another day in the mountains

After getting nothing done yesterday, I decided to get a different kind of nothing done today.

It was a cloudy and dark day as I drove into South Mountain park. The cold snap was rolling in and it constantly threatened rain. I parked outside the closed gates to the western section of the park and walked in.

My goal was to make a loop out of aptly named "Alta" trail, one of the most challenging trail in the park. After hiking along the road for .7 miles, there's a signpost and you cross the highlands to a very steep climb up to the ridge. Hiking along the ridge, you have the valley of the park on one side, and an amazing view of west Phoenix on the other. Nobody out there today, so the greenness of the desert after the recent rains, coupled with the roiling gray clouds made the desert feel more like Middle Earth, especially with the narrow rocky trails along the steep mountain slopes.

The official trail skirts the massive peak, one of the highest in the park, but that's the official trail. At the main saddle, where the trail crosses from the city side to the park side and begins the descent, there's a small, narrow trail which threads the jagged razor of the ridge up to the peak. And what a peak! Obviously a popular perch for the birds of prey, judging from the guano, feathers, and tiny bones.

After enjoying the view, I finished the trail to the parking lot trailhead at the farthest western end of the park, about a quarter mile from the Indian casino just outside the park boundaries. It was a long walk back along the road (closed to cars) back to the gates. In all, about five miles in the mountains and four along the roads.

The climb and the hike took a lot out of me. Famished, I ate a big lunch, and then Skyped Saori for an hour or two. Zara threw herself into fits of intoxicated delight as she attempted to burrow into my reeking armpits.

I got a shower, and then felt just wiped. Took a short nap and then mom came home and we had salad for dinner.