01/31/03:
Been here in the TableTop Wilderness between Gila Bend and Casa Grande off I-8 for the past couple of days. Stopped off at EagleTail Mountain Wilderness but only stayed one night and moved on. Not much there and the mountains weren't very impressive.
Then stopped off at Painted Rock just south of the Gila Bend Mountains (I-8 exit 102). The lake has dried up and no roads leading to any wilderness areas so here I am (I-8 exit 144).
A 13 mile dirt road leads to a couple of trails at the end. Signs ward of high clearance and 4WD requirements but I had no problem. They had just been grading though and I think the 4WD warning might have been for sandy conditions.
Lots of Saguaro cactus here many of them with 6-8-10 arms or nubs on the body or other arms. The Barry Goldwater Air Force Bombing Range is just on the other side of the other side of the nearby Javelina Mountains. I wonder if that has anything to do with creating mutant Saguaros.
I more or less quit running again. The thigh and hip muscles tired after 30-40 minutes of jogging and after 2-3 months I don't expect them to get any stronger. Soooo... back to walking when I'm not hiking. Been walking the roads an hour before breakfast and an hour after supper.
02/01/03 Hiking Lava Flow Trail (south):
Got kicked out of my camping spot last night, well not really. A guy pulls in and says this spot belongs to an astronomy club that uses it every weekend. I could have argued the point but when he said 20 more vehicles would be showing up I packed up and left. Found another spot a mile up the road.
After my morning walk and breakfast I ended up driving to the end of the dirt road and the trailheads. There's two, one leading up to the 2000+ feet to the TableTop Mountains and one along the base of some volcanic activity. I didn't think my legs were up to climbing 2000 feet in 80 degree temperatures so I tried the easier Lava Flow Trail.
Pretty nice hike with steep slopes covered with large volcanic rocks. Thousands of Saguaro, cholla, ocotillo and prickly pear cactus. The sun was really hot and the temperatures tried to climb to the mid-80's forecast. A nice 5-10mph wind helped out though. I went out for an hour or more and then turned back. I guess the brisk walk earlier and/or the heat tired my legs out and I don't push anything anymore.