Clark Springs trail at moon rise

What a fun way to end the school week.  I began the day with a pre-sunrise brisk walk with the pups, then at 4:30 met with six other Sierra Vista hikers at the Carr Canon road bridge to hike up to the Clark Springs trail spur ridge 1.7 miles up the road.  We were a group of seven people: HollyW, BonnieM, RobL, SteveT, CarolM and TheresaD.  Trace and Zeke were the two dogs.

I figured it would take us 45 minutes to hike the 1.7 miles, allowing for the slower hikers to not be rushed.  Moon rise was scheduled for 5:24pm (sunset was at 5:33pm) We only had one short break at the mile mark as we waited for Steve, and he wasn't that far behind anyway.  RobL opted then to fall back and give Steve some company.  He and I had been chatting walking uphill.  He came down from Alaska to tend to his ailing mother with Alzheimers. When Rob pulled back to be with Steve, Theresa, Holly, Carol and I were up front for the rest of the hike.

We had plenty of daylight on the hike to the spur ridge, sitting on rocks for about ten minutes waiting for the moon to come up from behind a hazy horizon.  It revealed itself in those ten minutes, with little drama. The moon didn't come to its peak until we were back on the Clark Springs trail heading back to the main road.  I didn't want to lead the group on this trail when it got past nautical dusk, as there are some slick and rutted sections just before one gets back on Carr canyon Road that can cause even the best-trained hiker to slip and fall.

I timed it well. It was officially dark when we were back on the main road.  People turned on flash lights but I kept mine off since the others' lights were bright enough for me and I wanted to conserve battery power on my phone as I was near  0%.  There were a few cars coming and going down the road, but all of them drove slowly past us.

We made it back to our cars in 1:53 hours.  Steve, Theresa, Holly and I then went to the Horned Toad for a few beers as we chatted by a fireplace.  Holly's husband joined us briefly.  We all left by 8pm when the music got loud and it was no longer enjoyable to chat.

***

Global cases: 45,982,369

Global death: 1,201,883

US cases: 9,317,994 (+108,321)

US deaths: 235,180 (+1031)

AZ cases: 244,045 (+1565) ranked #9; 2216 in Cochise County

AZ deaths: 5934 (+16); 75 in Cochise County

TX cases: 949,971 (+7406) ranked #1 in confirmed cases, ahead of CA, FL, NY and IL

TX deaths: 18,507 (+101)

Our first hard freeze

The cool breeze we had hiking the Bisbee Hills on Sunday stayed with us.  Monday was windy but still in the upper 60s, then the cold temperatures that have been ransacking the Rockie Mountain states pushed into southern Arizona overnight.  We had our first Hard Frost warning for Monday overnight.Yesterday's morning walk was a chilling 25F with Zeke and Sweetie.  The afternoon walk was  47F with the pups. Gretel is no longer barking at other dogs or people, but she still lunges at other dogs and moving vehicles. I walk at a brisk pace and the dogs don't seem to mind, but my face, ears and hands were cold 

 

Monday I covered my Iraqi acacia with a sheet to protect it from the chill.  I also bought birdseed for the birds that like to make my front yard their home.

It was nice to see the mountains shrouded in fog again.  I've missed that view.

Wednesdays are now my early release days.  Teachers can leave as early as noon if all required grades and quizes are completed and posted online.  I left at 12:30pm to get home, do some gardening, and then take the entire pack down to the river by 3pm.  All six dogs were eager to come on this river hike, as I expected, because Sadie and Minnie haven't hiked since last Wednesday when I walked down to the beaver dam with Susan and Allie.  

I like these river rambles, even now with most of the river dried up for long stretches. It's the only chance the dogs get to run off-leash. Today I was alone.  Susan had pulled a muscle doing some home repair a few days ago and opted not to come.  I'm OK by myself with six dogs, but the later in the day that I now go down to the river, the more chances I have of meeting wildlife.  Today it was just an owl and a great blue heron.  There were no cows or javelina. The water was, as expected, much colder than last week.

