25.01 Finger Canyon, one of the toughest in Tucson. 25.02 Sabino Canyon To Blackett Ridge for Sunset.

It had to happen sometime and so it did. The editor took ill and declared herself unavailable for hiking
until further notice. It’s a good thing she does not work for a corporation; otherwise, she might find herself
hauled up a mountain after three days. This left me searching for a replacement partner. Before I commenced looking,
the editor reminded me rather subtly that she was in fact irreplaceable. Fortunately, it was an idea I share
wholeheartedly.

We’re back in Tucson for a week as we returned to work from a six-week ‘vacation’ in San Diego. The idea is
to follow the sun. More specifically, to find warm weather and undertake many of the hikes we missed the first
time around. Thereafter, we’ll continue our quest looking for warm weather and manageable snow—whatever
that means.




Reach out and touch something...someone, at the peak.





Funnily enough, this is not the Finger Trail.






I want to go higher...moving up on the Finger Trail.





A full-blooded sunset over Tucson from part way down the ridge.




Hike-about 25 got off to a tough start as only one of us headed for the first climb, a hike
that happens to be one of the roughest in the region. Jenni gave me the finger, that is, the Finger Trail
which took me some 3,200 feet above the trailhead. Well, it hardly took me as I had to take myself. Many miles
later, I returned to continue my nursing activities only to realize I was hardly missed. I have been worried
about the editor’s health, of course. Truth be told, I was also concerned about finding the trailhead, then being
able to follow the trail, having to carry my own bag as well as lunching on my own. Life became difficult
without Jenni.

The trail was quiet until a couple of students reached and overtook me—youth can be quite painful particularly
when showing off. The male/female duo ended their hike at the 2,000 feet level; I continued another 1,200 feet—guess
who decided to show off, too. When they passed me, I noticed another challenge. Put it this way, had she been wearing
a bikini, she would have been dressed more modestly. Jenni has explained to me that it’s not proper to look
at other women. I agree but find that if members of the fairer sex are directly in front of me what can I do.
Fortunately, I never notice them when the editor is close by.




Loved this one as the beams narrowed, focusing on the saguaro, 'bronzing' half a tree.





A sprawling city taken from the Finger Trail.





Setting sun makes its mark by tinting the mountaintops.





Heading down to the canyon on return.





Many of the trails in Tucson require discipline. They are rocky, steep, often on edges and ledges,
a little iced at higher elevations and mostly defined by cactus plants of a few varieties. I noticed
the ocotillo particularly over the last couple of days. Without the flower covering, the dagger like spines
and thorns are more visible—covering their branches densely. They are most intimidating even as they appear
to reach out in a welcoming manner. Unfortunately, it is almost instinctive to grab a limb when one slips.
We shudder when we think of the implications.

Here’s to always trying to remain upright.



Another scene that was captivating. The sun sure knows how to put on a show.





More subtle...Goodnight!




Cheers,


Jenni and Jeffrey

Mount Woodson again, a week before commencement of Hike-about 25.

We went for another hike up Mount Woodson, this time from Lake Poway entrance. By the way, the park that houses
the lake and mountain is a delightful place. We would recommend it as a wonderful area to hike, fish, take a
picnic and/or relax and absorb the sights. One can also hire a rowing boat and enjoy the lake surface.



"If I was a fisherman..."...I think this is the spot I'd choose.





This was a scene that was visible for only a couple of minutes before the sun disappeared.





The clouds seemed to spillover the mountaintops.





A few months ago, while running down the mountain, Jen had a 'spill' and landed at the feet of a man walking up
the mountain. She mentioned how embarrassed she felt sprawled in the dirt, lying at the feet of this hiker. I was
a little ahead of her so did not see her fall or the result.

