Carr Peak with Ellen and Zana

 I always enjoy hiking with Ellen and when she asked me if I were interested in hiking Carr Peak for the fall foliage just a week after hiking it with Bill, I said yes.  I brought Zana this time.

My morning started in a hurry, as I slept through both alarms and didn't awake until 5:30.  Our meetup time was 6am and I had to walk the dogs for a pee break before taking off.  It wasn't until 6:30am that I made it to the lower Carr Peak parking lot where a group of mountain bikers was taking over the lot and riding up fhe road for.training.   Ellen had the foresight to park her Toyota at an angle to save a spot for me.  We rode together in her car, with Zana wanting to sit up front with me.  

The rugged drive must have upset her stomach, as she pooped on the towel I had put in the back  Luckily the towel absorbed the mess and not the upholstery.  Ellen stopped the car to clear out the mess.  Luckily that was a mere flick of the towel as the mess tumbled down the embankment for a few feet.

Weather was much like the Sunday before:  sunny but with a cool breeze.  We could see the yellow Aspen:  they were in their prime now.

Zana did well,  She was off leash but never strayed far.  She kept an eye both on me and on Ellen.

We made it to the summit in 1:57 hours.  That was 14 minutes faster than last week, but neither of us were trying for a PR.  The ladybugs were still crowded on the shrubs

We stayed 30 minutes on the peak, enjoying the breeze and taking photos.  We came across on group of four young adult on the way down.

We had lunch at Culvers before going our own way.  Zana was tired and rested the rest of the day

Carr Peak with Hansel and Bill

 Bill asked me Friday if I wanted to hike this Sunday.  Sure, but could it be a closer drive, like Carr Peak?  I hadn't done the peak all year.  We agreed to meet at 6am, with him picking Hansel and me up at 6am.

Gretel threw a wrench in that plan when she busted out the front door at 5:50am and then ran up and down Kino Road for 30 minutes with Hansel.  Luckily both came back by 6:20am and we were able to take off. 

The drive up Carr Canyon Road, a 13-mile dort road, took us an hour.  The blaring morning sun on a dusty windshield made driving up the badly rutted road more treacherous than usual.  We started the hike at 7:33 with 51F and clear skies.  We had no wind, but instead were kept cool with a fall breeze.

I didn't know what to expect along the trail as far as wildflowers go.  But there were many all along the trail.  The lower elevation was taken over by fleabane, common mullein, and yarrow, and higher up goldeneye took over all the way to the peak.  There was some autumn sage and purple penstemon, but yellow once again took over the color scheme.

The Aspen are now reaching their prime.  In another week the colors will fade.⁹

We were the only people on the trail.  We didn't see anyone until we passed a father and young son with their Newfie a mile from the trailhead.  We had no cold winds at the top.  Ladybugs were still huddled along the lower stems of shrubs.

The hike took us 4:30 hours.  I had a big lunch when I got back.  Hansel chilled the rest of the day while I scrolled through my social media.  I found out that a former county ACO, Jill Davis, had tied two nights ago in Tucson.  She had been having medical issues  and had been hospitalized for various blood issues.  We met in 2011 and then again two years ago when she took care of the two German shepherd dogs left behind when my neighbor Stephen was found deceased in his home. Jill was only 56 years old.

Cochise Stronghold West with Hansel and Bill

Bill asked me only yesterday if I wanted to join him on this hike in the Dragoons.  It's a 10-mile out-and-back hike through the northern part of the Dragoons, filled with spectacular rock formations.  Weather was expected to be in the upper 80s with clouds moving in in the late morning with chance of rain between 2-4pm.

He picked me and Hansel up shortly after 6am.  We got started at the trailhead  at 815am with broken clouds and 74F 

I haven't done much serious hiking this year because the house demolition house hunting and now house organizing was my priority this year,  I take the summers off because of the heat.  I took a chance today because I also know I need to get back in shape.  This hike would show me if I still have it.

Bill is a good hiking partner because we have the same pace and stops a lot for photographs.  I never feel like I am inconveniencing him.  We both like photography and stop a lot to take pictures

We met two other people on the hike, two women, Barb and Lova, from Tucson.  They were hiking the Stronghold starting from the East End.  We met them a quarter-mile east of the HalfMoon tank, the only water source along the way.  We met them again on our return hike and they were just past the tank.

It was sunny on the way out.  I watched Hansel for heat exhaustion.  His tongue was quite red with a half-mile to go to the pucnic area.  That took us 2:35 hours and 5:07 miles.  Denser clouds began forming on our return hike, which cooled the air and gave us all a boost, although I could feel my leg muscles tightening.  The return hike is a slow and gradual uphill.

We got back to Bill's Nissan Pioneer at 1:32.  We had hiked 10.4 miles in 5:15 hours.  I was feeling complete exhaustion set in.  Stopping at the Family dollar in Tombstone for cold iced tea didn't help much, either.  I

I was starting to rain when Bill dropped me off. I was tired and hungry and I still had things to do that I ended up not doing.  I fed all the dogs, Hansel got extra chicken, and called it a night.  The rain didn't last long enough to soften the soil so I could do more weeding.

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