Brown Canyon loop

Bill and I had originally planned on hiking to Shady Glenn this morning.  I didn't tell him about my broken wrist because I wanted to see if the cast would be a burden for me. I had to have Bill tie the laces on my trail shoes.  I guess my next purchase will be a pair of slip-on walking shoes!

We gathered at 6am in the Ramsey Cyn Rd  parking lot.  I brought Gretel but she was initially uneasy meeting Bill.  She warmed up to him and there were no other issues.  She walked well on leash.

By the first mile, however, I knew I wasn't going to make the full 8.5-mile hike.  My arm was throbbing under the cast from the exertion.  We rested at the water trough at the 3-mile mark and decided to just do the loop instead.  I was grateful for Bill for being understanding.  

I was able to maintain a steady pace, although by no means a power speed.  I took only four photos. We were back in the parking lot just before 8am and by then the lot was full By then it had gotten warm as well. 

***

An old army supervisor and friend died yesterday.  Her son Nic posted the news on his Facebook page. This is the fourth death of someone I know this year: my stepdad Tom, neignbor Stephen, hiking friend Paul, and now Edna.  Edna F and I hung out quite a bit in the early 1990s as Nic is only a year older than Erin. and those two got along well.   We took a weekend trip togethd Tom, er to DC. with the kids.

I had no idea she was deathly ill as she didn't post much, and we weren't very close once she left the army in the early 1990s.  In fact, she seemed totally disinterested in keeping in touch with me or other army friends once she left the service.  I only heard from her when she promoted fundraisers for her son's private art school.  She had moved to Fort Collins, then to Florida and stayed for a while in her home state of California.

She was the first person to tell me she noticed my mood would change whenever my then-husband Tim would come home.  I always tensed up in his presence. He was always verbally abusive toward me, especially when other people were around. A few years later we were divorced.

I ran into Edna about ten years ago in the town library.  She had moved back to the area to teach strategic debriefing on post. I was still working on my teaching certificate and taking courses at the community college.  I asked if I could join her at her table and chat.  She was ok with that, but she seemed reserved. We didn't have much to say to each other.  She had gained a lot of weight in the 30 years since we last saw each other.

That was the last time we saw each other.

Edna was on my mind all day. She was only 69 years old.

She struggled as a single parent and sacrificed a lot for Nic.  He graduated from a private acting school in Los Angeles where he lives now, doing small acting jobs and producing YouTube content on gourmet cooking, although he doesnt seem to be too active with that.

Bad dog!

 I walk the front yard dogs every morning before school.  Now that it's lighter and warmer earlier, I walk the dogs a mile each.  This morning I started with Gretchen, then took Fritz.  Fritz is a known puller.

We were finishing the mile loop when we came across another dog walker, standing by the water tank that was leaking water.  She was stopped to call in the leak as I came around the corner with Fritz.  Fritz lunged at the other dog, taking me down and forcing me on my left side.  I landed on my left arm and it was hurting.

"Are you ok?" the woman asked. I wanted to scream  "what the fuck does it look like?!" as it took me a while to get up. My wrist was swollen and hurting.  It was not the woman's fault or even her dog's fault.  It was Fritz who did the lunging.

I made it back to the RV but was in too much pain to walk Gretel. It was 5:30am and I knew I had to check my arm out.  I drove to the ER where it took me under two hours to be seen.  Luckily there were no screaming kids and their irate mothers as they always expect to be seen first.  I saw 12 names on the roster, all listed by initials, and I was one of two falls.  One was a 52-yo possible overdose. Four patients had been there over ten hours. I feared I'd be kept waiting and in pain,

I got good treatment.  I was already in the system so I didn't get a bill when I left.  My BP was 154/88.  My wrist was Xrayed within the hour.  Diagnosis: distal radius fracture.  The ER doctor was a youngish athletic woman, too, Dr Autumn Ray, who looked liked a distance runner. All the doctor could do was set the bone for me.  She recommended I see a specialist in Tucson as all she could do was set the fracture.

I was discharged with one Percocet and made it to the high school just before second hour. My supervisor didn't even know I wasn't in yet (she hadn't seen my texts or heard my voice mail) but luckily the work load was easy today.