Today, it was my turn. These falls happen from time-to-time. Often, once I've tripped, I'm able to keep running
with my body bent over and stretching ahead of my feet. Provided one keeps moving (never brake), it's possible to lift
the torso slowly back into position while the feet resume leadership. Done correctly, the fall is avoided. Other times,
one has no chance because the first time you realize you're in trouble is when you find yourself on the ground. Today,
I had the hybrid version. I struck a slightly protruding rock and kept running. I knew that I was too far out of kilter
to save the situation. Nevertheless, I did not fall until about two seconds later, providing sufficient opportunity
to prepare to meet the ground. All in a day's hiking experience.




Another time that the sun backlit a corner of a range.





Black cloud today; contrast with last week's coloring below.




Colored clouding compared with above from a week later.





Finally, the weather looked quite dull and we were convinced it would be day without photographs; it nearly was.
However, close to the peak, thick clouds formed and the sun made a successful attempt to penetrate them. For brief moments,
we viewed stunning sights, particularly the sun lighting some peaks while others remained in shadows or unlit.
A particular angle at the lake, when we arrived back, took the breath away although it could have been the run that did it.




Different strata of clouds blanket the East County of San Diego.






Could be 'Gone fishing' by next week if not sooner.



Cheers,


Jenni and Jeffrey

"High and Low points" of Hike-about 24, mainly in video format.

It seems to be a tradition to launch a video on completion of each Hike-about segment. This time, however, we have six
unpublished hikes remaining but decided to go ahead and do the video. There are so many pictures that the selection
becomes a hit-or-miss affair. Invariably, we leave off some of the best shots and display the lesser ones. However,
we are fortunate that the beauty of the Western United States allows one to point a camera in the general direction
of the action and record it for posterity, or until we clean out our files and delete them. The rest of the world
is also remarkable in its visuals but as Jenni points out from time-to-time, I'm affected by the last region visited.
Apparently, unlike modern computers, the storage capacity of my brain cannot be upgraded or enlarged.

Following a few highlight photographs below, we present a video that captures only a small aspect of what amounted to
an incredible period within six western states. (Video follows the pictures below.)

Finally, to the many Russian viewers who have found our blog: Добро пожаловат



Golden early morning on Angels Landing, Zion, Utah.




Deep in the Carlsbad Cavern, New Mexico.





Nevada's own wave.





On trail of Ice Lakes Basin, Silverton, Colorado.




Wheeler Peak, New Mexico-a memorable hike, an amazing day.





A balancing 'rock of gold' at Valley of Fire. (Nevada)





A view of Santa Rita Range (and Tucson) from Peak of Agua Caliente hike. (Arizona)





Hiking up Hogsback with Perins Peak, the next day's hike, at rear. (Durango, Colorado)




A video follows of some highlights from Hike-about 24.


To commence, click 'arrow' and then click box on bottom right for a full screen.



Cheers,

Jenni and Jeffrey

A Handful of Spain and Andorra, Summer 2015.

Spain and Andorra had quite an effect upon us. We interrupt the recent beautiful Western United States hiking trip to
remember a few scenes from Europe:




From a peak in Andorra, looking into France.






Lake Tristiana, Andorra.






Tozal de Mallo, along the Pyrenees Mountains, Spain.





Casamanya Peak, Andorra.





Cares Gorge, Spain: The trail is cut into the mountain walls.




Faja de Racon, Spain.





A view from Casamanya Peak into Ordino, Andorra










La Serrara Peak, Andorra.





Blau Estasy, France/Andorra




Crossing the Pyrenees from Spain into France.






Heading toward Blau Estasy, Andorra






Tozal de Mallo Trail.






Asin de Broto, Spain






A view into France, such beauty.






Covedonga Lakes, Spain.





Andorra.





The peak: Pico Veleta, Southern Spain.










Cheers,


Jenni and Jeffrey

El Capitan, San Diego, arguably the toughest and most attractive in the county and a sunrise from Woodson.

A view of Friday's peak from Woodson, two days later.



