Change of Plans

After years of perfect adventures where everything happens like clockwork and nothing ever goes awry.........WHAT?  Not in this blog!
The plan was to meet up with Dave and Jon for a four day Grand Canyon hike. This time we were to go "off corridor" which means on a less popular, less maintained trail to a camping area less well developed. You know, more adventurous,
Like before, we spent the night at Mather Campground at the rim so we could get an early start. We stopped for coffee, but arrived at the trailhead, loaded up and started down by a little after 8am. When you are retired, that is early. We were hiking Hermit's Trail. Right from the start you recognize that this trail is more primitive than South Kaibab and Bright Angel. It is narrow. There are rocks on the trail that nobody has kicked aside. The trail map labels some areas as "rock slides." We found out that means rocks, sometimes truck size boulders, have fallen across the trail from the cliffs above. This trail is "less maintained," so the boulders block the trail. No problem. You just climb up, over, and around them, find the trail on the other side, and continue.
But, did you ever wonder if more boulders would fall today? They fell sometime in the last twenty years. Not millions of years ago. The Grand Canyon is dynamic. It is slowly getting bigger.
Oh well. You can't worry about stuff like that. Keep calm and hike on.
The many deep steps started taking a toll on Peggie's knees. At some point she was hurting at every step. (Here I use the word "step" to mean a stair step, but many of them are knee high) The extra weight of the pack puts more strain on all body parts. Balance can be hard to maintain. Stepping down is like stomping. For Peggie, this time the pain became unbearable. Finally, she let us know how bad it was. We all talked and agreed that she needed to return to the top rather than continue down to the river. We determined that Dave and Jon should go ahead and enjoy the trip as planned, while Peggie and I returned to the rim.
By then it was mid-afternoon. We knew we would not get out before dark, but that we could find a spot to sleep somewhere. The hike out is hard because it is uphill, but you don't have those knee pounding down-steps. Unfortunately, the damage to the knee made going up those same steps hard because the pain robs you of the strength needed to lift yourself and the heavy pack. I often assisted with either a push or pull on the larger steps. We made slow progress.
A clap of thunder warned us of an approaching storm. We donned our rain gear just in time as a squall came over. I kept checking the trail map, hoping we would make it to Santa Maria Spring, where a stone shelter would provide a good overnight shelter. (I know, redundant, but it can't be helped) We passed up three good level tent sites because they were so exposed to the strong winds that getting the tent set up would have been problematic.
Finally, approaching darkness, and a really steep treacherous section of trail forced us to set up on a site that would not have been appealing under ideal conditions. Not level, covered in fist size rocks, and barely larger than the tent, we made it work. We moved the larger rocks, set one side against the cliff, weighted the tent with backpacks and bodies and managed to get sleeping bags in place. There was just enough room to get around the outside of the tent without falling into the abysss, so I went around, reaching under the tent with Peggie guiding me from inside, and swept away more rocks under our sleeping areas. Thank goodness for good air pads. During the night, I kept sliding downhill into the tent wall, but every time the wind whipping the tent woke me up, I scooted back to the top.
Next morning, we set out again with about 3 1/2 miles and 2000 feet to go. It took over an hour to get to Santa Maria Spring, so we were glad we stopped the night before and didn't try to make it in the dark. A very nice man there offered to take some of Peggie's pack weight to the top, but we foolishly turned him down. Later wished we had accepted the offer.
We got to the top in a little over four hours. Not bad, considering. We stopped often.
The drive home was uneventful, and we soaked away some soreness in the hot tub before getting 10 hours of sleep. Tired? Uh huh.
Now, all I have to do is drive back up and get Dave and Jon when they hike out tomorrow as planned. Can't wait to hear how it went for them.

