Hangin’ With the Dogs

I know that you all must have been wondering just what it is that I do all day while the ‘Folks’ are out doing all that hiking………

Mostly……I just hang out…….waiting patiently for them to get home.

Sometimes, Boy-oh-Boy! I get to go on a hike with them! I LOVE to go hiking! That is…if it is not too hot……or somewhere BORING (like around the campground).

When we get back to the camper, I lie on my comfy dog bed and rest a bit.

In the afternoon, the Folks and I go over to Sarah and Jason’s to visit…..

And I get to spend time with Lucky.  You can see how pleased I am……..

Most of our time is spent pretending that the other  does not exist!

If I am a really good dog, the people take me out to the dog park (right close by, in the apartment complex) and I get to play ball! I LOVE to play ball….I really, really do!

Play ball!

You can watch me play ball on this video. I am SUCH a good dog!

Whew! I am beat! Time for bed…….did you think that I would really stay on the floor all night?

After all, It’s a dogs life!         

Jade

The Siphon Draw…One More Time

When we want a more challenging hike….there is the Siphon Draw trail. We decided to hike this trail, again, on Wednesday (March 14th) just to see if it would feel any better…….

 

The Siphon Draw trail (pictured on the right side of this map), goes up the ‘draw’ towards ‘Flat Iron’ Mountain, The trail up to the ‘Basin’  is about 4 miles round trip from our campsite, and about 1,000 feet elevation gain. There is an additional trail (or ‘not much of’ a trail) that heads from the ‘Basin’ up another 1,000 feet, over about a mile, on up to ‘Flat Iron’. We have not hiked this section (I feel like adding….no…DUH!) but have enjoyed the challenge of hiking to the Basin.    : )

This hike has it‘s challenges……the footing gets tricky, and some areas are pretty steep. There are several sections where the trail just ‘disappears’ and you just have to scramble over and in between the rocks.  This picture shows the trail skirting the edge…..in the center of the picture is the ‘Basin’ and the flat topped mountain at the top center of the picture is Flat Iron.

A closer view of the Basin, with Flat Iron shrouded in the morning fog.

Another view of the Basin. The lighter streak running up the Basin is where water flows down (it was dry at this time).

The rock in the Basin is somewhat smoother and looks ‘shiny’ with the sun’s glare.

You are rewarded for your efforts with a nice place to rest and a spectacular view!

We hiked this trail with just our day packs. We felt much stronger this second time…..but any way you cut it, the tricky footing makes this hike a challenge. We wanted to add a bit of mileage on this hike, so we looped around on Jacob’s Crosscut and back by the Discovery Trail, bring our total mileage to 5 miles.

Along the way, LOTS of people passing us would ask “Did you make it to the top?” meaning all the way up to Flat Iron. You know, it does not bother me to not go all the way to the top. Climbing higher up the Basin rocks really bothers my sense of heights (not Fred’s, however) and I just have not felt the need to challenge myself on this.

It is funny how some things are just ‘there’……drawing you….daring you…... And sometimes, you can be content with leaving them. I have learned to pick my own challenges, and not feel goaded into something. I am much stronger when I choose how and where I will challenge myself.

Hiking Trails at Lost Dutchman–Jacob’s Crosscut

We have been really enjoying the trail system at Lost Dutchman SP. There are several loops of varying degrees of difficulty, so you can pretty much enjoy any kind of hike/walk that you want.

We start most of our hikes at the ‘You Are Here’ spot on the bottom, right hand side of this map.

Heading up the Siphon Draw trail just a bit, you come to an intersection with Jacob’s Crosscut trail (not pictured here).

This trail cuts across a broad ‘plateau’ at the base of the Superstition Mountains.

Part of this trail widens out and almost looks like a desert ‘garden’.

This has become one of my favorite walks…..especially in the morning…..

Jacob’s Crosscut does not have much elevation gain, as it just meanders up and down the little ravines. This trail is gentle enough to take Jade and only about two miles when you connect it with the Discovery trail (not shown in my picture of the map – but connecting the Saguaro Day Use Area to our campsite).

Jade at 9 years old, does not do well with really long hikes, or the heat…..but she LOVES to go for a walk and sniff all the new smells!

This is a really nice section of trail to add to other hikes when we need a little more distance.

And the flowers are so beautiful……and the birds. This is a house finch who brightened our morning……

Of Flowers and Birds……Appreciating the Desert While ‘Training’

March 12,13, 2012- Monday morning, Sarah was back to work and Jason, to class. Fred and I put on our day packs and hit the trail. Lost Dutchman is the perfect place to put a few miles under our feet. We hiked a loop trail, joining Jacob’s Crosscut, Prospector’s View, and Treasure Loop for a total of 4.26 miles, and taking about 2 hrs 20 min. The total elevation change was 536 feet, about 1/2 of the Siphon Draw trail that we had hiked on Saturday.

Monday’s hiking felt much more comfortable. Our feet were finding their footing on the rocks and loose gravel surface, and our legs felt stronger. I had figured out which spots on my toes needed taping to keep from rubbing blisters (something that I always have to deal with) and managed to hike without any new ‘hot spots’. This left us more free to notice the beauty around us……….

