I had some free time yesterday and took the dogs up the Cave Canyon Trail in the Santa Ritas. This trail skirts the mountain range on the east side, the side that was badly burned in the lightning-caused Florida (FloREEda) Fire in July 2005. This trail also connects with other trails in the saddle and one can make a 12-14 mile loop up and around the 9453' peak. The eastern trails of this mountain range are little-used because most people hike up Mount Wrightson from the Tucson side: via Madera Canyon.
The road to the trailhead was easy to find, driving west on the Gardner Canyon Trail off Highway 83 for nine miles. My van was able to traverse the creek in all locations. I parked at the end of the road, where the Forest Service now has a fence installed with an opening just wide enough for ATVs.
My original plan was to scout out a loop route to Mount Wrightson via the Gardner Canyon Trail, but that trail is still closed and clearly marked as closed. (It looks like Gardner Canyon Trail is a popular route for ATVs, judging by the deep, wide tire grooves in the road.) Instead, we continued our hike closer to Cave Creek uphill along a badly-rutted trail that I thought was the Chinaman Trail. Two miles along this trail an old metal trail sign indicating "Cave Creek Trail" pointed us straight ahead. With water in the creek this was the perfect hike for the dogs, both which used the creek for their own refreshment each time we crossed it.
Our hike officially started on this hike at 10:15am, after walking around the creek for an hour exploring options.
The dogs enjoyed this walk, staying close to me on the trail. Perhaps they are still recovering from the weekend? We did fine climbing up the switchback, enjoying the views to the west of the Whetstones and Huachucas.
But at one point, almost to the Florida saddle intersection, Sammy opted to stop moving and start digging a hole under a scrub oak along the trail. He was telling me he had had enough hiking and wanted to rest in the shade. I thus officially stopped the hike, let the dogs rest for 45 minutes while I gazed over the valley, amazed at how much damage a forest fire can do in such a short time, and how hard the fire fighters must have worked to contain this fire.
The firs and pinyon pines along the Cave Canyon Trail are badly burned and now remain as black sticks across the horizon. The agaves and yuccas survived and continue to grow, but new growth is reserved for small thornbrush so common in South Texas. The pines will never grow back in the Florida saddle and an entirely new generation of flora will take over in the next few decades.
The trail itself also suffered severe erosion in parts, especially lower in the canyon where boulders and large rocks tumbled downhill and rerouted the creek. Snow still covered parts of the northern slopes.
We saw not another soul on this hike. We didn't even see any wildlife, except for a few mockingbirds. No deers, no squirrels, no hares. I watched the dogs carefully to make sure they hadn't spotted anything big, black and furry... A car parked near the trailhead displaying Washington state plates was still there when we got back to the van. And good for me, there was no trash for me to police up before leaving.
The dogs were exhausted on the drive back home. I made it back to the house at 6pm (!) and the dogs never budged much the rest of the night, snoozing close by while we watched "The Biggest Loser." This show has really encouraged Kevin to lose weight; he's lost another two pounds this week. That wouldn't be enough to "keep him on the ranch" but for me the show is a positive factor on his physical well-being and confidence. (Losing weight for me is a lot harder. My main concern lately is staying hydrated as I have no weight to lose; I am forcing myself to drink a half gallon of fluids during the day)
The dogs will be weighed in early April, a month after their first official weigh-in at the vet's office. Both are acting more energetic since I have been back and their stamina is coming back, but it's going to be a slow and steady weight-loss program for them.
The road to the trailhead was easy to find, driving west on the Gardner Canyon Trail off Highway 83 for nine miles. My van was able to traverse the creek in all locations. I parked at the end of the road, where the Forest Service now has a fence installed with an opening just wide enough for ATVs.
My original plan was to scout out a loop route to Mount Wrightson via the Gardner Canyon Trail, but that trail is still closed and clearly marked as closed. (It looks like Gardner Canyon Trail is a popular route for ATVs, judging by the deep, wide tire grooves in the road.) Instead, we continued our hike closer to Cave Creek uphill along a badly-rutted trail that I thought was the Chinaman Trail. Two miles along this trail an old metal trail sign indicating "Cave Creek Trail" pointed us straight ahead. With water in the creek this was the perfect hike for the dogs, both which used the creek for their own refreshment each time we crossed it.
Our hike officially started on this hike at 10:15am, after walking around the creek for an hour exploring options.
The dogs enjoyed this walk, staying close to me on the trail. Perhaps they are still recovering from the weekend? We did fine climbing up the switchback, enjoying the views to the west of the Whetstones and Huachucas.
But at one point, almost to the Florida saddle intersection, Sammy opted to stop moving and start digging a hole under a scrub oak along the trail. He was telling me he had had enough hiking and wanted to rest in the shade. I thus officially stopped the hike, let the dogs rest for 45 minutes while I gazed over the valley, amazed at how much damage a forest fire can do in such a short time, and how hard the fire fighters must have worked to contain this fire.
The firs and pinyon pines along the Cave Canyon Trail are badly burned and now remain as black sticks across the horizon. The agaves and yuccas survived and continue to grow, but new growth is reserved for small thornbrush so common in South Texas. The pines will never grow back in the Florida saddle and an entirely new generation of flora will take over in the next few decades.
The trail itself also suffered severe erosion in parts, especially lower in the canyon where boulders and large rocks tumbled downhill and rerouted the creek. Snow still covered parts of the northern slopes.
We saw not another soul on this hike. We didn't even see any wildlife, except for a few mockingbirds. No deers, no squirrels, no hares. I watched the dogs carefully to make sure they hadn't spotted anything big, black and furry... A car parked near the trailhead displaying Washington state plates was still there when we got back to the van. And good for me, there was no trash for me to police up before leaving.
The dogs were exhausted on the drive back home. I made it back to the house at 6pm (!) and the dogs never budged much the rest of the night, snoozing close by while we watched "The Biggest Loser." This show has really encouraged Kevin to lose weight; he's lost another two pounds this week. That wouldn't be enough to "keep him on the ranch" but for me the show is a positive factor on his physical well-being and confidence. (Losing weight for me is a lot harder. My main concern lately is staying hydrated as I have no weight to lose; I am forcing myself to drink a half gallon of fluids during the day)
The dogs will be weighed in early April, a month after their first official weigh-in at the vet's office. Both are acting more energetic since I have been back and their stamina is coming back, but it's going to be a slow and steady weight-loss program for them.
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