It was the perfect day to bag Carr for the month. Wind was calm all day and the high was in the low 50s near the peak in mid-afternoon.
I expected to be very sore after yesterday's long, strenuous hike, but when I got up to get my coffee in the morning, I felt fine. Even my back had recovered. That's when I knew I could bag the mountain in the afternoon and take Hansel and Sweetie.
I wanted to give Zeke a rest after yesterday's hike. While he wanted to go with us today, I saw how exhausted he got during the hike. His passion is still there, but his body is slowly aging. It's time to give Zeke more rest and open up opportunities for other dogs.
I decided to chance it with Sweetie. This was her first time up Carr Peak and she did better than expected. I was nervous taking her: would she run off, harass other dogs, or fight with Hansel? I wouldn't know without giving her a try.
Sweetie and Hansel did briefly fight in the back of the car as I was driving up Carr Canyon Road. When Sweetie fights, she goes all out and the last thing I wanted was two dogs fighting in my car.
"Stop that right now or I'm turning this car around!" I yelled at them both. I meant it, too. They both calmed down right away. They don't like it when I yell.
I drove up to the Sawmill trailhead and faced three cars with out-of-state plates that were making the parking area their personal campground. Two cars were from California, the third, on the other side of the lot, from Oregon and the driver was sunning herself in a camp chair facing the east. I was a bit annoyed but didn't say anything, and that was for the better as both dogs jumped out of the car and ran up to the people.
It was 57F at the trailhead with calm winds and near-clear sky. I took off at 1:30pm.
I never put either dog on leash although I had two in my backpack. I watched both dogs the entire hike, especially Sweetie who ran all over the place exploring in that first mile. I stopped a few times to call her and wait for her, wondering if I was going to have to stop and wait for the entire hike. She did calm down once we got on the main trail and then always stayed within eyesight.
The mountain was full of people, both in the lower picnic areas and near the trails. I made way three times for couples, going off trail with the dogs so that they wouldn't feel intimidated. Both dogs came right to me and the only time Hansel got goofy was when we passed another young dog who was excited to see Hansel. Once I passed the father-son-dog trio, I had the whole trail to myself.
I timed the hike well. There are always fewer people on the trail in the afternoon, but the other thing I liked was the cooling shade for the dogs. Hansel wore a bright yellow reflective vest I put on him to keep his back cool The sun was already low when I started, but it got lower within the hour so that the only sun was at the top, and by then it was in the low 50s.
Sweetie took her new experience in very well. She looked in awe of everything, as if she were seeing the world from this high up for the first time. She also got along with Hansel, even when he snapped at her when he walked out of the woods with a deer leg in his mouth that he wasn't about to share with her.
I noticed ice crystals on the northern slopes above 8000'. There was no snow or moisture anywhere else, though.
We got to the peak in 1:47 hours, which was pretty good considering I stopped once for water. I fed each dog a pouch of wet food as we sat by the shrubs and then discovered that the ladybugs were still there! They came out of the crevices in the rocks at the peak, using the warmth the rocks emit as shelter. I have never seen ladybugs on our peaks this early in the year.
I didn't stay long on the peak. It was 3:48pm when we resumed our return hike. We got back to the car after 5pm. The out-of-staters were gone, too.
I fed Hansel a can of Pedegree but didn't have a second can for Sweetie like I thought. She looked hurt and I felt bad, so I stopped at the Speedway gas station to get us all one hotdog as reward. Sweetie ate hers up right away.
While the hike didn't offer any color in flowers or new growth, I am very pleased with how both dogs behaved. Hansel behaves better when he is around an older dog. He'd be all over the trail if I had brought Gretel.
We are now expecting rain in the Tucson area starting Tuesday night and lasting into next weekend. I hope we get at least rain from this winterstorm that is expected to drop a half foot of snow in the South Plains, as our land is parched. Evergreens are dropping leaves to save themselves. I opted to bag Carr this weekend so that I wouldn't need to hike in the snow, and I hope we do get snow in the mountains.
https://weather.com/news/weather/video/here-are-four-things-were-watching-in-the-weather-this-week
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