Not sure a normal flatlander would choose a 15-mile hike up a 10,000-foot mountain for his second outing of the season, and the Mount Wrightson summit south of Tucson is usually snow-packed and icy this late in December; thanks to climate change, it wasn’t this year. On my previous trip up Wrightson, nearly five years ago, the final two miles to the summit were treacherous and I had to don my heavy micro spikes. Today there were only vestiges from the last snow a couple of weeks ago, and my spikes remained in my pack. The temp at the top was an amazing sixty degrees.
Saw a few other bipeds on the way up, including some young 30-somethings who were in over their heads. These new GPS hiking apps allow the inexperienced hiker into areas they are otherwise ill-equipped to handle. One young man had all the symptoms of altitude sickness I used to see in students who hiked with me up the 12,000-foot Mount E’Mei in southwest China. And an Australian tourist was struggling with mild hyponatremia, (dilution of the blood caused by drinking too much water). The guy needed electrolytes. Hyponatremia is one of the leading causes of emergency evacuations from the Grand Canyon, and I saw many hikers suffering from it during my trip there last year.
Overall a beautiful day of hiking Last trip up, in January of 2019, we ascended the Old Baldy Trail and then joined the Supertrail at the Josephine Saddle; this year we hiked the Super Trail the whole way, for an additional 2 miles.
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Today I broke in my retro, 70s-style, all-leather Danner hiking boots handmade in Portland, Oregon. This is my first move away from disposable hiking boots which, like running shoes, are unsustainable. These boots are 100% reconstructable, and I am hoping I can stop buying plastic hiking footwear every year or two. The Vasques I hiked in during the 2021 fall season, and backpacked the Grand Canyon in 2022 completely fell apart after 6 months. |
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