I bet that spiky ball feels great, but it’s a little pricey. I’ll stick with this free softball I found in a parking lot. My foot is doing much better today. I usually go rucking on Mondays, but didn’t last week because I was doing other manual labor all day. Then I went out and kept progressing in my walk. It’s a 1.4 mile path and I’m trying to add one lap every week. I probably should have stayed at two laps and gone to three next week.
How far will you walk tonight?
KevinB
#83
8.4 miles on Wednesday evening. Temperature was 106 F when I started and cooled down to 98 F when I finished. I used nearly all of one of the two 3L reservoirs that I brought with me. I filled both of them up with ice and then added water over the ice. I stayed pretty well hydrated - my weight was only down by two pounds when I finished.
KevinB
#84
12.4 miles on Friday morning. It warmed up to around 100 F at the end of my hike. I drank over four liters of water.
This is a view of Red Mountain from the Shallmo Wash Trail:
KevinB
#85
5.1 miles on Sunday evening. It was warm (107F / 42C) when I started; the parking lot was empty except for my truck. I didn’t see anyone else while hiking either. I did see an owl and a rabbit though.
This is a view of Red Mountain from early on along the Technical Loop at McDowell Mountain Regional Park.
KevinB
#87
7.1 miles on Wednesday night.
I don’t yet have a photo for this one since I came home to find my photo processing computer dead (probably due to a failed PSU) after a power outage.
Here’s what I posted about my adventures on that hike (and on the drive home) at hikearizona.com:
A wet hike in MMRP…
I was planning on just doing one of my normal workout loops in MMRP. I figured it’d be hot and dry.
After my wife dropped me off at the entrance station, I walked through the horse staging area and then hiked Shallmo, getting what I think might be a good photo along the way. Not sure I’ll be able to retrieve it because the camera seems to be dead at the moment - but the memory card might still work.
Anyway, I continued on Pemberton and started seeing lightning off in the distance. Started up Scenic and noticed rain converging on the park from both east and west. Took a photo of this phenomenon, put the camera in a plastic zip lock bag (which I maybe didn’t totally zip?) and continued on. Moments later the rain started…
It was coming at me sideways from the east. Gusts of wind while hiking the ridgeline of the Scenic trail nearly caused me to lose my balance several times. As I continued on, the trail turned into a small stream, forcing me to one side and then the other (repeatedly) for better footing. At other times, I walked through the water because that was easier. The wind was especially fierce at a few points where it was funneled over the ridge by terrain to the east. The sideways rain was especially hard in these areas and gave my exposed skin a good scouring. The brim of my hat protected my face and side of my head.
I got out my headlamp for the last descent from the ridge. The rain had, somehow, started blowing at me from the other direction. I got a call from my daughter wondering where I was as I made my way down. She and my son set out to pick me up. I told them to bring lots of towels.
The rain let up somewhat by the time I got to Cinch, but a relatively minor wash was flowing pretty heavily and I had to figure out how to ford it. I tried crossing at a narrower section, but the bank on the other side was too high to go up in the wet conditions. I backtracked and crossed where the trail was. The water was about calf deep.
The rain had pretty much stopped by the time I got to Escondido. I met my kids at the entrance station. My son had driven his jeep and had somehow managed to cross three heavily flowing washes on the way to the park.
On the way back, he passed some stopped vehicles and crossed two of the washes, but at the last wash a police officer had blocked the road on the other side. We got out and crossed the wash on foot, then talked to the officer for a while. We waited and noticed that the water level was going down. But there was still a lot of debris - large rocks and some branches in the road. Four of us, myself, my kids, and another motorist spent 15-20 minutes clearing the worst of the debris. There was now a driveable path from one side to the other. Somewhat to my surprise, the cop let us all cross - first the northbound direction and then the southbound.
It turned out to be a much bigger adventure than I expected!
KevinB
#88
13.4 miles on Friday Morning. I got to view the aftermath of Wednesday’s monsoon. The trails I hiked were less eroded than expected.
Here’s a photo of the top of a barrel cactus that I came across while hiking the Pemberton Trail:
KevinB
#89
8 miles w/ 2000 feet of total ascent on Sunday morning. I hiked the Black Ridge Loop in the Mazatzals.
Bellyman
(Brian)
#91
No idea how far I’ll “walk” today. But I know I’ll have several hours behind a push lawn mower with a rear bagger and I’ll be collecting grass clippings to spread around an asparagus patch, some small fruit plantings and a row of the garden. That’s gotta count for somethin’.
KevinB
#93
KevinB
#94
10.6 miles on Friday Morning. These are Arizona Poppies. I found them in a wash crossing the Windmill Trail. I saw a few later on in my hike too.
KevinB
#96
9 miles on Wednesday Night. I was testing a new headlamp which allowed me to see a number of night-time critters. I saw a tarantula, 3 scorpions, several packrats, two bunnies, and an owl!
I usually hike in the dark, but tonight it was fortuitous that I was using a light or I might have stepped on this tarantula. (I’ve used the blur spoiler markup on the image for those who don’t like spiders. Click on the image if you want to view it…)
Regina
(Empress of the Unexpected)
#97
Wow. Never seen one, but we hike in the Jurupa Mountains in Riverside and all the hikers we encounter complain about them. I guess we scare them away!
KevinB
#98
10.6 miles on Friday morning.
We looked for a descent into this small canyon, but the two nearby drainages were too steep.
There is true richness in your photographs.
KevinB
#100
Nearly 12 miles on Sunday. My wife hiked 4 miles of the Pine Canyon Trail with me. At the 4 mile mark, she turned back and I went on. She eventually picked me up at the other end of the trail.