(not Klingon) Birds of Prey

It is Spring in Tucson and we are busy planting new flowers and creating other landscaping touches in our long neglected front yard. Peggie is the creative force and I am the shovel-wielding dirt mover.
Yesterday the work was interrupted by the appearance of two hawks in a tree across the street. They arrived with what looked like a small bird in hand (talon). One of them ate while the other stood guard on a higher branch. Over a period of hours, they flew off several times. Sometimes one, sometimes the other, sometimes both. But returned each time after brief absences. They preened and cleaned and fluffed. At one point I had to make a (second) trip to the hardware store to exchange irrigation parts. I was pleasantly surprised to see them still in place when I returned.
Luckily, they chose a tree with bare branches at the top, so we often had unobstructed lines of sight. Usually, by the time I get the bird book out, the bird in question is gone. But this time, I had binoculars, book, and lots of time to compare the birds, front, back, sideways, and in flight. I determined them to be sharp-shinned hawks. Very similar to Coopers hawk. They did a lot of seemingly aimless branch hopping. They actually tried to mate at one point.
Finally, at dusk, with a lot of activity on the street, both birds flew off in different directions.
It was by far the longest and best observation of hawks we have had.
So, I guess I have to finish the yard work today. All those new plants have to be connected to the drip lines.

Bushwhacking

Yesterday we went bushwhacking into the foothills of Kitt Peak.
To get there, you have to drive seven miles of dirt track. That is always fun. We saw a pair of caracaras. They are like hawks, maybe are hawks, and are Mexico's national bird. We saw jack rabbits that would outweigh a medium sized dog. We saw mule deer running through the thickets.  It was range land, but the cattle were absent. Maybe already moved to summer pasture.
After we drove as far as the fences would allow, we walked up a draw that had its beginning up the side of the mountain at enormous granite cliffs. We were able to get almost to the base. Maybe 200 yards shy, before the desert became impenetrable. Yes. The desert. Mesquite and catclaw so thick we would need power tools to hack our way through. The reason was water. Both sides of the draw had surface water feeding the trees. At the bottom of the slope the water went underground. On the slope, at least one dam had been built many years ago, and the streams on both sides had pipes taking water to tanks lower down. On the flats a beekeeper had set up an apiary, and his bees were busy at the surface water. Several of the bushy desert plants were in bloom, so I bet there will be much honey. There is ample evidence of ancient people in the draw, from pottery shards,  to flaked stone, and grinding holes. There was some evidence of more modern people, as well. You know, rusty cans, bits of wire, concrete dam, spent shell casings.
There are some trails. Sort of. Hunters have stacked a few stone cairns to show the way, but thorny plants sometimes barred the way. Some boulder climbing worked for some areas, and in other areas, we just pushed through. We gained perhaps 300 feet of altitude over about three or four miles. We were surprised (in a good way) not to encounter any rattlers. The views were amazing. The rock formations were awesome. The flowers were pretty. The weather was unbeatable.
A good way to get tired.

Adventures in second childhood

We are very committed to staying active and in good physical shape. So we eat right and exercise.
Hiking has become a favorite form of exercise. But sometimes there isn't enough time for a good trail hike. Luckily, Pima County has a well developed system of paved urban trails for hiking and biking. We can walk out our front door and access the trail without having to drive.
While walking on these trails, we encounter far more bicycles than walkers. We talked about how important bikes were to us as kids, before we were old enough to drive. We both rode our bikes everywhere.
Well, long story short...we got bicycles. And, as the saying goes, you don't forget how, it's just like riding a bike. Of course modern bicycles are more complex. Ours have 21 speeds. Remember when a three speed bike was exotic?
And safety. When we were kids, cars were not equipped with seat belts, and bicyclists never dreamed of wearing a helmet. Well, now we are older and wiser, so we use both.
But what if we want to take our bicycles with us when we travel? We need a rack to fit on our truck. Except, when we travel, we usually pull a fifth-wheel trailer. So, we need a rack for that. Voila! There is a hitch receiver on the back of the trailer, and it is the same size as the one on the truck. Problem solved.
Today will be the first time we load the bikes on the rack and drive to a trail access point. We have been just putting the bikes in the bed of the truck. We can't just ride out the front door and access the trails on bikes, because there are areas of soft sand that, while easy enough to walk through, are not conducive to riding. On our first bike ride, I fell when the front tire tried to continue straight, while I tried to turn right.
We push farther each day. We are up to fifteen miles and will exceed that today.
Did you know that the muscles you use to walk are not the same as the ones you use to pedal a bike? Did you know that bicycle seats and your butt are not instantly compatible?
So, yes, there are some sore points. But, what fun!

