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Since the fire restrictions have forced us to tackle low desert trails that we wouldn't normally hike in summer, I decided to try an experiment today. When I was on the PCT, I met several thruhikers who were carrying umbrellas through Southern California. On a whim I grabbed an umbrella on my way out the door to the White Tanks this morning. The thing turned out to be invaluable. Forget about wide hat brims: Imagine a four foot wide circle of shade that follows you whereever you go. It didn't exactly make it any cooler, but it did add a big measure of comfort that wouldn't have been there otherwise. So now I'm curious if anyone else uses an umbrella to beat the Arizona heat.

On a (slightly) related note, I saw a ton of animals in the White Tanks this morning. Its almost unbelieveable once I write this full list out. I saw a bunch of lizards and Gambel's Quail, two rabbits, a desert ground squirrel, a deer, a coyote, and a group of six vultures on a dead snag next to the trail. This was by far the most animals I've ever seen on a short hike. Seeing the coyote in particular was a thrill. Naturally, this just happens to happen on one of the rare trips when I neglect to bring my camera I think it was a conspiracy on the part of the animals.

Lizard

I get enough moronic remarks about sandals and trekking poles. Think if I added an umbrella I'd be beggin for a beatin

But Yes! it would definitely cut out the heat exposure. Umbrellas are fairly common in Tokyo, as are sandals

Hey! maybe an extended trekking pole/umbrella combo. Every once in a while I see folks out there with their logs! BTW... I really don't understand the theory of carring a five pound stick??? What are these people thinking And the bells... I'm just gonna stop before I start receiving hate e-mail 8O

Well I'm not great at shutting up... I commented to a gal yesterday as "bell man" passed on Squaw Peak. "Do you think the Squirrels appreciate the bells?" "You know why that man is going three times as slow as everybody else, cause that stick must weigh ten pounds!"

Lots of wildlife - Yes, I've witnessed more that usual too. They're all starving. The rabbits are skinny as hell. The birds are lucky cause they can fly to water. There are so many ground squirrels near the restrooms at Squaw Peak you probably count a hundred in five minutes. I saw one jump up into the bottom of a ranger truck yesterday. I "think" it was going for the condensation dripping from the A/C.

I was wondering about bell-man myself... He frightens me, so i dare not ask him about it. :P

Umbrellas is something i never thought of... interesting...

I saw my first snake today, while hiking in north Glendale.
I think it was just a common garden snake, no rattle, and fairly small.... Kind of a greenish color.

I met a guy with a huge heavy stick on the Fossil Springs trail
and he said it was for protection, and he'd used it a bunch of
times. Bears, I asked ? No, dogs and rowdy hikers. Then I was
going down Humphreys, and a guy comes up the trail with a
brand new axe held at the ready. He was a mean looking
individual, definitely the axe murderer type, and folks were
giving him a wide berth, making jokes about who has priority
on the trail. He turned out to be a gentle, soft spoken type
who just wanted some weight for a better workout, and the
axe caught his eye as he went out the door.

Robert and I both use umbrellas. I found some light tan ones a couple of years ago that weigh 6 ounces. I can usually find a way to tuck it in under a strap so I don't have to hold it. If you can keep your shirt wet and have an umbrella you can be pretty comfy in high heat situations.

I used to use an umbrella occasioinally down in Brazil. I portugese the word is "guarda chuva" or "rain guard" - a few people laughed and said I was carrying a "guarda sol" or "sun guard."

Worked very well for me though.

And I agree - when I was younger I carried a "log" cause I thought it was cool - but then it just got to be annoying. I've been considering doing the trek pole thing lately. We'll see.

A few years back up on the Woodchute Trail, kicking back among the rocks overlooking the Verde Valley, I found an umbrella nearby. Frankly, I was shocked; never seen anyone on a trail with an umbrella, much less leaving this one. It was in good shape, clearly not in the elements long, so I took it home. Haven't seen it since. But, I can see the value of an umbrella; however, I'll stick to my wide brim hat from POP's.