Playing Catch-Up

Well, as you know, I just finished documenting over the past 2 weeks a trip that we took 3 weeks ago. Believe it or not, that is not all I have been doing. That's right, we have been living it up down here in Southern AZ! Let me show you a peek into our life at the end of March:

It has been HOT. Record breaking hot. I made a goal for us to not turn on the AC until April, and it was a real struggle for some days. However, once April 1 came around, it cooled down a bit and has been windier, so the AC remains off and the windows are open. I found that painting my toenails hot pink helps me get in that summertime mood. Anyway, we haven't stopped going outside (having a puppy helps with this) and are trying to embrace it. We were able to go walking/running at Sabino Canyon once since returning home.

I'm really going to miss coming here every other week or so...If there's any place that motivates me to run, it's this canyon. But maybe jogging on the beach will be fun. Tune in later (like in a year) and I'll give an answer to that one. ;)

When it's in the upper 90's and the AC isn't on, we can get real lazy. I've been trying to stay motivated and keep trying new things in the kitchen. Charlotte was especially appreciative of one new creation: homemade dog biscuits! We have not gotten into buying her treats yet, but these things made her week better. My initial inspiration for making dog treats was for a hike we were going on with Charlotte and another puppy, but this might have to be a more regular occurrence. Charlotte approves.

On the Saturday after vacation, we hiked Mt. Wrightson together with some friends - it was Curtis' 7th time, my 3rd, and Charlotte's 2nd. This was actually Charlotte's first hike ever last October. Back then, she was only 13 weeks old and was able to hike 6.5 out of the 10 miles. This time, at 8 months old, she walked the entire time! She's come such a long way, and we are so proud of our baby. :)

This time, we hiked with our friend Mitchell and 3 new friends - Julianna, Russ, and Vanessa. We had a great time getting to know everyone and sharing our favorite hike in the Tucson area. 

Oh, and Charlotte made a new friend too - Max, the 9 month old labradoodle! It was Max's first hike, and he did a great job and somehow still had so much energy afterwords! Charlotte and Max both loved the puppy treats, and they even figured out how to steal them from my backpack. They made the hike so much more entertaining!

It was interesting doing this for a 3rd time. I started to remember more than just the main landmarks. All the views around us looked familiar...but also different. It was rather hazy that day. Curtis brought his eyeglass, of course, and with it he was able to see the Aerostat in Sierra Vista. That may have been the highlight for him on this hike!

Facing North toward Tucson

Facing Northwest, with the mines in the distance

Facing West 

Family picture - we're all here at the top again!

Charlotte finds a shady nook to rest in at the top.

On the downside, it was a little too hot for comfort, and there were way too many gnats at the peak! Instead of having lunch there, we hiked down a mile to a campsite and sat in the shade. We found out that Russ and Vanessa also like dehydrating things and exchanged ideas. 

Charlotte may have gotten a little jealous of Max...or maybe she was possessive of her treats and didn't want to share? Anyway, she went and sat on the other side of the clearing from us and pouted. Silly child.

After the hike, we all went back to Mitch's for a barbecue, and even though they had just hiked 10 miles, Charlotte and Max proceeded to run in circles, chasing each other all over the house. They were so cute together! Charlotte may have been exhausted, but she didn't want to slow down until we were driving home. She finally passed out and slept like a baby all night long...cuddled next to us in bed. :)

This week, we also started and completed a 2000 piece puzzle. Charlotte was a great help, as you can see, though we are 99% certain that she stole a piece. Thanks a lot, Charlotte. You stinker.

Charlotte also likes to get into the action when we eat. Here she is, hamming it up for Curtis to score some sorbet. It really doesn't matter what we're eating though, as long as it isn't too hot she's all over it. And yes, we give in to her sweet puppy dog eyes...we are well trained humans.

You know what they say, "Happy dog, happy life!" Wait, maybe that isn't it...Oh well, we are all smiles over here. We hope you had a great week!

