HILLS HURT, COUCHES KILL hiking log

Mt Si again at dusk. 8 miles RT/3,500 ft elev/ 2 hours flat. Shaved another 5 minutes off the climb - 65 minutes. Dark and foggy, no view at the top.

 

Being part of a search and rescue team here in Southern Arizona, I can verify this is a true statement. Stay safe!

 

Had one a few months ago (maybe a year) while running. a few feet in a different direction and I would have landed on a larger 6 in tall rock.

Rolled/fell once when walking too fast ... backpack allowed a better roll.

Cannot recall the number of times one leg reached to prevent a loss of control, and that leg was woobly for a bit due to knee strain.

 

My wife's in Phoenix right now for a work conference. She was going to do a few hikes. She met a local who warned her off because of rattlesnakes. Pretty sure she's decided not to go on any hikes, but how bad are they in the Phoenix area currently?

 

PM me if you or she wants a specific conversation instead of a few mentions ...

Snakes come out around 1/2 hours before sundown (too much heat midday). It is a bit too early for many to be around. But if you see a 3 ft straight brown stick across a dirty trail bordered by scrub ... probably a snake. Give it room, it will go away because they like us as much as we like them. I have been rattled at by one by the side of a trail (about 15 ft away) and I took 4 large steps forward and it did not follow. Another person had one sort-of wrap around her foot because she was apparently a shade tree ... she kicked it away with her foot and it never tried to strike ... her story is the most extreme story I have heard from any hiker to be honest. My most-extreme is more common, but many go years and never see a single snake.

Heat is a greater risk because you sweat dries so fast you do not know how quickly you lose water. Keep water around.

Scorpions only come out in the dark and are a very minor concern.

I can recommend good trails. She can hike at night in South Mountain Park.

 

Better as new post ...

You can find 10 local people who have never been inside South Mountain Park for every 1 who hikes there regularly. Some want to be here for the warm winters but stay out of the sun when it gets bright/hot.

 

Great info. Thanks man. We're both very experienced backpackers and climbers. She'll definitely have enough water with her, but thanks for the heads up. I'll pass along the info and if she wants anymore I'll shoot you PM.

 

Look at post #378. Jumping cholla cactus. Spread by breaking off small balls of a few large spines and thousands of tiny hairs ... all with barbs. "Jumping" because anything that gets close can hook them. Recognize the nasty little balls and she should be OK.

 

Took a long slow hike up the Middle Fork to Cayuse horse camp. Waiting for more trails to melt out. 18 miles, only 1k ft elevation, took 8 hours on purpose. I wanted to be in the woods all day..










Devil's Club


Trillium


Mr Bug

 

Mt. Lemmon in Tucson, AZ. High up at the Lemmon Pools. Lovely day. There is water in the desert if you look up high enough!

I love hiking in the daylight.

 

Trail report, National Trail, east end of South Mountain Park ...

I was walking along the trail and turned the corner at the entrance to the V-slot (see below) and Robert the Rattlesnake was sitting in the middle of the slot. It left preferring to not be near me, but left slowly up the wall to the right. After tossing a couple of small rocks to check it if really had vanished beyond the wall I finally walked through and heard what I thought was rattling at the far end of the V so took 4 large steps.

Today I passed that slot with no incident, but saw a Gila Monster for the first time in AZ. I could not get a picture of it even as slow as it moved and it disappeared into the brush at the edge of the trail.

 

Is the water drinkable if you filter it?

 

100% safe after filtered but very sparse. I carry a life straw thing for emergencies but no filter because depending on water in the desert is a death sentence.

 

One of my all-time favorites. I've only seen a handful and none this year so far. They live mostly underground. Consider yourself lucky!

 

Mt Si again, 70 minutes to the lunch spot this time. Had some extra daylight so I scrambled up the haystack






Still some snow at the top



Going up the chute



Looking west

 

So much for spring touring, snow is melting out fast up here. Went to go do the Birthday Tour at Washington Pass and found dismal snow cover at the lower elevations. The pass is 5,500 ft and we were hiking over brush and logs with our boards on our backs for the first mile. But we stuck with it and eventually got into some fun springtime snow. The whole loop is only about 6 miles but it took us a ridiculously long time. Steep and icy in the shaded sections in the morning, very hot and slushy in the Copper Creek Basin, then clouded up and started raining for the last hour back to the car. Overall it was really fun but of we had even 1-2 ft more snow cover it would've taken about 5 hours instead of 8. The route goes up and over 2 passes. Probably around 3,500-4,000 ft climbing.

Going up toward Cornice and Blue Lake Peak




Early Winter Spire


Steep push to Cornice Peak









Best skiing of the day was down into Copper Creek Basin





Climbing out





Final pass of the day, back downhill to car from here





Got cliffed out about halfway down, had to scramble down a gully next to a waterfall. Started raining and got soaked



Huge avalanche came through this zone right next to the highway. Trees knocked over, dirt and rocks everywhere

 

Thanks for the reminder that I need to get to South Early Winter Spire and climb a few things. It's been on the list for a long time now. lol

Spring skiing around these parts is absolutely epic. The best it's ever been according to multiple old timers. If you fancy a drive I can certainly point you in a few directions. lol

 

Evening hike to Rainy Lake. 8 miles RT, 3k ft climbing, completed in 3 hours

Middle Fork Snoqualmie River



Happy doggo



The lake still had some snow on it. I tried to hike around the edge to get a good shot of the moon reflecting off the water. Very quiet and peaceful







Garfield Mtn at dusk on the way down

 

Memorial Day trail run on Phoneline, Sabino Canyon, Tucson, AZ.



Hike with my daughters in Rattlesnake Canyon also Tucson, AZ a few days prior. This is my older daughter (8) teaching the younger (6) how to identify Thimble Peak which is visible in the photo above.