return of wintry weather
Posted by Zonie on March 27, 2023 at 06:24:23
In Phoenix today the temperature range was 50°F to 72°F. 80°F would be more typical for afternoons at this time of year. It is strange how long wintry weather has lasted. I like it fine, but my mother and Dr. Ceranski wish the warmer weather would come. He's from Buffalo, so I was a bit surprised he considers this cold. Evidently he doesn't miss Buffalo one bit.
We had a thunderstorm on the Ides of March, but it hit mainly downtown Phoenix, and the areas where I go mud hiking got relatively light rain. I found some good stomping puddles at Reach 11 the 18th, but it was overall a disappointment. Another system moved through on Equinox Day. This one had a strong orographic component. There was only light rain in central Phoenix, but in the northern metro area near the mountains there was heavy rain. Unfortunately the opposite situation of the previous storm was the case, and most of the rain was north of Reach 11 rather than south of it. Still, analysis of rain gage data caused me to suspect that the eastern part of the recreation area might have some good mud, and I tested out the idea yesterday, and it seems I was right.
There wasn't much mud west of the 56th Street bridge, but there was plenty east of it. After some good trail stomping puddles, I found an arroyo with plenty of mud and followed it down to the south trail. I then found one deep mud puddle separated from another deep mud puddle by a muddy berm. I decided to get a log and dig a channel between them, churning both puddles with my boots while doing it. I had a great time building the channel and splashed a lot of mud on my overalls and work shirt.
As with the other areas where I've been hiking, it was unrecognizable. There was tall grass and wildflowers everywhere. I wandered around playing tank, going through the brush and the mud and the thickets.
All this new life had its irritations. I think we have more rattlesnakes than usual, for I encountered my third in as many weeks. This time the rattle came from an unusual direction--above. I was going through an arroyo, and I had managed to disturb a snake perched in a palo verde tree above the arroyo. I kept moving, but the poor thing seemed inconsolable and rattled for several minutes more.
Then I heard a strange noise from within my own clothing assembly. Further investigation showed that a honeybee had somehow managed to get in my shirt. Regrettably the investigation inadvertently crushed her, and she was mortally wounded by the time she was freed. Well at least we don't have chiggers, ticks and black flies around here.
At the end of the long hike, my clothing was clearly too muddy to be presentable for the Sunday morning mountain climbing, but, rather than launder it, I changed into something more conventional, but kept it in reserve. I wanted to wear it to the Cave Creek rodeo this afternoon, in case the heavy rain on Equinox Day had given rise to another belly flop contest.
I took the long drive out there, even traversing part of the Carefree Highway of which Gordon Lightfoot sang in the last century, but in vain. When I got there they were sold out. It seems it was too nice a day for people to stay away.
As a contingency plan, I decided that the state trust land near Dynamite Road wasn't too far away, and the trip would not be entirely wasted. I went on a mud puddle hike there, and the rain had been heavier there than at Reach 11, and there were plenty of nice large mud puddles. At one point I gave up on the power line trail, thinking the feeder trails might also have plenty of mud, and at one point I diverted on one of them to enjoy different scenery. A line from that Yankee poet Robert Frost about the road less travelled came to mind.
Although the breeze was cool, the strong sun started to bother me a bit, so I took my hat and poured mud from a big puddle on me until my clothes were soaked. That felt much better.
With less familiar trails, I had some navigation issues, and I had gone a lot further south than I intended. When I reached the power line trail, I realized I was very close to coyote central. I turned back north by northwest to Dynamite Road, but as the sun was setting later past the equinox, I still got to my car in daylight. Apart from my soaking boots and socks, my clothes were almost dry by then. Well that's three hikes in one weekend--two muddy and one dry. I expect I'll be paying for that tomorrow in sore limbs. Definitely worth it though!