The wildflowers are just breathtaking……..

Fields of flowers turning the desert landscape into a ‘meadow’……

Softening the edges of the rocks……

And painting the desert with color.

Birds…..ever present…..a small humming bird, caught in the moment that it alighted…..

And…… our friend, the Phainopepla.

Tuesday morning, we did the same hike….this time with our full backpacks. The weight of the pack was noticeable, but not ‘OMG awful’. We have tried to get as light as we can with our packs, and each carry just about 30 lbs.

I think that this is a good idea - to practice with our packs and gear- as we  ‘fine tune’ each time we get out. We have found a way to comfortably carry our bigger camera, and Fred has been trying out his new Topo GPS. Packs, hydration system, etc, are working well.

Our bodies need to get accustomed to the added weight of the backpack. I could feel the effort…. in my calves and hip muscles as we hiked up hill and down. Fred feels it more on his hips and shoulders and other ‘pressure points’.

 

I have to say that I feel much more encouraged after Tuesday’s hike. I am beginning to hike with a bit more confidence……getting less timid on the downhill (but always trying not to slip on the loose gravel). This week of hiking will be good for us…..as well as simply beautiful!

A ‘Wicked’ Evening

March 10, 2012 – Saturday evening we had tickets for the traveling Broadway performance of ‘Wicked”, which was playing at ASU’s Gammage Theatre in Tempe.

We got all dressed up and enjoyed dinner at “Oregano’s”, a trendy little pizza place close to campus, then headed over to the show. (We took pictures at Oregano’s in front of these murals.)

‘Wicked’ is set in the Land of OZ before Dorothy’s arrival. This play explores the relationship between Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda the Good Witch (‘Wicked’ pictures are pulled from the internet….as cameras were not allowed).

Elphaba and Glinda go from school girl ‘loathing’…… I mean…who would want a roommate who is……..blonde…..to a deepening friendship which changes both “for the good”.
Elphaba, who just happens to have been born green, is a easy target for fear and ridicule. Though she desperately wants to be accepted, she will not trade her integrity for popularity. Glinda is shallow and self absorbed and stereotypically ‘blonde’. Glenda first rejects Elphaba, then, takes her on as her ‘pet project’; growing to admire Elphaba and finding a depth within herself along the way.
This play challenges our perceptions of ‘wickedness’ and ‘wonderful’.  As the Wizard points out, history is just what people agree on. Are you a liberator or a tyrant? An invader or crusader? Wizard or con man? Wonderful or wicked? It is just a matter of perception…….or  ‘spin’.

Woven into this play are themes…… of the pain of being different…..and how easy it is for us to make outcasts of those that we perceive as different. Of the cost of standing up for what you believe……and speaking the truth…..even though it will make you very unpopular….or even get you cast out and persecuted. Of the power of labels……

Throughout time, strong women have been persecuted and labeled…….as witches…..or _itches, for speaking their truth.  And those who champion the cause of the less popular….often find themselves the target of hatred and fear.
Something to remember…….in this rather scary, present day, ultra conservative political climate. Women’s rights,  gay rights….. equal rights…..seem to be sacrificed, as a smokescreen….a distraction…to keep us from focusing on the issues and “looking behind the curtain” and maybe seeing that the ‘wizards’ are not all-powerful, but only a con.

This was a wonderful play...great performance, fantastic costumes, amazing set! We had such a great time!

Hiking the Siphon Draw Trail

March 10, 2012 – Sarah and Jason joined us for the day at Lost Dutchman SP.

Our plan for the morning was to hike the Siphon Draw Trail. This hike is an out-and-back trail, 4 miles round trip with 1,000 ft elevation gain.

This picture was taken from our campsite, and shows the trail going up into the Superstition Mountains.

The trail was steady up for the first portion……

Becoming steeper for the last 3/4 miles.

If you look carefully to the center right in this picture, you can see some hikers on this rocky section of trail.

At the Siphon Draw…….a breathtaking view……..and a place to sit and rest before heading down.

This hike was a good first hike of our trip……a chance to try out new equipment (I have a new day pack, and we are figuring out the best way to carry the camera) and to do some ‘shake down’ hikes before we tackle the Grand Canyon in a couple of weeks.  I have to admit, however,  to being a bit discouraged.  I had really hoped (after all that work in the gym) that hiking would seem ‘effortless’………which is was not……and it is tough to have groups of young people passing you…..with seemingly boundless energy! My feet are a bit tender (the rocky ground makes difficult walking) and my legs are a bit tired. But I know that, with a few hikes, we will get our ‘trail legs’ back (at least I sure hope so!) And I try to keep in mind that even my hero, Colin Fletcher, wrote about needing a few days, or weeks…. each trip out…… to get used to the effort of, as he would put it, “……carrying a bloody big rucksack”. So……we plan to use the next two weeks of hiking at Lost Dutchman (during the days, while Sarah is at work) to get our bodies conditioned to the trail.