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| Hiking | 3.84 Miles |
901 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.84 Miles | 2 Hrs | | 2.00 mph |
| 901 ft AEG | 5 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Deborah (my former classmate) invited cousin Connie and I to tour some of the open houses where she has her small RV parked (Large 55+ RV park and model home community featuring pools, sports & games, plus concerts & other entertainment). We saw a few places and got the sewing room tour, had lunch outside and then Deborah and I headed north of her place to Usery for a short hike. I haven't hiked here since 2007 with my brother Wayne and niece Mia. It was one of our very favorite times we shared together as it turned into a bit of an adventure. It was also before I was an active hiker [ popup triplog ] and thus a lot of photos too. Just before we started today's hike I got some very sad news from my former boss so I was glad to have the hike to clear my head.
I figured this was like hiking Shaw Butte so despite my lack of decent exercise, I considered it doable. You instantly notice the green covering the ground and here it is actually grass. There were some greens here like I've seen in the north valley. The trail is a bit rugged and a tad hard to follow in two areas but you can figure it out pretty fast. I do like that the trail has some flat to catch your breath as you make your way up. In my opinion, it was very crowded for a Wednesday afternoon. Lots of dogs too and we had Duke with us. I like hiking with Duke though as he sticks to Deborah like glue for the most part; I hate that she has to leash up, but it is the law.
I only took 3 photos on the way up as of course, my goal was to get to the top. I didn't hurry by any means and I let Deborah and Duke lead the way as we got into more of the up. It was nippy in the Wind Cave. We did see a few chipmunks and I noticed what looked like some sort of man-made stone bench that has a hole in it and another lower natural arch. We didn't stay long as we had started late.
We headed back down still dodging people/dog traffic. We continued to be awe-struck by the greenery of the desert including the leafed out ocotillo and variety of color. We finally got down to the bottom and hiked the other side of the road loop for this trail head as I was curious if there was an opening in this fence to get on the Pass Mountain trail. There wasn't but there was the 18th green  .
At our Thanksgiving picnic spot, we shared an Arizona Wilderness Chai Latte Porter beer before heading home. I do love the Usery Mountain Park as the flora is magnificent, and more so with the green grass floor.
WATCH: 2:25-4:24PM, 2015-2889 elevation, 3.63 miles. 141 avg bpm/171 max, 49% Zone 5 max, 38% Zone 4 anaerobic, 12% Zone 3 aerobic burning 869 calories. Temp 51.9 (altho that seems low), sunny and 47% humidity. |
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For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
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