Trail Blazing

Friday, January 23, 2015

Friday was the start to another exciting 3 day weekend! I am afraid I've already grown attached to these and it will be too painful to go back to anything else. At least we know that we're enjoying every day as much as we can. :)

For today's adventure, we planned for a hiking trip that would be around 7 miles. The original destination was Elephant Head in the Santa Rita Mountains, but that isn't what it ended up being! We drove South on I-19, past Green Valley and the exit for Madera Canyon, and instead took a road around Amado, first driving along a paved road, then turning off onto a rough, rocky road. 

Curtis knew that the road would be gravel, but wasn't expecting it to be so poorly maintained. He was also going off of a trail map, so all the dirt roads were hard to follow. We took a wrong turn, and the truck overheated. We were not ready to deal with more car issues in the middle of nowhere, so we decided to park in the closest and easiest spot, hike the extra 1.8 miles to the trailhead, and not worry about making it all the way up Elephant Head. We decided to take it easy and simply enjoy everything about the hike.

After stopping in the parking lot. Elephant Head is the bald, tan peak on the far left.

These 5 small peaks peeking out remind me of waves in an ocean, or something like that

Following the Gravel Road

For the first 1.8 miles, we followed the gravel road, which turned out to be much easier to walk on than drive up! We saw some bikers and a few other hikers (all of them loved on Charlotte!) but when we reached our trailhead, we were the only ones there, and we loved it. The trail was well maintained with tall grass surrounding us, for the most part. There was a bit of an incline, but nothing strenuous, it was all so easy to enjoy.

As we were walking - Me in the lead, Charlotte in the middle, and Curtis bringing up the rear - Curtis heard something from off the trail and glanced over and saw something...white and grey. "Hey, there's a skunk!" he noted as he passed by. But then he noticed it walking toward the trail...then on the trail...following us. "Run!" He shouted. All of this happened in seconds. I was nervous from the moment I heard there was a skunk. I took off running, and Charlotte ran after me, naturally. She didn't see or smell the skunk, she just ran because I was. Such a good dog! The 3 of us ran for a bit on the trail, until Curtis said we were fine. We returned to walking at a normal pace, checking behind us every now and again for the skunk, just in case. It was just so weird!

Elephant Head!

We continued on the trail for about 2 miles past where we were chased by the skunk. The trail slowly inclined until it reached a ridge, followed that for a while before quickly declining and meeting up with a mountain bike trail. From there, it followed a ridge, slowly inclining again, weaving through a valley, with several high peaks above us. We finally reached the spur "trail" that led to Elephant Head peak (above picture). We were disappointed to realize that this trail didn't continue following the ridge, but instead cut across the valley - going downhill, losing 500 feet of elevation in a quarter mile, only to gain all that plus more walking up the other side, where there was no official trail. The peak looked so interesting, and I wanted to be there so bad, but it really didn't seem possible with a small dog. It was also already 2:30, (we had a late start, plus the long drive and wrong turns didn't help!) so we decided that we wouldn't attempt it. From where we were, we could either continue on the trail to a mining site or head back. 

I desperately wanted to reach a "peak" so that we could have some sort of destination, so we decided to trail blaze up the side of the mountain that we had been walking along for a while. This was new for us - to go where there was no trail! It was steep, prickly, and very tiring, but I felt so free and adventurous. The peak turned out to be further than I thought, (mountains are so deceiving like that!) but we didn't give up, and all 3 of us made it to the top, after taking our own routes around the desert plants.

Elephant Head

The trail continued to a mining site, but we chose not to visit today.

Facing East, with Babaquivari being the prominent peak in the background!

Facing Elephant Head from our own secret peak. The Catalina Mountains are in the far back.

Chilling at the top!