My only human encounter was near the end, when the pups and Sweetie ran ahead of me to great a dog who had just come down to the river.  They were not aggressive but I didn't appreciate none of the dogs coming back to me when I called them. I heard a female voice but never saw the person calling back her dog.

***

 Global cases: 44,388,837

Global deaths: 1,180,984

US cases: 9,039,121 (+75,118)

US deaths: 232,102 (+989)

France cases: 1,200,014 (+33,417)

France deaths 35,548 (+780)

AZ cases: 240,122 (+1158) 2193 in Cochise County

AZ deaths: 5906 (+16); 75 in Cochise County

IN cases 166,564 (+1963);14864 in Lake County

IN deaths: 4194 (+5`); 382 in Lake County

ND cases: 39,130 (+889)

ND deaths 476 (+15)

Bisbee Loop (and fall is finally here!)

The Bisbee Loop with TheresaD, SteveT and HollyW finally materialized today.  I planned to take Zeke and Hansel, so at sunrise I took Sweetie and Gretel and walked  the La Paloma loop around my hood, a rectangular course of two miles. This way I knew that they, too, got some exercise before taking Zeke and Hansel later.  Gretel did very well with just Sweetie. 

It was an invigorating start to the day.   It was 53F. This morning's sky was the first colorful sky in six weeks.  And there was a cool breeze, too.  What a difference from just yesterday!  The cirrus clouds at sunrise then stuck around all day.  Today's high in Bisbee only hit 73F; that's almost 20 degrees cooler from last week.

I had a slight obstacle while getting ready for the drive to Bisbee:  I couldn't find my car keys.  Have the pups taken my lanyard and dropped it off somewhere in the backyard?  Luckily Kevin lent me his huge truck, although both dogs felt uneasy riding in it.  The cab was full of work tools so Zeke wasn't very comfortable, and Hansel in the passenger seat lurched forward and hit his neck on the dashboard.  Luckily I had just started my drive and wasn't moving very fast

The four of us were on time, meeting in front of the Old Bisbee Brewing Company and took off before 9am.  The parking lot was surprisingly full already.  There was nothing going on in town that would have packed the lot. It was much less packed when we left Bisbee at 1:30pm.

The walk up Brewery Gulch was fun, as always.  I always like the artsy homes and decorated gardens.The dogs were on leash here, getting tangled up in each other's leashes, but once we were up in Zacatecas Canyon, all three dogs did very well off-leash.  

This was Hansel's first official group hike on his own and he did very well.  Yes, Trace taunted him at first, and there were a few snaps at each other at the start, but Hansel kept to the trail and didn't follow Trace off trail until we were near the ridgeline.  More importantly, he also didn't bark at other dogs or people on the trail. Zeke, my Old Faithful, kept to my side the entire time. 

Hansel did get a bloody cut on his rear right lower leg. I don't know how that happened, perhaps from stepping on a sharp rock.  It was superficial and didn't seem to cause him any pain once the blood dried. We only came across one other couple on this hike and they were hiking the loop in the opposite direction.

It's been a while since I did this loop.  The last time was in April 2019 when EricS led this.  The views all around are very pretty, with 6000' hills in all directions.  This was Theresa's first time doing this.  SteveT said he had done this before but didn't remember the walk up Zacatecas Canyon.  On a clear sky like last weekend, this could be a very uncomforable hike, but that breeze got gusty as we reached the ridgeline.  We took our hats off to avoid having them fly off.  That breeze stayed with us all throughout the hike, too.  

One new change today was a lock on a gate going up Zacatecas Canyon.  That was not here last year.  "Private Property" said the sign.  We crawled underneath it to continue our loop.  This land had always been open to hikers as long as hikers didn't trash or vandalize the land.

We took our time.  The 4.75 miles (normally it's 4.2 miles but hiking to the water tower adds another 0,5 miles) took us four hours.  The hillsides were dry.  There were no late-season wildflowers blooming anywhere.  Autumn colors are still not in their prime.  Most of the trees in these hills are emory oaks, agave and small shrubs, so shade is only in the canyon.

