Autumn days fly by too fast. I wanted to leave the house at 8:30am and instead didn’t leave until 9:40am, with three very excited dogs. They know by now that a ride in the Escape means a ride to a trailhead.
Today was a relatively short hike of around four miles. I parked at the San Pedro River-Hereford Bridge parking area and proceeded south along a single-track that led through amber fields of…itchy, dry ragweed. The dogs had to stop many times to scrape the embedded seeds off their fur as I swiped the pesky seedsoff my jeans.
It was another hot and exposed hike but at least on this stretch the river was within easy reach. There were so many illegal trails that led directly to the river that I never knew if I was trespassing or not. I took the dogs three times each way to the river to refresh themselves.
I wanted to hike to the Lehrer Kill Site and back, an unmarked, hard-to-find portion along this part of the river trail. I never found it. When the trail led directly toward a house and private property, I turned around. By then we had walked over an hour anyway, longer than I thought we would be out exploring.
I took the dogs to the river where we rested for 20 minutes. The red-winged grasshoppers were especially annoying today, clacking their wings around us, jumping up from the dried grass, enticing Sadie to chase them into the river where many of the grasshoppers doomed themselves to drown. The San Pedro is especially pretty along this section. On the return hike I took a 30-minute break to let the dogs chill near the water while I lay back, mesmerized by the sounds of babbling waters and the distant calls of song birds.
The high peaks of the Huachucas were to my west. Shaded homes on large lots were dotted along the river. If I could buy property in southern Arizona, it would be here, near the river, where one can enjoy the silent flights of hawks, owls and other raptors as they swirl around the big skies.
I was lucky that we didn’t meet any horses. The dogs were off leash and we were near ranches; I always had my eyes open.
Today was a relatively short hike of around four miles. I parked at the San Pedro River-Hereford Bridge parking area and proceeded south along a single-track that led through amber fields of…itchy, dry ragweed. The dogs had to stop many times to scrape the embedded seeds off their fur as I swiped the pesky seedsoff my jeans.
It was another hot and exposed hike but at least on this stretch the river was within easy reach. There were so many illegal trails that led directly to the river that I never knew if I was trespassing or not. I took the dogs three times each way to the river to refresh themselves.
I wanted to hike to the Lehrer Kill Site and back, an unmarked, hard-to-find portion along this part of the river trail. I never found it. When the trail led directly toward a house and private property, I turned around. By then we had walked over an hour anyway, longer than I thought we would be out exploring.
I took the dogs to the river where we rested for 20 minutes. The red-winged grasshoppers were especially annoying today, clacking their wings around us, jumping up from the dried grass, enticing Sadie to chase them into the river where many of the grasshoppers doomed themselves to drown. The San Pedro is especially pretty along this section. On the return hike I took a 30-minute break to let the dogs chill near the water while I lay back, mesmerized by the sounds of babbling waters and the distant calls of song birds.
The high peaks of the Huachucas were to my west. Shaded homes on large lots were dotted along the river. If I could buy property in southern Arizona, it would be here, near the river, where one can enjoy the silent flights of hawks, owls and other raptors as they swirl around the big skies.
I was lucky that we didn’t meet any horses. The dogs were off leash and we were near ranches; I always had my eyes open.
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