Ellen texted me early to ask if I were interested in hiking around Reef Townsite after she got off work at 4:30pm. Hoping for some cooler temperatures at 7700 feet, I agreed to meet her at the lower Carr Canyon parking lot and drive in separate cars to the Reef
I took Zana and Hansel. They were both happy to get out and run offleash, especially while in the shade. But once we got on the old ATV trail that takes one to the overlook, they quickly tired from the direct sun. It was still intense heat. We have had a triple digit heatwave all week
I noted the many new pines coming up, many now two and three feet tall. These are all post 2011 fire growth.
We made the overlook our resting spot. The dogs got their water but they quickly drank most of the quart I had brought for them. I sat on the group to rest while Ellen stood. The heat --88F-- was still hot despite it being cooler than the 94F in town. The dogs ran through the low manzanitas to keep shaded.
We came across a suspicious man on our descent. The dogs were on alert but didn't bark. They simply went into standby mode by standing still and staring the man down, who quickly retreated and waited for us to pass him. He didn't look us in the eyes, either, as we walked past him. A white Nissan pickup was parked just outside the gate by the trailhead, with three pillows in the back bed. Hmm. Ellen reported that vehicle later as a suspect lookout vehicle.
We continued on the shaded road to the group campsite, then continued on the trail to the waterfall, where luckily Zana found a pool of water that surely was left from the recent rain. Both dogs splashed around in the cool delight
The sun was now behind us and we had little daylight left. We climbed back up to the road and returned to our cars. It was a mere 3.5 miles but well deserved.
On the drive down we saw the near full Strawberry moon rise over San Jose Peak in Mexico. The official full moon is tomorrow. We stopped briefly to photograph it and agreed to have a late dinner at Culvers. where each dog got a pupcup.
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