On Friday, ‘it was the best of times, the worst of times’. Being the first day of 2016, we experienced our best
and worst hike, longest and shortest…of the year. Truth be told, it's the toughest in San Diego—certainly the most
brutal we have come across in the County. We make a point of undertaking this 4,100 feet cumulative elevation gain
hike over a twelve-mile distance, at least annually. It also proves to be one of the beautiful spots in San Diego
in which to see numerous mountains, valleys as well as the Pacific Ocean, Coronado Bay, the downtown area, lakes
and by the time of return, maybe even ‘stars in the head’.

Things began well for us as we approached the base of the mountain from Highway 67. The Barona Casino has
two billboards displayed prominently. The one announces that we were approaching the happiest casino in
the world. How does one decide a casino is happy? It’s puzzling. Furthermore, most people we see leaving
casinos are usually tired, red-eyed and poorer. Happy? As we were only bypassing, we felt happy and excited
by the prospect ahead.

The second sign was even more interesting. It read, “We have the loosest slots of all”. We were puzzled again
because we thought maybe they meant ‘sluts’ but as we don’t spend time with either sluts or in casinos, it’s
difficult for us to pass an opinion.


As we approach the trailhead towards the end of the day, downtown San Diego and Coronado Bay
are highlighted by the late sun.




From the peak, our view south towards Mexico with El Capitan Dam below.





Sunrise on Mount Woodson Peak.





Jen trudges up one of the many steep slopes, both out and back.





Perhaps the most puzzling of all was we realized we did not know where we were. In California, no gambling
of this nature is permitted—being of course a very pure and upright state. So how come one can gamble at Barona
and have a good time with some of the loosest sluts…slots in the country. Clearly, we could not be in California.
Of course, it came to us eventually: We were in an Indian area. We used to say Red Indians but now we are told
one has to say ‘Native Americans’. We recall when in South Africa many years before, the local Black people were
called ‘Natives’. This fell out of fashion although seems to be a fashionable term in America. Today in South Africa,
the appropriate terminology is: "Madam and Sir". What we believe we are certain of is that at least we are genuine
African-Americans. Are we confused or are we confused? Fortunately, we found the trailhead but still don’t know
what part of America we passed through.

That last phrase reminds us of our granddaughter, Ellie, who is my favorite female under sixty-four in the whole world.
I digress. We were on the ‘GagaButchie” the other day—one of the games we play which can be a bit of ‘rough and tumble’.
After a while, when things were getting pretty exciting, we said to both her and young Benjamin: “Are we having fun
or are we having fun?”

Her reply, showing intelligence far above her grandparents was, “I don’t know the difference between the two ‘funs’, Gaga-papa."
Out of the mouths of babes.




An overwhelming sight in a region stacked with mountains and valleys.




Back to Mount Woodson Peak for tranquility, beauty and an early morning chill.




Good rains provided growth and color between the thousands of boulders and rocks covering the region.





A 'bird's eye view from the summit.





Getting back to the hike, the local joke is that it’s uphill both ways. However, it’s not humorous as the trail has
many climbs on the way down, too. As any hiker knows, it can be disheartening to be climbing a mountain and gaining
elevation only to go down again, losing hard-earned gains. El Capitan will do that to you. It strikes us as being
one of those mountains that tests a person—a little cruel but a wonderful challenge and most rewarding.




Trying out a new yoga position at the top. Quite interesting as he has never done yoga before.
We call it Rocky 10 or is it 11?




Love the look as the editor strides down into the boulder-covered mountains. Walking down on
the way up.





For the Sunday following, I mentioned to a very tired and muscle-sore editor that the best thing to do after
an experience like El Capitan is to follow up with a shorter hike to warm up the muscles. I explained that
to avoid muscle atrophy, one should get out at 5:30am and climb a short but tough trail. Not one to miss anything,
she replied that she could ‘buy’ my nonsense but why do the muscles need the exercise at 5:30am? Looks like I’ll
have to wake up even earlier to outsmart her.



A Big Sky (not in Montana) showing El Capitan along the horizon.




Cheers,

Jenni and Jeffrey




Time to leave as the winter sun blinds the eyes.