The brewery was open when we got back to our cars at 1:15pm.  Holly and Theresa agreed to stop by the brewery for a beer.  I had two pilsners and a bowl of their tasty vegan chili.  Everyone else had a bowl of chili, too. This proved to be an affordable meal, as there aren't that many restaurants open in Bisbee on Sundays with open-air dining. I was hungry by now, too. All three dogs seemed tired and rested by our table as we sat on the sundeck with a light mist blowing over us.

We all departed at 2pm. I got home by 3pm to a happy pack of dogs.  I ended up taking Gretel on a solo mile hike around the 'hood under a pretty sunset  and a very faint drizzle. We hadn't had any "chance of precipitation" since early September!  She did quite well by herself, looking up to me for approval.  I know I often have no patience for her behavior, but I know I need to give her as much time training as I do with Hansel.  

This last 1.15 miles makes my total mileage for today at  8.25 miles.  This cooler weather was invigorting, and more cooler weather is now forecasted for the rest of the week.  Colorado and Wyoming got snow today

Nina left Arizona on Thursday and should be arriving at her new West Virginia home tomorrow. It's a 2170 mile drive for her. She has been updating her Facebook page with photos of her cat and her at rest stops along the interstate. She will get to WV under cool, rainy skies tomorrow.  She wanted to take her time and stop along the way, but her husband Mark insisted on getting to WV as quickly as possible.   I hope she at least slows down when she reaches the Blue Ridge Parkway.

***

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/10/23/coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/

Global cases 43,335,576

Global deaths: 1,165,420

US cases: 8,890,695 (+65,720)

US deaths: 230,508 (+450)

France cases 1,138,507 (+51,985)

France deaths 34,761 (+112) Now ranked  #5 in world, after US, India, Brazil, Russia

AZ cases: 238,163 (+1391)

AZ deaths: 5874 (+5)

IN cases: 162,607 (+2153)

IN deaths: 4130  (+12)

TX cases: 913,494 (+4550)

TX deaths 18,066 (+40). TX is now ranked #1 for total confirmed cases, surpassing CA, FL and NY.

UT cases: 104,882 (+1765)

UT deaths 572 (+4)

Helldorado Days in Tombstone

I don't think I've ever been to Helldorado Days in Tombstone.  I tend to avoid these fake festivals in that town.  But today Susan invited me to ride with her in her 1978 Corvette.  Having never ridden in a car like that. I agreed to go with her with her Thunder Vette Set club, ride to Tombstone and take part in the parade.

I began the day early and made two two-mile loops around the neighborhood with first the pups and then Sweetie and Zeke.  It was a crisp morning with temperatures in the low 60s.  (The sun now rises at 6:27am and sets at 5:44pm and that means most of my morning walks are in the dark.) I noticed a haze over the mountains once the sun was up.  Was that from the new wildfires near Prescott, Cochise, or even Estes Park, CO where the state's largest fire is now burning?  The haze lasted all day.

These Corvette owners are a devoted group. The club met at 8:45am in the Hobby Lobby parking lot, drove via a 12-car convoy to Tombstone.  The colorful line of Corvettes sailing over the hills and around the road's curves was fascinating to watch, like a centipede crawling on the ground.   Once in town, members dusted off their cars and then stood around until the 11:30am parade.  This is my second event with the club and the members are nice, but, like Susan, I'm too restless to just stand around for two hours I need to move around and explore.

I'm not good with small talk as I am not a car aficionada. I gladly joined Susan for a walk. We walked around old town and the waiting audience in that meantime, where I took some of my best photographs.    I'd rather walk around and explore!  We walked to the brewery and back, tracking 1.8 miles by the time we were back with the group.  We found a pretty English rose garden and a quirky yard decorated with orange pumpkins among all the other flora.  Even the home owner was dressed in orange pumpkin pants when she came toward us to chat.

Tombstone depends on tourism to survive. People come to Tombstone to relive the "wild West" days, dressing up in 1880 regalia.  Men wear their black and white ensemble and women dress up as colorful prostitutes in push-up bras and open cleavage. These festivals bring out the creativity.  Some people really get into the spirit.  My only complaint is that the parade was politicized by Trump flags and cut-outs by many of the people in the audience.

