Ski Valley

Our journey this week took us up over 9000 feet to Summerhaven on Mount Lemmon to start. Four of us (Katie, Kay, Carol, and I), along with our three canine companions (Tucker, Zona, and Kiernan), hiked upward to over 10,700 feet and reveled in the scenic views of the Tucson Valley to the south and the towns of Oracle and San Manuel to the north. We could see Mount Wrightston way down south -- that was our hike last week, and it didn't look nearly as daunting as it felt last week when we were hiking it!

It was sad to see the burned out areas with only silhouettes where tall pines used to be, but cabins are in various stages of rebuilding and the mountain was not wanting for more tourists this week! We sat on the ski lift chairs at the top drop-off point as we shared our snacks and took a bit of a break from the steep inclines until the lift operator showed up to start things moving. Small birds aplenty and wild turkeys kept their eyes on us as we made our way along the 8+ mile trek. Two horned toads were as surprised to see us as we were them, but boy, were they incredible looking! Haven't seen one of those since I was a youngster. Tucker's pic shows how rough life is as a dog when you hang out with a women's hiking group. He is such a good dog!

A quick stop on the way home for a little frozen yogurt treat put smiles on everyone's faces for the last 20 minutes home. It was a perfect day!

Almost Outnumbered!

Okay, picture this: the Desert Southwest, four women, three dogs, and a 7-mile hike through the Santa Ritas following the Super Trail up to Josephine Saddle (near Mt. Wrightston), then the Old Baldy Trail back down. It's been windy for three days, so the city is coated in dust and barely visible from way up high. At the start, winds are fairly calm and the temperature is about 60 degrees. We're at 5450 feet elevation to start and we're lightly layered. As we hike along the gentle switchbacks, we find alligator juniper with the coolest bark (it really does look like alligator skin!) all around the trail. Little groups of wildflowers are few and far between because of the lack of rain, but we manage to find a few to brighten the brown hues of this desert we live in. The stream beds are dry now; the snow melt is long gone. The air chills a bit and the winds pick up the higher we go; the backpacks empty and the jackets and vests go on. Those gloves I left on the desk at home were talking to me this morning; I should have listened because my hands are FREEZING! By the time we reach Josephine Saddle (1700 feet higher), all of us agree that the workout we got on the way up (which left our clothing damp from exertion) is going to be our enemy as it provides instant (and unwanted) air conditioning to our bodies on the way down. The good news: the winds relax and retreat the lower we go. The layers come back off at various stops and find their way back into our packs. The downhill trail is only half as long as the one we took up, but you know what that means: it's twice as steep as well. Hello knees! Our canine companions cannot figure out why we've slowed down, and as herding dogs, they nudge us along to pick up the pace. With only one slip of the foot on the slippery slope, all of us make it down unscathed. It's now 80 degrees down below and Dairy Queen is sounding awfully good as a reward for our conquering of nature's offering of the day. (They sell mini-Blizzards now, you know!) Another breathtaking day for four fabulous foxes and our loyal canine companions.

(One of the folks we met on the trail warned us that we'd better be careful or the dogs will soon outnumber the women. Well, that's NEVER going to happen because each of the fab females only has one dog, and I have none, so that can't happen! Whew!)