Today, we could do nothing with the RV so we decided to do what we came to Mesa for, hike. For our second training hike, I had picked a trail that we had done last year that was about 7.1 miles long and about 1400’ in altitude. Not too bad and it’s a beautiful day out. The temps have been in the 90’s but we had a ‘cold’ front pass through which not only lit up the sky with the lightning, watered the deserts with water but cooled the temps down to the 70’s for one day and 80’s for today. Tomorrow and for the forseeable future, it’s back to the 90’s.
So for today, we’ll forget about the RV and its problems and get out into nature and hike. Since this is a shorter hike, we didn’t rush in the morning and finally reached the trailhead to start about 9:45. Since it was a Saturday, the trailhead parking lot was close to full and we could see colorful shirts bouncing up the trails. A busy day in the Sonoran Desert Preserve. And, isn’t that the idea? Gary suggested going clockwise this time and also suggested going around a loop we hadn’t gone around before. Added a mile or so to the hike so no big deal.
We hiked along, standing off to the side for the trail runners and the mountain bikers. We circled one small peak and then began the inexorable climb to Windgate Pass. Now, I’ll admit that passes are shorter than the mountains between which they run, but that doesn’t mean that they themselves are short. This pass was 3052’ up there and there was a lot of that infernal switch-backing. Well, better switch-backing than climbing straight up.
Luckily Gary took the picture above when I still had the energy to smile and raise my hand. He took the picture on his I Phone, e-mailed it to his sister and some friends of ours and received an e-mail back - all while on the hike. Obviously, we're close to civilization and the cell towers even on a hike in the desert mountains.
Luckily Gary took the picture above when I still had the energy to smile and raise my hand. He took the picture on his I Phone, e-mailed it to his sister and some friends of ours and received an e-mail back - all while on the hike. Obviously, we're close to civilization and the cell towers even on a hike in the desert mountains.
From Windgate Pass, we had a view across the valley to the next mountain ranges with the 4 Peaks on the left and the Superstition Mountains on the right.
Shortly after we crested and began going down, we came to an intersection and decided (stupidly) to go straight rather than curl around the mountain to the Bell Pass and down to the car. I knew that if we went straight, we’d meet another trail which would then bring up back to Bell Pass. However, we had not brought the map which showed this. Now, and here is the rub: the trail went further down meaning that we would have lots more altitude to regain and it went further on than we thought. Oof-da.
When we finally met the trail which led back to Bell Pass which was between us and the car, we were much lower in altitude than we wanted and further out. Shucks, but at least we were headed in the right direction. And, on we went. Me, I was getting tired. Imagine being on a stairstepper all day - well, that was where I was - heading inexorably up My thighs were burning and I had to stop a bit more often than I wanted. But, as the old saying goes: Out is optional, back is mandatory. I knew I would make it back just not as fast as I might have wanted.
Interestingly, we think we heard a helicopter rescue of someone on the trail. We saw the helicopter flying over Bell Pass and into a crease in the craggy hills. We couldn't see where it went but knew that Bell Pass trail that we had taken last year was over there. We could hear that helicopter for quite a while but, again, could not see anything because the mountains were between us and it. We did see it take off back over Bell Pass. When we got around the mountains to Bell Pass trail, we could see nothing unusual. Who knows?
And there we were at the top of Bell Pass, looking downwards to where we had parked the car. Whew. On the way back home, Gary said, 'I suppose you'd rather eat out than cook a meal after all that.' He was reading my mind. And, thus we found ourselves, sweaty, disheveled, in our hiking clothes eating at a local restaurant. Delicious.
Interestingly, we think we heard a helicopter rescue of someone on the trail. We saw the helicopter flying over Bell Pass and into a crease in the craggy hills. We couldn't see where it went but knew that Bell Pass trail that we had taken last year was over there. We could hear that helicopter for quite a while but, again, could not see anything because the mountains were between us and it. We did see it take off back over Bell Pass. When we got around the mountains to Bell Pass trail, we could see nothing unusual. Who knows?
And there we were at the top of Bell Pass, looking downwards to where we had parked the car. Whew. On the way back home, Gary said, 'I suppose you'd rather eat out than cook a meal after all that.' He was reading my mind. And, thus we found ourselves, sweaty, disheveled, in our hiking clothes eating at a local restaurant. Delicious.
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