The car club was lined up early for the parade.  By the time we got going, it was close to 11:30am.  Susan gave me a bag of M&Ms to toss out to the kids in the audience.  I knew that one bag would not be enough.  There were a lot of kids waiting for candy to be thrown at them

The candy throwing turned out to be the best part of the parade.  I saw lots of boys up front, hoping that being closer to us passing cars meant getting more candy.  The younger kids and many girls were cut off by these greedy boys.  I hate seeing kids bully each other like that, and the young ones alraways get cut out.  I saw many disappointed faces as we slowly drove down the main road.  I told Susan the next time I get invited, I will make sure I have lots more bags of candy.  Throwing out candy to kids is more fun than having Trick-or-Treaters come by my door.  I may even pass out candy to little kids before the parade, so that the smaller kids get their share of the sweets as well.

In three minutes, we were done driving down main street.  All the car club members then drove back to Sierra Vista.  It was all done too soon.

Susan and I agreed to meet again at 3pm to walk the dogs down the river.  I only took Minnie and the pups.  There were too many cars parked at the casa, so we drove back to the Hereford Bridge to walk our four dogs south to the beaver dam.  Minnie was walking very stiffly but enjoyed her dips in the deeper sections.  We let the dogs romp around in the old beaver dam before walking back the way we came.

We spotted a cow and a calf on our return walk.  I leashed up the pups but they wanted to chase the cows, pulling me so strongly that I tripped and fell on the rocks, hitting my head behind my right ear against the rocks.  That momentarily knocked me out as I lay on the dry creek bed, with me waking up a few seconds later looking close-up to rocks.  That fall hurt and gave me an instant headache, but there were no lacerations.  I do have a bruise behind my right ear.

The pups were oblivious to what they had caused, running back to us when the cows ran off.  My head hurt the rest of the day, though.

I'm going to have to spend more time with more leash training, taking the pups separately as together they are pure hellions.

***

Global cases: 40,367,196

Global deaths: 1,125,516

US cases 8,387,454 (+44,948)

US deaths: 224,733 (+452)

AZ cases: 231,149 (+742)

AZ deaths: 5827 (+3)

TN cases: 228,74 (+2605)

TN deaths: 2909 (+6)

Bisbee walk about

I didn't really have anything planned for today, but then Theresa called me at 8:45am and wanted to know if I had any hikes planned for next weekend.  I hadn't seen or heard from her since our April Full moon hike!  She told me her story of why she has been so silent.  Her husband died last December, and even though he had health issues, he wasn't deadly ill.  His death was a surprise.  But then she tells me she had five more relatives die this year and two of them were from covid.  Her sister and a nephew succumbed to the disease.

So, to check out a potential route through Bisbee for next Sunday that a casual walker could enjoy, I took off at 11am with Zeke and the black nylon collar Susan had found.  I dropped that collar with license tag at the Bisbee Animal shelter and then drove into Old Bisbee to walk around some fall foliage.  I always enjoy having an excuse to come to Bisbee.

I had a hard time finding a parking space as there were many people in town enjoying the outside dining.  They were all masked, too! I finally found a spot in front of St Elmo's bar, and locals told me that spot is notorious for side swipes in the evening as drunks have a hard time negotiating the tight curve around the parking lot. 

As for fall foliage, there was none.  I'll have to wait another month, it seems. I also didn't see too many presidential campaign signs.  Bisbee is a Democratic island in a state of gun-toting Republicans, but I didn't see nearly as many Biden-Harris signs as I saw "Feel the Bern" signs for Sen. Bernie Sanders back in 2016.

It was already 85F when I started at 11am.  Zeke got warm fast.  The high sun didn't allow for much shade, so I opted to stay in narrow streets covered by tall buildings and streets shaded by trees. I started in Brewery Gulch. I walked on less-popular streets, going to the Buddhist shrine and other back alleys.  I always enjoy finding new things to photograph.  The cool mural of the smoking Santa that was on the graffiti wall had been painted over, so that was a bummer. Bisbee is a fun town to explore, but not in this heat!

