REVEGETATE

4:00 A.M. - Alarm Clock, RING!

4:05 A.M. - Alarm Clock, RING!
4:15 A.M. - Janet RING alarm clocks neck (except it doesn't have one)
4:16 A.M. - Leap out of bed, BRIGHT EYED and BUSHY TAILED
4:30 A.M. -RING Kathy's doorbell (oh, forgot...
I had already gotten dressed and ready by this point, FYI)
5:00 A.M.- Arrive at new hiking location, North Mountain Reserve, aka,the back side of the
mountain range we've been hiking.
5:01 A.M. - Kathy says, 'let's take it easy today, no big mountains,
just a nice easy hike.'
5:01:59 A.M. -Kathy lies through her teeth - yet again

7:55 A.M. - Crawl way to car, carrying 2 dogs on my back with no water left

8:00 A.M.

9 MILES LATER.....GET TO CAR!!!!!

So here's the way it went, really.
"We are going to take an easy hike," she says. Uh-huh! Right!!
Well, at first it almost seemed like she may have been telling the truth,
but I know better than that.
(This from the woman that cycles 200 miles in one day and says,
"oh, it wasn't too bad." :-/)

This sign was one of the first things we saw today on our trail...
when it finally got light enough to see.

I was laughing so hard at this sign because this is what was around it.
I thought it was so funny, because everything surrounding it was DEAD!! No, let me correct that statement... the weeds and plants weren't even 'planted' in the ground. They were just laying there like carcasses waiting to be rescued by a campfire blaze.

So this became our theme for the rest of the 'EASY' hike.


REVEGETATE!!!!

Kathy is infamous for telling 'TALL TALES,' and terrible at assessing distance.
The hike began with a steady incline into the valley behind Squaw Peak and Dreamy Draw where we usually hike... it was nice - at first!

The mountainside, along with much of the valley, was covered in
Teddy Bear Cactus.
WANNA' SNUGGLE UP?!
They don't bite!

The views were nice, really.
It's funny because I kinda' think that the 'trail' you take into the mountain is the way you take out of the mountain, right? Uh, yeah... not so much!!
Well, Kathy my friend does not subscribe to this philosophy. Oh, no, she REFUSES to retrace her steps the way she came - there's no adventure in KNOWING you'll get back from where you came... hmmm?!?!
Instead she would rather hike the circumference of the city,
or state if need be, to get back to the car.
This is VERY important to her... I mean, VERY, VERY important to her. =)

I do however have to admit... we had some pretty amazing views... see for yourself.

(Doesn't this pic of the Saguaro, kinda' look like a right hand?)

(Psalm 104:2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment:
who stretchest out the heaven's like a curtain...)

(Psalm 104:19 He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth
his going down - or rising for that matter)

Not too bad... so, I was willing to forgive her for the 'easy hike' which had only taken us about 2 miles into the canyon (not bad). Until, she decided to climb over another mountain, which lead to another and then to another... uh, all the opposite direction from the car. (oh, and this was all on our 'way back' to the car - go figure)

So we decided to stop at the top of one of the mountains to rehydrate and...

REVEGETATE!!!

I was really trying hard to look like one of those dead weeds.
{ I'm such a dork ;-) }

AFTER REHYDRATING AND REVEGETATING...

Jake thought he was king of the jungle...
until
UNTIL
UNTIL
UNTIL
He chased a chipmunk through the mountainside and darted under a
Cholla Cactus at full speed to catch it.
OUCH!!!
Poor Bub... he came back with Burrs and Needles in his back, paws, ears...
well, pretty much everywhere.
Mommy to the rescue! Yeah, right!!!
I don't make it a habit to carry tweezers with me on a hike.
I ever so cautiously removed what I could until we got home.

Oh, I almost forgot!!! We saw a helicopter guiding a rescue off the mountain we usually climb. Yikes, that could have been me the other day. Cha-ching $$ Poor peeps... that'll be a hike they're sure to never forget. (See the little dot in the sky, that's the copter)

Ending: Kathy kept saying 'we are almost there, sorry, we're almost there.' I think she kept repeating this out loud because she was trying to convince herself that we really were almost there. I think it was when she ran out of water that she decided we'd gone a little more than a couple miles... uh, yeah!

The last half a mile was tough. Poor Sally and Jake. They would walk on the trail at a normal speed, and as soon as they passed a shady spot they'd just fall and lay down... we almost had to pick them up to move them. Poor babies! :( They finally made it!! Yay!)

We made our way to Einstein's Bagels and had a delicious breakfast.
Then Kathy went to bed with Sally at her house...
Jake went to bed at our house and mommy (me) went to work. Huh?

Somethings wrong with this picture!?!?

Grrr... oh, well... it was worth it!

(Disclaimer: all of these pics are from my cell phone, so they may be a bit blurry... sorry, need to take my 'real' camera out some day.)

______________________________________________________

While I was on the trail, I thought to myself... 'how much people miss!!'
This feeling was reconfirmed when I saw the sun peaking out from behind the Saguaro Cactus and I considered the majesty of their beauty.

I mean really, what is it that makes people get up early, I mean, really early, and stir the sun from it's slumber??
What is it that makes all the people on the mountain smile and say, 'hello?'
Why do the trail hikers/bikers all stop to pet your dog and ask about your day?
Why does everyone seem to care and notice everyone else on the mountain?
More importantly, what is it that makes all of us off the mountain forget about everyone,
when we're -- off the mountain?

Hmmm....

Psalms 121
I will lift up my eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help...