Ellen and I did this hike last December with Wolfie and Gretel. There was some snow in the canyon. Today we did it again with Fritz, started at 10:10am to a chilly 52F
This was Ellen's idea. She asked me two days ago if I were interested in this hike and I agreed. I hadn't done a challenging hike since before my wrist and arm breaking and I needed to know how I would do. We both did well and kept a steady pace. Ellen is still overcoming her pulmonary issues.
The elevation gain and mileage to the overlook is comparable to Carr Peak: 5.83 miles with 2183" elevation gain. There was still some autumn colors with the help of the sun, which faded fast on the return hike.
We only met four people on this hike A young couple with a small child and Black Lab puppy were near the starut. Fritz was on leash and didn't lunge at the pup as I held him tightly and kept praIsing him with "Good Boy!" We were still walking up Garden Canyon road at that point. The second encounter was a lone young blond man (a Fort Huachuca soldier?), dressed in shorts and only carrying a small water bottle
We both also noticed how quiet the canyon was. While there was plenty of dry bear scat in the canyon, and Fritz seemed to have caught the scent of bear, we never saw any. Even the wind was calm.
So despite the lack of wildlife, it was still a near-perfect day for a hike. We were on the hike for five hours (including breaks) and ate afterwards at Culver's, where Fritz got two pup cups because "he's a big dog and needs to eat more!" according to one worker there. Fritz didn't mind at all. He was such a good dog all day and deserved all the pup cups he could eat.
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