I got the expected "What happened to your arm?" response.  My answer:  "I got in a fight with my dog.  You should see my dog!"

My arm was throbbing by the time I left the school since I couldn't take my Percocet until I got home, but then I couldn't open the child-proof container with one arm.  My arm throbbed in pain all night.  

At least this accident happened at the end of the school year, but it looks like I'll be driving to Tucson for further treatment.  Hopefully TriCare won't give me any issues.

Bisbee 1000

Today was Bill and my 4th joint power walkin Bisbee.  I had no trouble waking up early to walk Gretchen and Fritz before driving with Gretel to Bisbee.

Again it was in the mid 50s during the walk.  I never took off my sweatshirt.  We both were in good shape today and walked a personal best!  Even my tracker app Strava congratulated me.  I didn't feel fast, and stopped a few times for Gretel.  I only took four photos, though, so perhaps that is were we gained some speed.

We both drove home right after the walk and spent the rest of the day with the dogs in the yard.  All of them were staying cool under the RV.

This is my last week of school before summer break.

Brown Canyon out-and-back

This was a last-minute hike I joined with the help of Susan, who reminded me of this event.  It was hosted by Craig from the local meetup group.  We were a group of 11 people and two dogs.  I took Gretel.

I like Brown Canyon, but the  trail has gotten badly eroded from mountain bikes. Not too many riders were out today, though.  Today's hike was out-and-back to the water trough, 5.6 miles.

I stayed with Susan, but also chatted with Janet, Laurie, Dennis and a few others.  By the end of the hike and in the parking lot, I realized that people are looking to me to host full moon hikes.  I guess that has become my niche.

 Gretel has become a good hiker but was a bit aggressive toward the other dog, Taffy, a Pomeranian mix.  Taffy had attacked Zeke a few years ago.  Bob the owner was apologetic.  I didn't want Gretel to harm her, either, so we kept our distance.  I kept her onleash for all but one mile. 

After the hike I went home to start sorting through the recycables for drive to Tucson.  Susan invited me to drop off Gretchen at her place, and once there, discovered that the Yelp event I had planned on attending was only until noon every day.  Well shoot.  Looks like my next chance will be next weekend. I have until May 31st to review a taqueria. I'll leave early and make it a day-long event.

I ended up staying at Susan's until just after 5pm, then drove with Gretchen to Bisbee to try out the Taqueria Outlaw restaurant on Main Street.  I got front door parking.  Gretchen stayed in the Honda, but kept her eyes on the front door.  It was a cool 65F when I left to drive back.

Our cloudy and rainy week has come to an end.  No more rain is forecasted for the next ten days.  The San Pedro river is running low.

A walk along the river; our first rain

I had a busy day planned.  Susan and I agreed to meet at 10:15am to walk from the Hereford Bridge south to the old log jam on the river, the pile of dead trees that for several years prevented steady river flow.  We wanted to see if that was still there after the Williams Fire from 3 April.

This meant I had to walk Gretchen beforehand for a few miles, so that she wouldn't be tied up all day and getting restless.  I was out the door with her at 6:15am and we walked west on Hereford Road and then north on Thorneydale Lane, a private dirt road that dead ends.  It wasn't a very scenic walk, but it was a new route to break the boredom.  Gretchen did well on leash.  I'm sensing she is slowly, very slowly, learning to relax more.

I took the other two current front yard dogs, Fritz and Gretel, with me on the river walk.  Those two dogs play so well together, and even Susan commented that she enjoys watching them have fun.  They ran off at times, but always came back, with Fritz coming back first all the time.

As expected, much of the pokey debris that once lined the banks is gone, making walking along the river's edge easier.  Lush, green herbaceous plants are coming back, though, creating a bright green carpet along the ground.

A few old cottonwoods, however, didn't make it.  One cottonwood along the Spring Creek wash was mostly burned, its lower branches charred but leaving parts of the canopy intact.  A few other trees remain like that.  Cottonwoods are soft wood trees that grow fast and burn fast, and are popular with birds of prey.  How many stories could these trees tell of all that has happened along the banks of the San Pedro River?!

