Weather was forecasted to be partly cloudy and in the low 70s in the valley. It was in the 50s and breezy and sunny for our hike. The clouds didn't materialize until we were on our descent. The sky was mostly cloudy once we were back at the Honda. I never took off my blue rain jacket that I kept on for warmth.
My biggest concern on this month's peak hike was how dry the flora is. Even driving up Carr Canyon one sees the yellow leaves of the roadside oaks. Even the moss near the upper springs has died back. There is no water in Carr Creek, which means that all other water sources going up the canyon would be no different. Even the springs in Old Sawmill trail was low.
The lack of any water means few wildflowers. While pink penstemons are now in bloom in my neighborhood, there were none in bloom along the trail. The only flowers we saw were the alpine yellow flowers above 9000'. The trees and bramble are budding. The common white stalk flowers that bloom in late summer and are a favorite among the bees are also just now emerging, much to the delight of the local deer. In fact, the lack of any water along the trail resulted in the wildlife foraging for roots to eat, as was indicative of the many hoof marks we saw on and off the trail. The terrain looked like it had been plowed over all around us as the wildlife desperately looks for things to give them some water.
What I called "dry" Susan called "bleak." There was no color anywhere unless one searched hard for it, as in the red buds of the Douglas firs near the peak, or the tiny yellow flowers on the peak. The sky was also full of dust. What made this hike enjoyable despite all this was the cool temperature. April is when the dry heat and high winds and we got a reprieve of both this weekend.
We do desperately need water, though. And lots of it. I don't want a fireseason like we had in 2011. There is no rain forecasted for the next ten days, either. Even the upper falls and the pools of water there were dry except for a small pool of stagnant water from which the dogs drank out of. The tree frogs that mate this time of year need water for the reproduction.
Susan noted the many blowdowns in the higher elevation. There was one new snag across the trail just before the spur trail to the peak. The lack of any color made the area of burned trees from the 2011 stand out.
At least the dogs behaved. We were just a mile into our hike when Gretel took off after a deer (?) and went missing for a few minutes. We both called for her and she did come back, panting and with her tongue flapping. Whatever she ran after had tired her out and she remained nearby for the rest of the hike. Zeke, as usual, stayed by my side the entire time.
It took us 1:50 hours to get to the peak. We made two stops for the dogs to relax and have water. They got more on the peak.
There was no wind near the peak as we had feared. We enjoyed the views, ate our lunch, fed the dogs (and they still wanted Susan's cheese bagel!) One delight I discovered while on the peak were the wild onions. The wild onions are now coming up. I dug one up to show Susan what the bulb of a wild onion looks like. I found many dead ladybugs around the one I did dig up. Did the ladybugs die from the cold, or did they live a natural life cycle under austere conditions?
Onionweed is an (ob)noxious weed that is best removed from yards. Onionweed, which grows in the neighborhoods, does not have a bulb as its root. In the fall the wild onions will bloom and emit their odor. For now, they just need water to thrive.
The only wildlife we encountered were ravens above, and a bluehued headed bird with an orange chest near the peak that seemed bothered by our presence.
We never came across another person. When we got back to the Honda three hours later, there was one black jeep next to me, but no sign of humans. This is very unusual for a Sunday.
https://tucson.com/news/local/wildflower-bloom-goes-bust-after-last-years-dry-weather-across-southern-arizona/article_710450de-9d7b-11eb-b169-f38edfef3e2b.html
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