Even I suffered from the heat.  I took a break for a tasty lunch at Thuy's Noodle Shop which has relocated to across the Iron Man statue.  I ordered a delicious bowl of curry chicken and let Zeke rest in the shade. That portion of curry chicken was large enough to feed two people.  When I continued my walk it had reached 90F.  This was too hot for enjoyment and I cut the walk short, heading back to the Honda to drive back home.  I checked into the Old Bisbee Brewery but there were no special beers featured, so I left.

Halloween falls on a Saturday this month AND on a full moon.  I'll head out to Bisbee then.  No town does Halloween as crazily as Bisbee.

***

Global cases: 39,981,226

Global deaths: 1,120,917

US cases: 8,342,616 (+55,543)

US deaths 224,282 (+658); CDC predicts 240,000 deaths by Nov 7.

France cases: 867,197 (+32,427); ranked #9 in world

France deaths: 33,303

AZ cases: 230,407 (+921) 2030 in Cochise County

AZ deaths: 5824 (+18)

CO cases: 84,369 (+1139)

CO deaths: 2176 (+4) 

Back to work

 I went back to work today, assisting in the JROTC department for what may be the rest of the semester.  I had enjoyed my time off and had to readjust my attitude.  I enjoyed the sunrise hikes with the dogs without feeling pressured for time.

After school I met Susan at 4pm and walked the river north from the casa, turning around at the mile mark.  It was the first time Sadie and Minnie had been at the river since Sunday and they were excited to go.  Sadie came along, but she was walking slowly and at times weakly.  Both Minnie and Sadie slow us down.  The 5:40pm sunset now means we can't take too much time anymore before it gets dark.

Susan invited me to her place to pick up some dog food that may help Hansel's constant itching.  It's a five-pound bag of Caninadae I don't think I've ever bought before.  My short visit ended up lasting several hours and two gin and tonics later.

The dogs always enjoy visiting Susan.  Allie is such a tolerant host.  But Sadie started acting restless again, walking in the garden along the perimeter.  Her dementia doesn't appear every day, but tonight it was obvious.  She couldn't settle down.  She finally settled down when I got home at 9pm.

"I hope she lasts another year" I told Susan.

"I don't think she will last a year.  I think it's more months now" replied Susan. Sadie has lost a lot of muscle mass.  She had always been on the thin side, but now her hips and hind legs look like sticks.  Her fur also looks dull and is still shedding.  She looks her age.

Farewell hike with Nina in Madera Canyon

Nina and her husband Mark are moving to West Virginia next week.  Today was the last and only good day I could get a group of friends together to meet up with her one last time before she moves on to greener (and wetter!) pastures.  The only viable hike that was nearby was the Nature Trail in Madera Canyon, where oak and pine trees shade most of the walk.  Steve and Holly had never been here so the trail was new to half the group.

The expected high in Tucson was 100F so we had to start early.  For me that meant getting up at 5am, leave the house at 6:15am to pick up Holly in town and SteveT in Whetstone.  Dogs Trace and Zeke came along and sat with Holly.  Zeke's getting impatient with other dogs invading his pace and sat in the rear of the vehicle, behind the rear seat that Holly was using.  Trace sat next to Holly on a reclined seat.  We had a lively conversation all the way to Madera Canyon.

I was 15 minutes late.  I miscalculated the driving time and then drove past the trailhead parking.  We agreed to meet at the Whitehouse picnic area, but it's not marked as such via any of the signs.  It's marked as the "Nature trail parking area"  Our 8am meetup became an 8:30am meetup at 74F.  It was a cool, shaded start with few people on the trail.  There was also no water in the creek and what water there was was muddy and stinky, just the kind that Trace likes to romp in.

⁸

I like this trail.  There's a lot of history and natural beauty along the way.  The last time Nina and I did this trail, we started at the Proctor parking area, 0.75 miles farther south.  This party is more exposed, but when there is water running, the lower water fall is worth stopping at.

We walked at a slow to moderate pace, stopping often to drink water and take pictures.  We had the dogs on leashes for most of this hike as rangers do patrol the trails and parking lots quite often to ensure people are following the rules.  I noticed that more than half of the vehicles were not displaying their park pass or day use fee tag.  