Once at the top, we stopped for a snack and took time to enjoy it. Curtis checked for any caches around us, and found that this peak had no name. We decided to call it Mt. Charlander - "Charlander" was one of the nicknames that my siblings came up with for Charlotte. We thought it sounded right, in honor of our adorable 6 month old puppy's achievements. :)

Charlotte LOVES kissing daddy!

family :)

Facing East - Mt. Wrightson is back there somewhere

After this, we began our trek down. Trail blazing while walking downhill is so much more difficult than uphill, especially with how steep this was! Curtis carried Charlotte, and I took my time, planning out each move. Curtis and Charlotte made it down before I did, and Charlotte was very concerned for me. :) 

Once I made it, we began hiking back, in the same order as before - me, Charlotte, Curtis. However, not 20 steps in, I see something ahead of us, coming toward us..."SKUNK! IT FOLLOWED US!! RUN!!!" I screamed. I turned around and pushed past Curtis in a rush. He swooped up Charlotte and ran after me. "Go left!" He yelled, and we both took off running off trail, trail blazing again. We dashed through the desert plants on the downhill slope, making a huge loop before meeting back up with the trail. We couldn't see it any more, but we/I were/was terrified and weren't about to face it again. We continued walking at a quickened pace, and Charlotte rose to the occasion and followed our example. Again, she didn't even see what we were running from, she really just puts up with everything we do!

As we walked back, we could smell traces of the skunk every now and again. We were paranoid! I wasn't too concerned about being sprayed as I was about it hurting Charlotte, or maybe even being rabid. We couldn't believe the thing followed our scent for at least 1.5 miles! We're almost positive that it's the same one that followed us - it looked the same, walked the same, and was the only one we saw all day (thank God!). We were safe for the rest of the hike - saw no more wildlife, and left with a great new story to tell. :)

Goodbye skunk, until next time!

Before driving back home, we stopped to check out Whipple Observatory, and grabbed a nearby letterbox.

That huge mirror thing is some sort of telescope...we're intrigued!

Saying goodbye for now to the Santa Rita mountains

The Catalina mountains reflecting the beauty of the sunset

While driving home, we saw a beautiful sunset, and enjoyed delicious pork chops and strawberry crisps at home. Day 1 of this weekend's adventures complete! Altogether, we hiked 7.2 miles.

Trail blazing...it's much more enjoyable when you can take your time and plan each step. When you have to do it out of necessity because you're being chased, the adrenaline rush is real, but it will end up being much more painful in the end! I still have many scars on my shins, arms, and even stomach from running into shin daggers, ocotillos, and other prickly desert things!

Charlotte's First Hike!

October 18, 2014

Hiking season is HERE! We are so excited to be outside and actively enjoying the beauty all around us! We have a big hiking trip coming up in the next month, and need to be out as much as we can to get ready. The only concern was our puppy, Charlotte...it seemed crazy to take a 13 week old puppy on a long peak hike, but it seemed equally unfair to leave her at home all day long. After thinking long and hard, we finally decided: We were bringing our puppy!

We didn't exactly choose the easiest trail to start her off on. We were hiking to Mt. Wrightson in the Santa Rita mountain range, South of Tucson and the highest peak in the Tucson area. It's 10 miles round trip and gains almost 4000 feet. Curtis and I did it together in May, and he's done it 4 times before that. So we decided we needed a new challenge: a puppy, which we may very well end up carrying up and down the mountain!

We left early, and Charlotte fell asleep on the 45 minute drive there. Thankfully, she does very well in vehicles - I've always been there to hold her so she doesn't disrupt the driver, but she is very well behaved and likes to either look out the window, sit between us, or sleep on my lap. This will be very helpful when it comes to taking longer trips together! 

Shadow and Charlotte meet for the first time

We arrived at the trailhead at 7:15 and met with some friends, including Mitch's labrador, Shadow.  The dogs had a brief moment of introduction before Shadow decided that she was too good for a little puppy, and ignored Charlotte for the rest of the day. Charlie, however, saw Shadow as a role model, and tried to keep up with her all day. All the way up the mountain!

Aside from worrying that Charlotte wouldn't make it up, we were also concerned that it would take forever to make it up the mountain because she is not one for staying focused on a walk. She is always a "poky little puppy" whenever we go for walks. But not today! It could have been because of the other people in our group or Shadow ahead of us, but she stayed so focused and only stopped briefly a few times. Her little tail was wagging so much! They say that a busy dog is a happy dog, and it's so true - she must have been so happy all day!

