)
AZ cases: 186,923 (+816)
AZ deaths: 4150 (+13)
IN cases: 74,328 (+1041)
 IN deaths: 3041 (+5)

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Back to Garden Canyon, doggoneit!

Today was a repeat of Tuesday's hike, but today we had more dogs than people show up.  Hikers were Holly, Bonny, SteveT, Susan and me and our dogs.  I brought Zeke and the pups again.   We started at 6:45am
The pups are getting more relaxed about riding in the car.  They hop in and sit in the back and do not rush out the door as soon as I open it.  They listen to my "Stay!"  Today Hansel was very attentive.  Gretel was a bit more stubborn.  Both ran for most of the walk and never showed any exhaustion.
We met at 6:45am and walked the 5.5 miles.  While the dogs were a bit unruly that first half mile, they calmed down faster than last time.  I'm assuming it was because the dogs knew each other.  Bonny brought her dogs Jake and Conan, an English Retriever and a Boston terrier.  Both were on leash for most of the time and were the curiosos of the other dogs.
Lots of butterflies today on the thistle and basketflowers.  I even spotted an Agave Snout weevil feeding off a prickly pear.  Those beetles can decimate a cactus in one season.
We stopped less and walked more, finishing the course in just over three hours.  I'm really starting to like walking this course because of the early morning shade and water for the dogs.  Today we never encountered another car or hiker.  I just wish it didn't take me 45 minutes to get to the trailhead.
The intense rain that was forecasted to come in the evening never happened.




***
Global cases: 19,290,496
Global deaths: 720,551
US cases: 5,032,130 (+56,434)
US deaths: 162,804 (+1162)
AZ cases: 183,647 (+1444)
AZ deaths: 4002 (+70)