Fall Power Hike

Ever the adventurer, last Friday I joined Debbie, a fellow hiker who is also a successful realtor and bicycle racer, and hit the trail up around Carr Peak to catch the fall colors.

This was my first trip up this trail since that insane day with Charlie nine years ago when we learned first hand what "near death" really means at the hands of Mother Nature...in the way of lightning bolts.

This time, the aspen leaves were a perfect and brilliant gold but since we were on the east side of the Huachuca Mountains in the afternoon, we were mainly in the shade. This makes for cool hiking and diffused light for photos, but no bright lighting to really kick the aspen leaf color into high gear.

Along the trail, in the aspen grove, we encountered a rather non-plussed deer. The deer stood by while I popped off a couple shots (with my camera, of course) and proceeded up the trail about 20 yards ahead of us for several minutes and circled around us, eating as it went, and headed back down into the aspen grove.

We decided to make "the tub" our turnaround point. yes, there is an actual bathtub sitting atop a natural spring at about 9000 feet above sea level. Nearby is a sign asking folks to camp a ways away from the spring so animals can come to drink. About 20 feet from the tub was a pile of trash with Jumex juice cans and empty water jugs. The illegal immigrants obviously use this as a rest area.

We also saw collared lizards and various small birds, but no lightning.

One thing is for certain, though I run and train at 4600 feet in town, 9000+ feet is a whole different world as far as oxygen intake goes. I huffed and I puffed but was far from being able to blow a house down.