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gear testing


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Posted by Zonie on January 01, 2022 at 03:25:45

I dutifully wore my work overalls and my beat-up old work boots for the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day mud hikes. Usually Sunday is my one day of the week to wear jeans. They're more practical for mountain climbing, and my climbing partner doesn't want me arriving all wet and muddy. Boxing Day morning was a little foggy, but there wasn't any rain, and after the climb I thought I'd take a break from the mud anyway. NWS forecast more rain for Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Since I had the whole week off work, I had the radical idea to wear pants instead of overalls all week.

I had to see Dr. Bell Monday, and I know doctors like to stick needles in upper arms, and I know that the peculiar shape of my arms makes it difficult for me to roll up sleeves, so despite the cool weather I decided to wear an A-frame shirt to see him so he didn't have to deal with sleeves. For some reason he took three vials of blood out of my arm instead of the usual one.

That being done, I decided I'd actually dress to keep warm in the winter rains that were expected. Cold, wet feet don't ordinarily bother me, but since by old work books broke up from the Christmas mud hike, I thought I might experiment with gear that could actually keep my feet dry while hiking in the mud and stomping in the puddles.

A few years ago I bought a pair of waterproof cowboy boots that I hadn't worn very often, and it occurred to me that Tuesday afternoon I might go dressed like a proper mudder from Maine instead of a Southwesterner. I wore a semi-white Carhartt long-sleeved pullover work shirt (it had been muddy before, so it wasn't going to get really white again). That went a bit against the image, but I intended to cover that with outerwear, so that wasn't much of an issue. I had bought back in 2014 a black oilskin drover coat which in this climate I seldom got to wear. I topped it off with my cowboy hat. I headed off to the east segment of the Reach 11 Recreation Area Tuesday afternoon.

It was cloudy but there were for most of the afternoon only a few sprinkles of rain. There was remnant mud from Christmas eve into which I splashed and stomped as I explored. I headed out of the recreation area on some state trust land I hadn't visited much and went all the way to 64th Street and Mayo Boulevard, but there wasn't much good mud there. I then headed to the arroyo part of the recreation area, and there wasn't much mud there either. I had taken more time than originally planned. Technically one shouldn't be in the recreation area after sunset, but dusk found me nearing the 56th Street bridge. A fire engine crossed over the bridge, giving the coyotes their wake-up call. I heard about seven different howls, so that fellow I met there three weeks ago was probably right about the size of the pack. A light steady rain began to fall, and the low clouds reflected the lights of the city, so I had enough light to see where I was going.

The rain wasn't adding much to the mud, but I was content that a lot of the trail was sticking to my boots from the Christmas Eve rain. Then I heard someone talking ahead. I thought there might be two other hikers, but I came upon one man jabbering on his cell phone. After that I had no company and enjoyed that soothing sound of raindrops on my hat and my coat. I was slowing down to make it last, but all good things must come to an end, and eventually I got to my car. I figured Pete's Fish and Chips would be a good place to grab a bite, as their dining is on a patio with a concrete floor, and patrons don't actually enter the building, so muddy boots and jeans aren't a problem. Jeremy served my meal and recognized me from the times I'd been there after work. He didn't say anything about my unusual getup, but greeted me warmly. I decided not to imitate a Maine accent when speaking to him.

I think the drover coat needs to be reconditioned. I got rather wet. It did keep me warm though. The boots worked. They got pretty muddy, but my socks stayed dry.

NWS pulled rain from Thursday's forecast but gave us a 90% chance for Friday. I thought in addition to the waterproof cowboy boots, I'd put over them the gaiters I bought a few years ago. For outwear I'd be a bit more conventional. I had also bought some time ago a hoodie from Carhartt with "rain defender." It might be interesting to find out how well it defended me from rain. For my shirt I wore a snap-button flannel shirt that was mostly dark blue with some red, green and white stripes.

This time I decided to hike the west segment of Reach 11, but by the more conventional route of the South trail, avoiding the equestrian center until my return. I arrived at 11 AM, and it wasn't raining, and the clouds were mid-level. I soon found I was overheating in the hoodie, so I stowed it in the knapsack. The gaiters were XL, the largest size the store carried, but they didn't quite fit well. A mudder my size has very large calves. The South trail had some large mud puddles left over from both the Christmas Eve rain and the Tuesday night rain, and I loved splashing those on my gaiters.

I saw a mountain bicyclist with a day-glow yellow rain jacket and thick tires for mud, but he rode around the puddles. I was rather puzzled. He was perfectly geared to ride right through, but he didn't want to. He might as well have bought a road bicycle.

I came upon a family with a man a woman, two sons, a daughter and two dogs. They walked around the mud, and I splashed through a big mud puddle. The man said admiringly, "That the way to hike!"

I said, "I'm gear testing."

I got to the Cave Creek Trailhead at 1:20 and turned around. Having traversed the mud of the equestrian tunnel under Deer Valley Road twice, I headed off to the civilized area and crossed the soccer fields. They weren't in use. I was down to a slow mosey in return, the clouds were getting thick, low and promising, and there was a bit of a chill in the air. By 2:30 the sweat was mostly dry from my flannel shirt, and a sprinkle of rain began, so I put on my hoodie again. Unfortunately the sprinkle didn't last long, but as my pace was more leisurely, I kept it on, and I didn't overheat.

I crossed some undeveloped desert again and found more mud puddles. Then I found a vacant field they had bulldozed but upon which they had built nothing. There wasn't much mud there, but I did have fun busting through a tumbleweed thicket. This scrubbed a lot of the mud from my gaiters. I then found a ditch with some mud and had to bust through sagebrush with my whole body. Eventually I rejoined the trail, crossed under the two bridges (101 Freeway and then the Squaw Peak Freeway). I saw that the mesquite thicket was still swampy. If the weather next weekend is warm, as is expected, I may do a proper wallow there. I crossed through the thicket to the area near the equestrian center and found one mud puddle on the trail the drainage of which I could improve by stomping a channel to the arroyo, which I did.

I wandered over to a sunken mud hole in a secluded spot and stomped around churning it up. I then sat on the edge, dangling my boots in the mud. I looked up at the sky that still seemed to promise stormy weather, but only a few raindrops came down on occasion. Near dusk I went to my car, my hoodie still untested. It looks like I'll have to wait a while to see if the "rain defender" works.



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