20 December 2012

On December 14th I turned 60 years old.
"I am 60 years old." Saying and hearing those words come out of my mouth still sound strange.

I already saw Betsy turn 60. No radical change there. I know many, many people who would make 60 sound young (Hi Jim and Sandy!) even though they themselves don't feel or act a day over 60!
So, maybe 60 is not so ancient after all. But, I still wanted to do something different on this my 60th Birthday.

The original plan I hatched was to cycle 60 miles on my birthday. The seed for the idea was planted by Pathfinder Bruce who mentioned a few years ago he had just "ridden his age". At the time this seemed a novel idea but in reality I suspect it is a longstanding tradition with many cyclists.

To help find an easy to navigate and low traffic 60 mile route I contacted the Cactus Cycling Club. That was in late October. They responded with "A ride that might suite you would be a version of the 'Shootout'."


View "Shootout Ride" 60 mile cycling route in a larger map

Depending on who I talked to I knew full well the idea of cycling 60 miles would seem like a nearly impossible, monumental effort to and easy stroll in the park and everything in between. For me it would be a first.

To make a long story less long as the fateful day drew near I had less and less interest in riding 60 miles. I realized I liked the idea more than actually doing it. Fortunately, the decision was made for me.
On the eve of my birthday a stormed moved in and brought two days of windy, rainy and snowy weather.
YIPPEE! - no bike ride.

Now that the ride was out of the picture I decided to do something I would actually enjoy - hiking. Hiking 10 miles is not something I do on a regular basis. The last time I did it was by accident when hiking buddy Cindi and I went several miles down the wrong trail on our way up to Hutch's Pool. It lessened our time at the pool, but we were none the worse for it.

This time I would not make that mistake, it would be on purpose! And I made the decision to hike to Wasson Peak via the Sweetwater trail.
It had been many years since I had hiked to Wasson via this 10 mile out and back route. I am pretty sure the last time was with Betsy in 1996 - 16 years ago. I was a young pup of 44 then!

I picked a day for the hike and was met with yet more rain. I picked another day: Wednesday, December the 20th. The weather looked very promising although a bit chilly - the predicted low was the high 20s and indeed it was a frosty morning.
On with the hike!

Click on the photos below for a larger image.

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I arrived at the trail head around 8:45 and was on the trail by 9:00.

Wasson Peak Trails

The Sweetwater Trail is the only trail which provides access to Wasson Peak on the east side of the Tucson Mountains. The trailhead elevation is at 2800' and the summit of Wasson is at 4480' - 1600' of elevation gain.

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The trail starts out as a hiker highway. In just a few hundred feet it branches into two trails - the Thunderbird and the Sweetwater. At this point the trails become much narrower, but no less well defined. 100s of hikers make the trek to Wasson annually.

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It was not long before I saw evidence of the chilly night - hoar frost on a Prickly Pear skeleton.

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A closer look. I also saw ice on the few puddle which the recent rains had left.

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As the trail elevation increased the views started to open up.

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Here we have a triple-header barrel cactus, something I had not seen before.

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There were many fine specimens of Ocotillo (left) and Cholla.

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Looking across the Tucson basin I could make out the snow capped peaks of the Santa Catalina mountains.

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The Sweetwater is a nice trail. The grade up to the Saddle was much gentler than I remembered and my knees were thanking me for this.

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I love the Sonoran desert!

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This shot was taken just beyond the Saddle. It was at this very spot in 1996 Betsy and I posed for a picture kindly taken by another hiker. Hopefully I will come across that photo some day.

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Almost there! This is at the juncture of the Hugh Norris and Sweetwater Trails. From here it is just a third of a mile more to the peak.

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More evidence of the recent snows could be seen in the deeply shaded sections of the trail.

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How about that hair-doo!!??

When I reached the Saddle the wind had picked up and by the time I got to the Summit it was blowing a gale and a tad on the chilly side. I could barely keep may ball cap on!
I found a sheltered spot, whipped out my cell phone and reported in to Betsy to let here know I had made it. No sunshine back in Morgantown - it was pouring down the rain and would soon turn to snow. No thanks!

After snacks and water I continued my leisurely pace on the return trip. More people were out and about now. Some hiking, some perched on rocky view points having lunch or chatting.

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I arrived back to my starting point at 2:00. There were 10 additional cars in the lot and I was trailing four other hikers. It was calm and toasty back down here and I soaked up the sun as I did my post hike stretches.

Happy Belated Birthday to me!

 

'Till next time...

 

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