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| Hiking | 6.02 Miles |
1,866 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.02 Miles | 3 Hrs 14 Mns | | 2.32 mph |
| 1,866 ft AEG | 38 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I needed to be at 9000 feet, but the Catalinas didn’t seem a great choice on a holiday weekend. So I bit the bullet on a two hour drive to the Huachucas. I hoped to bag both Carr and Miller peaks but figured the weather might not cooperate. I got to the Ramsey Vista parking lot by 9:15 and had to share the lot with only one other vehicle. Sweet!
Even at 9:15 and 7500’ it was hot. There were a few clouds building over the peaks, but otherwise the morning was off to a sunny start. I had a feeling it wouldn’t last; the air felt thick.
Sure enough, halfway up Carr Peak the clouds started looking a bit more numerous and darker.
Trail conditions were excellent. The ground was damp from the previous day’s rains. One set of boot prints in the muddier sections, though the ground had dried out a bit since they were made. As I entered the aspen corridors, a man and his dog approached ahead. We chatted a bit and he’d camped overnight and apparently started immediately after the rain. He said he’d spotted two bears (maybe the same bear on two occasions) around the bathtub. He asked if I was headed to Miller and I said maybe, depending on the weather.
Shortly after we parted, I saw a deer on the trail ahead, which shyly retreated out of view and disappeared.
At this point I was under cloud the rest of the way up. That and the occasional cool breeze made for pleasant hiking.
At the summit I enjoyed the view, then sat down to sign the log. I had to cut my prose short when the pen ran dry and it started to sprinkle. As I started to mosey down from the summit I thought I heard a slight rumble of thunder. Then crack! directly overhead. I took that subtle hint and ran down the mountain.
I didn’t even consider taking the fork to tub spring and Miller. I proceeded down to the car and didn’t slow down until I was on the east slope and well below the peak. The whole while it never rained more than a gentle sprinkle of fairly juicy drops.
Back at the campground it wasn’t sprinkling anymore but it had clearly rained, as there were puddles everywhere and the picnic tables were wet. I had lunch, hung out for a bit to enjoy the relatively cool forest (despite the fact that most of the trees at Ramsey Vista appear to have died), then headed back to Tucson.
I did drive through a pretty heavy thunderstorm between Fort Huachuca and Kartchner.
Other than the deer on the trail, a couple more deer on the road, and a few squirrels I saw tons of lizards. Every few feet or so one would scurry under a rock or behind a log. After hiking in the Alps it was nice to see lots of lizards instead of lots of people. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Too early in the season, but there were a few. Raspberries are starting to bloom. |
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