The sycamores here are already changing colors, from green to a dull brown.  There wasn't much as in fall colors, but just being together and chatting was enjoyable.

It took us two hours to get to the Madera picnic area, the highest parking lot in the canyon and the trailhead parking lot to Mount Wrightson. We rested here at a shaded picnic table, ate snacks and gave the tired dogs water.  We could now feel the heat.  The sun was now higher up and thus shining on parts of the trail that were shaded in the morning sun.  Cars were now coming up the canyon and filling up the parking areas.

We walked on the road from parking lot A to parking lot B to resume the trail, cutting out an uphill return hike in the exposed sun.  The road has no shoulder, though, and I don't like walking on roads that force drivers to slow down unnecessarily.

The hike took us over four hours for the 4.87 miles we tracked.  I was now very hungry and thirsty.  I hadn't brought any snacks to save my appetite for our farewell lunch at Nina's favorite restaurant in Sahuarity, Pub1922, named so for its 19 varied bottled beers and 22 beers on tap.

 

Garden Canyon

Today was my last chance to walk with the hiking group up Garden Canyon (I go back to school on Thursday), but I didn't get there until 8am. I wanted to take one of my pups, but the pups are inseparable and I didn't want to terrorize others with my two dogs.  So I just brought Zeke and drove 1.2 mile past the last parking area and parked on the road.  I knew I'd be catching the group on their way back down, so this way I was cutting out 2.4 miles and walking back with them.

The colors haven't hit their peak yet.  Even when I was out of the shade and in the sun, the reds and yellows didn't pop.  The sycamores are going from green to brown (no vibrant orange).  Some monsoonal rains would have helped with a more dramatic color change, but we are in a La Nina year and that means dryer and hotter.

The creek along the side of the road is also drying up, but the lower water level allowed me to walk down to a few watering holes that a few months ago were overflowing.  There were a few monkey flowers still in bloom but there were no masses of flowers as I saw two months ago.  I spent some time here since the others in the group had already left and I had no one waiting on me.  The canyon was otherwise quiet.  No hikers around me. I walked 3.17 miles when I got back to my Honda. 

I walked the pups seperately just before sunset, and totaled over 5 miles walking today. 

My covid test result came back today: I am negative.  I kinda figured that since I had no trouble with deep breathing while hiking up Carr Peak last Saturday.  Being unable to breathe deeply is one common sympton of covid19.

***

CNN is reporting a global surge in covid again.  Here we go for round two...

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/13/health/us-coronavirus-tuesday/index.html

Global cases: 38,399,140

Global deaths: 1,096,959

US cases: 8,090,203 (+50,644)

US deaths: 220,873 (+776)

AZ cases 226,734 (+684) 1984 in Cochise County (+19)

AZ deaths 5767 (+8)

MT cases 19,611 (+486)

MT deaths 217 (+5)

I spotted Willie!

Willie is a former foster kitten from the Bisbee Animal Shelter that I was tending to with two other kittens from another litter in late 2011.  He's a pretty grey-white tabby with a white chest and paws. Willie never was tamed, and feared the dogs, but I was able to get him neutered and vaccinated against rabies.  One day, in early 2012,  he got out of the house and never returned until two years later when I saw him sauntering in my neighbor's yard.  He comes for food and water and I don't normally see him in the summer months (perhaps because there are plenty of desert packrats and cottontails to hunt)

I last saw him the weekend I drove off to El Paso for the long President's Day weekend last February.  That was nine months ago.  I normally spot him every few weeks in the yard mewing for food.  He has a soft mew, unlike Bobby's deeper mau.  I had placed some food for him before I drove off to Indiana in June, but feared he had passed on because the Gambel's Quail are back in our front yard and hadn't left any food for him since.

I spotted him again today after all these months.  I heard him faintly mew from under the juniper shrubs that I was watering.  This is the second Sunday in the row i spent watering my front yard, to keep my drought-resistant shrubs from dying.  He kept answering me when I called out "Willie!" but he never came to view until I saw him jump out from under the juniper to escape the sprinkle.  He marked his scent on our mail box post and then ran into the noman's land between two homes across the street.