We walked all the way down to the old beaver dam, explored the banks there,then walked up along the western banks, past the Boucher mansion.  Susan spotted a couple up ahead, so we leashed up Fritz and walked the rest of the way along the dirt road back to our cars.  We walked 2.55 miles in 1:36 hours.  Before the fire this always took over two hours because of heavy brush.

It was now high noon and 85F.  Gretel and Fritz were tired and I was hungry.  I stopped at the Dollar General store to get them some canned food.  I then drove into town to have lunch at Rodolfo's, forgetting that it was also Mother's Day and packed with overdressed church people.  I had a taco salad.

Clouds were now forming over the mountains.  The morning weather report forecasted a 22 percent chance of rain in the early afternoon.  With no clouds in the sky, I blew that prediction off, but now it was looking likely we were having rain.  

By early evening the clouds were looking menacing.  I was walking Gretchen at 6:30pm when I saw lightning over the Huachucas.  Then I heard thunder. I put all three dogs inside the RV as it began to rain by 7pm.  A few minutes later heavy drops fell. The wind picked up.  Soon thereafter we had a steady two-hour rain fall.  What a great way to end the weekend.  The wet ground and high humidity means we have a much lower chance of local wildfires for the next few days.  

 

Hunter Canyon ridgeline bushwhack

 I enjoy local hikes of llittle-used trails.  This hike included hiking up the ridgeline starting in Lower Hunter Canyon by the main parking area and ascending to the high point before descending to the pass and returning via the trail.  This hike was officially led by DougB of the hiking club

I was running late meeting the rest of the group and drove straight to the Hunter Canyon parking area where everyone else was already assembled:  DougB, SteveA, SteveS, JimA, RyanD, JohnS, Miles and An Ye.  I brought Gretel along and she did well, even when I took her off leash going up the ridgeline.

It was already warm at 6:30pm, starting at 61F. with sunny skies above.  We took off in the parking lot and walked the first half mile on the Perimeter Trail extension before cutting off from the trail and heading uphill.  JohnS elected to walk on the Perimeter trail a bit longer before bushwhacking to the high point.

Kevin and I had explored this ridgeline when we first got here, taking Sara and Sammy to the first hilltop before descending.  There was a lot of migrant trash then.  While we did see migrant trash today, most of it was sunbleached and weather-worn and not newly-discarded.  A faint footpath from the high point was our guide.

The terrain here is steep, loose, and full of animal holes and covered by tall grass.  I have to watch my step as I trip easily.  It's not my favorite hiking terrain, but the views today were worth it.  Gretel stayed by my side. SteveA dropped out near the top and opted to descend down to the trail.

We took a break at the high point at 6375'.  I ate a tamale and Gretel had her canned of chicken stew. https://www.strava.com/activities/9065408203

The walk back to the parking area was much faster once we hit the official Hunter Canyon trail.  We came upon SteveA and JohnS when we reached the intersection to Kelly Springs.  No one wanted to check out the Springs (there's a water trough on the way there that Gretel would have enjoyed), so we just charged on back to the parking area

The hike took us just under four hours.  I was thirsty, hungry and sweaty.  Doug, Ryan and SteveS agreed to have lunch at the PitStop, and I joined them.  I was last there for my birthday earlier this year and liked the meal.  I dropped Gretel off at home and joined them ten minutes later.  We were one of three tables inside.

I had a Mushroom Swisscheese burger with fries, the same meal I had last time.  The fries are now thicker and not quite as crispy (I like my fries crispy brown), but it was still a good meal.

I rested back at home for a few hours, then stopped by Susan's place with Gretchen by 4pm.  She needed a chance to run off leash without barriers.  It was 85F outside.

Gretchen seemed a bit unsure of where we were going.  I don't stop by Susan's as often as Allie is getting too old for the dogs to romp around.  When the two dogs met, Allie's haunches raised, but she soon remembered that Gretchen is a friend.  Gretchen wanted to play, but after a while was content just being close by her side.  The one dog she did play rough with is the Great Dane next door, Zeus.  

We ended up chatting until just before 11pm.