3 miles in - we found fall colors! Even though we hadn't done any big hikes like this since June, it really wasn't too hard to get back into it. I could tell that I was even stronger than last time we hiked this mountain. I think having Charlotte was a motivation for me - if my 13 week old puppy can do this, so can I!

Like any other trail, there were parts where there would be rocks or steps in the path. They never slowed Charlie down - there were very few things that she couldn't jump up! The one part she didn't seem to get was the switchbacks. She would see the others in our group walking higher up and going the opposite way, and she would start crying because she didn't understand why we were heading the "wrong way." Once or twice we let her cut off a switchback, but most of them are too steep so we would have to coax her to follow us around the corner and up the other way. 

Taking a break at the stream

 We are 32 switchbacks away from Old Baldy Saddle, which is only 1 mile from the peak.

We made it! This is facing East from the saddle. It was a very clear morning, giving us great visibility for miles and miles.

We were so proud of Charlotte - she hiked all the way to this point! We had tried carrying her for brief periods, but she was far too squirmy and just wanted to do it herself. We had brought plenty of food and water for her - this is her second - and very well-deserved - bowl of food.

She was actually mellow at this point. When we took breaks, she wouldn't always sit down and rest with us. She would usually be more interested in sniffing around and checking out the area. But not now!

One mile left, and that's where we are headed! Ready Charlotte?...

...Awww, maybe a few more minutes :)

 We let her walk a half mile more, but then the trail got far steeper and rockier, so we carried her the rest of the way - until we got right up to the peak, then let her have the pleasure of walking onto the peak itself. :)

To the East - what a view! The two most prominent peaks straight ahead are Carr and Miller peaks, both on the 20 top peaks in AZ. We hope to do those someday!

Facing Southeast from our "nook." The guys rest here every time they hike this mountain.

Panorama view. It's kind of sad that my phone takes better pictures than my camera did last time we did this.

After more food and water, Charlotte was out. It was adorable. Then Shadow got excited by our food and stepped on Charlie, and didn't even notice. It made me happy when Charlie came running to me when that happened, and fell asleep on my lap. :')

Facing East

Facing North - toward Tucson

Hi, I'm a 13 week old basset hound puppy, I just hiked 4.5 miles and I'm on the highest point around Tucson!

Everything the light touches is her kingdom

Family picture at 9,200 feet! We love our little hiker puppy!

Oh, here are our family picture outtakes. Our puppy is such a ham! I have a feeling that this is exactly what our future kids will be like when we try to take them hiking or things like this. :)

She was wiped out at that point. Poor girl!

Oh, to know what she's thinking! "How did I end up with these crazy people?!"

Facing Northwest, looking at how far we've come

Puppy snuggles before beginning the hike down!

A little Lion King humor for you.

Curtis carried Charlie for about 2.5 miles from this point. She was so tired, she didn't even try to struggle. I don't think she slept, but she definitely got the rest she needed.

We tried this for a bit but she was very heavy...and groaned the whole time!

When we had about 2 miles left, she got a second wind and took off running! She was able to make it  to the end of the trail. We were so proud...and tired from chasing her!

Before heading home, Curtis went to retrieve a letterbox and I sat with Charlie in the car. Usually she cries when we're in the truck waiting for Curtis, but she was just too tired now. She slept the whole way home, and all night long. By Sunday morning, she had all her energy back and it was as if the hike never happened. But it did - she hiked at least 6.5 miles, and we are so proud! We're so glad we decided to bring her, and we're excited to have her join us on many hikes in the future!

The sky on our way home - facing East

Facing North

Facing West

Here is the map of the trail, using the smartphone app "Map My Hike." Our time was not anywhere near our record time last May, but we made great time for having a puppy with us. :)

The elevation gain - I love this hike because it's a steady incline the whole way up!