Monday, November 27, 2023
I am at Picacho Peak for four nights. I made a mistake, thinking I had made a reservation for three nights beginning tonight, but it was supposed to start tomorrow night. Fortunately, there were open sites for tonight. The person working the visitor center check-in was named Kelley. She was nice, totally helpful, found me a site for tonight, etc. After I parked, I walked to the bathroom, and I noted that the RV parked across from it look like the RV that was there last December. I went over to the two guys there, Mark and Larry, and it turns out they were here last year. I talked with them a few minutes. We hit it off well. Last year, I remembered we could not convince our campfire to start, it kept going out. I think the wood was damp. I went over to the camp host spot, where it turns out Mark and Larry were set up with a couple other people, and I bought two bundles of wood. Laura and I ended up with a great campfire!
Anyway, after talking with Mark and Larry, I walked towards the road and met Cara and Brian, two other volunteer camp hosts. There were 5-6 bikes at their picnic table. I commented that there were a lot of bikes. That turned into a lengthy conversation, first with Cara then with Brian when he came out of their Mercedes van and joined us. They are here until April, volunteering, along with several other campers, including Mark and Larry. Each volunteer has a campsite along the western border of the campground. Free space for their work. Cara and Brian have been “adventuring” for ten years. When they are not with the van, they are on their boat, which is stored and/or moored in Florida, which is also where they have their van registered as a convenience. She told me about a company that receives and handles all their mail, and secures an address so they can vote and register their vehicles. They spent last summer as caretakers of an island off of Salem, MA. For bike training, they would use a rowboat to get to shore, then ride their bikes up to Gloucester and back. Of all places, can you figure that? Near Gloucester …
Tuesday, November 28, 2023
It was an epic day of hiking up Picacho Peak. I did a counter-clockwise loop, around seven miles round-trip. Picacho Peak is 3374'. The trailhead is around 1700'. It took 5 1/2 hours, including 40 minutes hanging out on the Peak, some solo, some with a couple from Minnesota who arrived after me.
The photos don't give a realistic view of the steepness and the necessity of the cables anchored in the stone. Frankly, without the cables there is no way I would consider this hike. It is intimidating at times, but one challenge at a time, it is all doable. There are seven main areas to negotiate with the cables. Coming down is harder than going up, in my opinion. It is strenuous and at times it rattles one's nerves, making sure one's feet are planted in a good place ...
This set of photos accentuates the cables along the hike ...
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