Making up for lost time

It is a sad commentary on my dedication to this forum that my last entry was three months ago. One would think life has been dull in the interim. One would be mistaken.

Following Thanksgiving we packed the truck and headed for New York. This is only the second time we have driven there. The first was preretirement when we delivered Greg's car to him. He wanted to have a good used rust-free car from Arizona. He flew out here and bought it, but didn't have enough time off for the drive. Since we love a good road trip, we agreed to the delivery.

This time, we had rented a nice cottage in Chappaqua for thirty days on AirBnB. We wanted to spend Christmas with the family without being underfoot for the whole time. We loaded the truck with everything we needed, plus several large tubs of stuff Greg had left behind when he moved out. He now lives in a house bigger than ours, so we decided he should store these things himself. Plus, we thought his kids might enjoy some of his childhood treasures.

So we set out. We watched the weather forecasts closely and chose a northerly route for the eastbound leg of the journey. As an added benefit, we could stop to see Vada and the kids in Iowa, friends from Air Force days in Ohio, and friends from Skagway in Pennsylvania. Good visits with all three made for an enjoyable cross-country trip. 

Scenery-wise we were not disappointed. We didn't expect much visual stimulation on the Nebraska-Iowa portion, but were pleased at seeing thousands of migrating geese, both in the air and on ponds.

We were also treated to glowing branches in the tops of leaf-bare trees covered in frost and lighted by the rising sun.

Our timing was perfect as we reached Vada's just as the kids were coming home from school, but unfortunately had to leave before Matt got home. Still, it was dark when we crossed the Mississippi at Davenport. 

Our time in Chappaqua was perfect. We were minutes from the kids by back roads, and minutes from the city-bound train by foot. We transported grandkids to and from school and activities on numerous occasions. We volunteered (I think Greg volunteered us) to help with a holiday event at A's school.

We were guests at a number of great musical performances including Tomoko's faculty recital and one of her student's senior recital. We got into the city several times and attended many Broadway shows and had an unforgettable dinner in Brooklyn with Manhattan's skyline across the East River.

After Peggie's birthday, we went to Philadelphia for a few days to visit Casey's BFF. We left Casey there. We toured Independence Hall and saw the Liberty Bell.

On our way back home, we stopped in Asheville, NC for a look at Biltmore Estate in full Christmas regalia, and a tour of the arts district. Then we headed west for a visit with Peggie's brother, Jerry, just east of Nashville. After that it was just a long drive home. Texas is way too big. We skirted Dallas/Fort Worth on a loop freeway, but were in urban traffic for over an hour. There was a bad accident on I-10 just west of El Paso that took an hour to get around. Since that was the only such event on the entire 6,000 mile trip, that is not bad. (No one was badly injured, but a truckload of lumber was scattered across all lanes)

The best part was coming home to a completed remodel of our kitchen and downstairs bathroom. All new everything. And it was all done while we were gone. It did take us a week to unbox all the stuff and find the right places to put things. We found all kinds of stuff we just didn't need anymore. I think six boxes to Goodwill, and two trash and two recycle barrels. Not bad for 28 years in the same house. 

And just as we were almost done with that, we stumbled on a (nearly) new fifth wheel we wanted. Ours was 17 years old, and while still in good condition (we lived in it last summer) we worried that expensive repairs were about to be needed. So we had to take everything out of the old trailer, and put it in the new one. You've all done that when trading in a car, but this is like moving from house to house. So we have done a lot of packing and unpacking in the last few months.

Oh, that can be my excuse for not posting! That IS my excuse. Good one.