 

Bisbee 1000

Looks like these early Sunday walks are becoming a routine.I like early Sunday hikes but I hate getting up at 4:30am to walk Gretchen and Fritz before leaving for a few hours.

Today I went dogless.  This helped Bill and me to walk a fast 1:48 hours, even though I felt tired. I only went dogless because I didn't want to fight the dogs wanting to push out the front door.  Sahne would have enjoyed this walk, and I had initially hoped to take her.  But that was not to be.

The streets are barren so early in the morning.  It's odd to see Bisbee so quiet. We saw a few dog walkers, a few homeless people, but we didn't see the tourists until we drove off in our separate vehicles after 8am. There were signs in Brewery Gulch advertising "Hippie Hertitage Festival" for this weekend.  Sunday's activities didn't begin until noon, though, and perhaps the town was still hung over from Saturday's musical events.

I never took my yellow sweater off on today's walk, even after the sun came up over the Mule mountains.  It was 60F when we finished, but I felt a chill the entire time.  My backpack was leaking water and the dampness didn't help against my back.  Next time I'll leave the pack in the truck as I never needed water.

I know the route of the Bisbee 1000 by heart, but twice we almost walked past our stairs because we were deep in conversation.  "I can't walk and talk at the same time!" I apologized to Bill.

We noticed many signs all throughout town of Sparky the Javelina, warning about keeping one's property fire safe.  These signs weren't up two weeks ago.

I had a breakfast of biscuits and gravy at the Mornings Cafe in Warren after the walk, away from the touristy Old Bisbee.  I got top-notch service and was seated at a booth, even though I would have been quite fine sitting at the counter. I don't like taking up an entire table for myself when others are waiting.

Everyone always raves about the Bisbee Breakfast Club, which is good, but there is always a waiting list and the prices are higher.    This smaller Mornings Cafe is a cute little diner popular with the locals.  I still have so many local taquerias, cafes and diners to try out locally.  Today's breakfast gets a B+.

I witnessed a group of six or more USBP, SVPD and Cochise County deputies parked off Hereford Road on my drive home.  Looks like they were looking for an escaped illegal border crosser.  Such is life at the border.

And then in the early evening a prefab home a block from me required several fire trucks.  They roared by during my evening walk with the dogs.  I didn't see any smoke but fire fighters were there a good while.

Full moon hike along the South Perimeter trail

 This was the Flower Moon.

I had been wanting to lead a hike along ths trail for a full moon, just to see how the trail is after dark.  I posted this hike two weeks ago.  Three others showed up (and three others had to bow out) 

We met at 6pm at the Lower Miller Canyon parking area.  I like this spot as a meetup because it has a large parking area and a bathroom.  Annette, Karen and Travis were already there when I drove up at 5:53pm.  Susan said she'd be there, but never showed up.  We took off shortly, taking the unmarked trail toward the Foothills housing area, before cutting due south along the trail.  The sutn was out, but we were in the cool shade the whole time.

Shortly after we crossed Miller Creek,I let Hansel off his leash.  He did very well from the start, staying close to me.  Only twice did he break decorum and chase after a deer, but he came back when I called him.

We had a good pace.  I tend to not stop much unless Hansel needs a drink.  The elevation on this hike is only 600' at the turn-around just before descending into Hunter Canyon, but then it rises again once the trail climbs up Hunter Canyon to the pass into Miller Canyon.  This is a hike I'd like to do as well.

We stopped at the last hill before the trail descends into Hunter Canyon.  We stopped for a bit, drank some water, and then resumed our return hike.  The wind quickly picked up.  I'm glad I wore not only my yellow puffer vest but also that I threw on an additional thin sweater

The orange ball rose to our southeast a half-mile into our return hike.  It looked big, too.  We stopped many times to take photos, but it got too dark for detail in that last mile.  

Annette was with me up front and Travis stayed with Karen just behind us.  Annette talked loudly the entire time.  She was telling me how her high school sweetheart died back in 2002 of stomach cancer.  She's been a widow ever since.

The hike was 5.5 miles long.  We were on the trail for 2.5 hours.  We all went our separate ways once we got back to the parking lot.  I went home to walk Fritz and Gretchen another block around the hood.