Sunday Old Pueblo Chapter Hike

My Chapter Co-coordinator, Malvina and I decided to run a Chapter Hike this past Sunday. We chose to hike one of the trails up on Mt. Lemmon due to the heat which still has a stronghold down in the desert.

We advertised the hike and had 4 women reply positively, so we all met at the famous Le Buzz Café at 8 in the morning and drove up the mountain to the trailhead.

On the way up, we could see dark clouds hanging on the top of the mountain, it even sprinkled in a few sections during our drive up to the 8,000 foot trailhead.

We arrived at the trailhead in a thick mist, but no rain…….Yet. We got out of the cars and my good friend Sue said “We are not cancelling this hike, don’t tell me we are turning around, we need to get on the trail”. We all agreed, hey what’s a little mist?

So we hiked, I led the group and Malvina stayed behind with the slower hikers. Wait a minute, I am a slow hiker and Malvina is a faster hiker, what is wrong with this picture? Well it was dark and misty and at points it drizzled a bit but we kept hiking forward with me in the lead.

For me, the person who loves the forests in Galicia, this hike was magical. The energy of 6 women was incredible. I love being out in the woods, it is so freeing, not a single negative thought passes through my mind while I hike up there.

We hiked to the 2.5 mile point ascending and descending the trail up there on the Santa Catalina Mountain. And then we heard thunder, now you don’t want to be in the forest on top of a mountain unsheltered in a thunder-storm. So we unanimously decided to turn back cutting our scheduled hike short by only one half mile.

Now Malvina led the group and I trailed behind at the back of the group. The mist became a steady drizzle. Why did it seem the entire hike now was going uphill? It hadn’t felt like it was descending all the time we hiked in. Maybe the rain made it feel that way.

Then it began to pour rain, my hair was dripping into my eyes and my clothing was getting soaked. Well short of my lack of head wear, we all were in the same predicament. We finally made it to the trailhead and the car when the rain stopped and the sun came out.

I love hiking up on the mountain. My theory is if you can hike up there, you won’t have any problems on any of the Caminos. Well at least on the Caminos I have already walked, I’m not so sure of Le Chemin Le Puy through France, I have read that is quite challenging.

Malvina who has just returned from the Camino Francés commented the hike felt very much like climbing O’Cebreiro. Yes, the terrain is very similar and the fact it was misty and rainy added a true Galician feel to the day.

We climbed into the car and headed up to the Saw Mill Run Restaurant, where we had lunch and an adult beverage to celebrate the hike. At the restaurant over lunch we decided to have Sunday hikes every week for the Chapter Members who want to join us.

We were all happy and truly enjoyed our hike despite the rainy weather. The day was golden!