This is another Dan post. Our neighbor, Jim, had proposed to me that we do an annual climb of nearby Mt. Glenn to test our fitness. Or the decline of such. At 7528 feet, it is one of the "prominances" of Arizona. So at 7am Monday morning, Jim and I started our trek along with Keavy, Jim's border collie.
The ascent went very smoothly, as planned. We followed a series of ridges that are part of our normal view from the house. Only the last quarter mile was difficult, as it is very heavily wooded with oak, pine, juniper and chapparal. In a couple of spots we had to crawl under low hanging vegetation. But we emerged on top with spectacular 360 degree views. We had lunch near the same spot where the Apaches camped to watch for the Army approaching from the Fort Bowie in the east, or from Tucson to the west. There are records of Cochise riding his horse to the summit, but that must have been an amazing horse. We found it difficult enough just walking.
Since Jim didn't want to return by the same route we used to climb (and I agreed), we scouted out a likely looking path to descend. It started out OK, but we quickly ran into some very dense brush. It was so thick, we lost sight of the ridge we had intended to follow. After a bunch of brush wacking, hacking through overgrown washes and sliding down hillsides, we took the least path of resistance and headed straight downhill. There were a few falls, multiple scratches, ripped backpacks, and miscellaneous bloodshed, but we finally stumbled out to a spot we both recognized. The forest road. From there, it was an easy stroll home.
It took us about nine hours to cover nine miles, but the trip was well worth the adventure, and I look forward to doing it again next year.
This is another Dan post. Our neighbor, Jim, had proposed to me that we do an annual climb of nearby Mt. Glenn to test our fitness. Or the decline of such. At 7528 feet, it is one of the "prominances" of Arizona. So at 7am Monday morning, Jim and I started our trek along with Keavy, Jim's border collie.
The ascent went very smoothly, as planned. We followed a series of ridges that are part of our normal view from the house. Only the last quarter mile was difficult, as it is very heavily wooded with oak, pine, juniper and chapparal. In a couple of spots we had to crawl under low hanging vegetation. But we emerged on top with spectacular 360 degree views. We had lunch near the same spot where the Apaches camped to watch for the Army approaching from the Fort Bowie in the east, or from Tucson to the west. There are records of Cochise riding his horse to the summit, but that must have been an amazing horse. We found it difficult enough just walking.
Since Jim didn't want to return by the same route we used to climb (and I agreed), we scouted out a likely looking path to descend. It started out OK, but we quickly ran into some very dense brush. It was so thick, we lost sight of the ridge we had intended to follow. After a bunch of brush wacking, hacking through overgrown washes and sliding down hillsides, we took the least path of resistance and headed straight downhill. There were a few falls, multiple scratches, ripped backpacks, and miscellaneous bloodshed, but we finally stumbled out to a spot we both recognized. The forest road. From there, it was an easy stroll home.
It took us about nine hours to cover nine miles, but the trip was well worth the adventure, and I look forward to doing it again next year.
1 comment:
It is amazing to think about what it was like in Cochise's time and to think that you were standing close, if not on, the same spot. Just amazingly beautiful.
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