I'm always so happy to see my Willie.  I always feel like I failed him, but his presence still reassures me that he trusts me enough to take care of him.  I will do that for as long as I know he's still alive.  He's nine years old, outliving my Pache.

***

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-weather/2020/10/11/arizonas-monsoon-season-driest-record/5930457002/?fbclid=IwAR3DAnhJUyDbTb3bZKTvxyzVndev076FaMGc05TNUozVTtFlXh38EtJJvW4

Global cases: 37,994,177

Global deaths: 1,090,516

US cases: 8,029,945 (+38,925)

US deaths: 219,981 (+286)

AZ cases: 226,050 (+475) 1965 in Cochise County

AZ deaths: 5,759; 73 in Cochise County

IN cases: 136,555 (+1574)

IN deaths: 3,795 (+6)

UT cases: 86,832 (+ 988)

UT deaths: 522 (+5)

Carr Peak with Zeke and seven others

I finally made it up the peak again, via a group hike I led with HollyW.  We advertised this as an aspen hike which attracted some new people to the SV Hikers

We met at 7am in the Lower Carr Canyon parking lot.  We were a total of eight: HollyW, Bonnie, Lucy, Carol, Rob, Karen, Chuck and I and we carpooled in three vehicles.  We got to the Old Sawmill trailhead at 7:40am and took off in a cool breeze.  It was 54F and I feared it would get colder as we ascended, but I never had to put on my sweatshirt. It turned out to be a good day to hike the peak although the fall colors peaked last week when it was much hotter.

We quickly broke into two groups, with Rob, Karen, Chuck and I up front and Holly and the other gals in the rear.  Holly said she would take care of the rear and ended up doing a great job, allowing me to focus on the faster group.  That really helped, as fast hikers shouldn't have to wait for slow hikers and slow hikers shouldn't feel like they are holding everyone else up.

The first thing I noticed was how dry the flora was.  All the flowers from two months ago were now dead, and what few remained were wilting.  Normally October  is the last good month for autumn flowers, but our drought has changed everything.  Even the common mullen, which by now would be stalked with tall white flowers, had wilted before flowering. The red salvia was dry.  I saw pine trees with brown needles, oak trees whose leaves went from green to brown.  The colors were not spectacular.  Only the Arizona ash trees were still a bright yellow. The mountainside is starting to look like it did in 2011, before our big wildfire.  It's scary.

I ended up walking by myself with Zeke.  I kept my distance just to reassure others. One group of three women put their face masks on as I walked by. The only time it was difficult was on Carr Peak.   There were seven people already at the peak, then us eight arrived.  When we left 30 minutes later, two more groups arrived.  The trail was a super highway today, and the Old Sawmill trailhead parking lot was crowded when we got back to our cars by noon.

 I ate half of a chicken parmesan sandwhich and gave Zeke two inches of it (he wanted more than just the chicken jerky I got him).  I had to tie him to a shrub so that he would stop annoying Karen with those sad, begging eyes.  She was eating some duck meat and he wanted it.

The wind was at its fiercest as we got on the Carr Peak spur trail, but the actual peak was mostly calm.  Others were wrapped in jackets but I only wore my fishing shirt.  I took my hat off to avoid losing it in the wind.

Carr Canyon Road was just as busy as the trail.  Peole were starting a hike after noon. I drove behind Rob who also had Karen and Chuck in it, and then Chuck, Rob and I each drank a Kiltlifter in the parking lot before departing.  I ended up waiting for Holly and her group to arrive before leaving at 1:30pm.

I finished the day with a 4pm river walk with Susan, this time leaving Sadie at home.  She needed a break after two days of two miles each day.

***

Global cases 37,510,969

Global deaths 1,083,995

US cases 7,945,461 (+50,631)

US deaths 219,282 (+637)

India cases 7,053,459 (+74,535) India is now in second place and gaining fast on the US

India death 108,378 (+921)

AZ cases 224,978 (+894)

AZ deaths (+13)

WI cases 147,560 (+2742)

WI deaths 1458 (+18)