Colder weather was forecasted to move in Sunday and bring with it cooler temperatures. The Pacific Northwest got its first snow in the mountains on Saturday. Hurricane Rosyln moving up the Mexican Pacific coast brought rain to Texas and overcast skies for us. Morning temperatures both days were in the low 40s.
Despite the ideal hiking conditions, I stayed reclusive. I just wanted to sleep in and tidy up around the yard and spend time with the dogs.
Wolfie is coming around. He walks well on leash but he still can't grasp commands. When he's by himself and without Gretchen to distract him, he is responsive and gentle. He's still very reactive to other dogs. His facial scars haven't healed at all, either.
I took the current four-pack: Hansel, Gretchen, Wolfie and Sweetie on short walks both days. These are three-mile walks that Sweetie can handle. On Saturday I took them to the Lehrer Kill site trail head to walk the river (2 miles r/t). This path is seldom used by hikers, although I saw Bob the Rancher riding his horse from a distance. Weather was mild that afternoon, but winds were picking up as I headed back home in the late afternoon.
The trees along the river shielded us from the wind. I didn't feel the gusts until on my way home, when a downed power line off Hereford Road closed off traffic in both directions and I had to divert around residential streets. The downed power line caused loss of electricity to people in the area, but I didn't realize that since I'm on solar power exclusively.
The winds ended up raging for ten straight hours. We never got a wind advisory. The storm had moved in a whole day earlier. The winds kept the backyard dogs quiet for the night. I had Hansel and Sweetie napping in the truck, with Gretchen and Wolfie with me in the RV. The RV rocked all night long and kept me awake.
Things calmed down Sunday morning. I slept in and missed the sunrise. Skies were cloudy. Wolfie, Gretchen and Hansel walked at once (!!!) with not too much fuss, but instead of heading out to Tucson to photograph some murals, I stayed local to save time and money. I missed out on a perfect hiking opportunity to see leaves changing around Mount Lemmon, judging by many photos I saw on Facebook by fellow hikers.
I love cool, cloudy weather. Sunday afternoon I took the four-pack down to the river again, this time behind the abandoned Palominas Trading Post (now closed since 2005) to walk down to the former LDS Boy's campsite. This was a hike I had to abandon a month ago due to heavy flooding and standing mud that closed off the trail.
The flood waters are gone and the mud has dried up, leaving deep vehicle ruts in the path. The campsite is long overgrown, but its presence still remains. The campsite was most likely abandoned after recurrent and damaging flood waters over the years, that made repairs cost-prohibitive. A picnic are, several tables, a basketball hoop and old utility boxes still stand.
Evidence of foot prints along the water line were clear when I took the dogs down to cool off. The dogs were oblivious to any human presence and sprinted on ahead. I kept vigilance and carefully proceeded on my walk, getting away from the river and back on the open path that creates a triangular path of three miles.
It's a quiet walk, but the sense of abandonment is strong in me when I walk along this stretch of the river. Downed trees, overgrown and dead grass, weather-worn foundations and rusty mining equipment dot the landscape. It's also a popular route for migrants, as is evident in the many tossed water bottles along the route. The only migrants I saw today were the raptors above, as hawks screeched and flew in circles looking for a meal.
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