Category Archives: hiking

Geocaching – A Cold Restart

Yesterday, I was cleaning up some Apps on my iPhone and came across Geocaching. I haven’t used that app in a number of years but opening it, I got interested in the activity, once again. And today went out and found my 95th cache.

Here’s what I wrote in 2012:

“I was out looking for a bald eagle’s nest at Fountainebleau State Park when a Texas auto pulled up. The driver asked if I’d found it and having been there before, helped me locate it through my scope. When I asked if they were birders, he replied, “No, we are geocachers from Biloxi.”

Well, I knew what geocaching was since our grandson, Mac, had just gone on a Cub Scout geo outing. When my new friend asked, “Want to see one?” I followed him up to a little path into the underbrush. He reached down and lifted up a root, showing me the drilled hole in the underside, with a small cylinder inserted. He showed me the rolled up log sheet inside – and I was hooked. I went to his website (Gulf Coast Geocachers)read up a bit, downloaded an iPhone app, and was off and running.”

So this morning, Ginger and I went on a hike to try to find a nearby cache which I previously have looked for and never found. We zeroed in with the iPhone and here’s what the site looked like:

See the cache?
Small caches like this usually just contain junk items.

In addition to finding caches, you can also find and move trackables, that are found in some larger caches. Years ago, I put six trackables in play and one, Roaming Vizsla, has logged 2611.9 miles in the last eight years.

Presently in the UK, Roaming Vizsla has logged a lot of frequent flyer miles.

Geocaching is very compatible with dog walking, birding, even cycling or paddling – and well-suited for solitary Covid-19 outings. I’m hooked once again.

Stuff

It’s “stick season” in Central Vermont: the leaves are down, most of the birds have left, and hunting season is yet to start. It’s a great time to hike in the woods. I’ve often leave my binoculars and camera in the car – and have recently started to focus, with my iPhone, on other things I see on outings. I’ll start with a mailbox I saw this summer on a backroad.

Old farms have all sorts of interesting things in their woods, like these two “fixer-upper” projects.

Quartz outcroppings show up nicely this time of year.

Old tractor tires have their charm
As do old sap pails.

When I’m not concentrating on seeing and hearing birds, I seem to notice a lot more around me as we walk – I guess there’s a lesson there. Just being able to get out and walk for a hour or two without meeting anyone is a blessing in these tough Covid-19 days. Be safe.

Spotting Borregos

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park takes its name from 18th century Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza and borrego, the Spanish word for bighorn sheep. On our last day there, we took a hike up the Palm Canyon trail to check out wildflowers and do some birding.

We spotted this hummingbird hawk moth along the way.

Further along, we saw a hiker intently watching the far hillside and found she had a group Bighorn Sheep in sight. There were about nine, mainly ewes and youngsters, far across the draw.

Returning, we ran into a larger group, being gawked at by the many weekend hikers. There were a couple of big guys with this crew.

In spite of the Saturday crowds, it was a great finish to a week-long stay. Next is the Pacific Ocean and sea breezes for a new set of adventures.

A Morning Hike

Penny and I are in Tucson staying at a nice county park – Gilbert Ray Campground – where yesterday morning we took a short hike up Brown Mountain.

Before we left the campground, we saw several Phainopepla (harder to spell than find here) and a covey of Gambel’s Quail, who scurried off.

The trail was lined with thorns and of course, Penny had to check them out. She ended up with a paw full of quills from a fishhook barrel cactus which got me as I removed them. Here she explores what I think is an ocotillo.

A pretty Northern Flicker graced the top of a big saguaro cactus.

Several Lesser Goldfinches just sat there and let us walk by.

This Curved-bill Thrasher was having a cactus fruit breakfast.

Coming back down, we had some nice views but the winter sun was heating things up – although starting at 55 degrees and ending at 71 is pretty nice. It not hard to see why the campgrounds are filled with northern visitors.

Bienvenido a arizona.

Hiking Brown Mountain

We are hanging out, enjoying great Arizona weather, at Gilbert Ray Campgound, a county park just west of Tuscon. We have a neat site which is relatively secluded with Cactus Wrens, Verdin, and Gambell’s Quail to entertain us. So do the coyotes who periodically get some barks out of Penny as they tune up on both ends of the day.

This morning, I decided to climb Brown Mountain, which while not grand in stature, treats you to a view of diverse, spectacular Sonoran desert flora. The hike is only a mile and a half to the summit and rises a modest 400 feet but the views make you forget that you are just outside a major city.

So Penny and I started out early. I let her off leash since no one was around and we cruised down the well-worn path. The trail, as one would expect, was rocky and a number of steps were built into the path. Here’s an example.

We traversed back and forth up the mountain and at times, Penny seemed to wonder why I was taking my time.

We were rewarded with some nice views at the summit even though it was a little hazy. Here is the view eastward toward Golden Gate Mountain and Tuscon.

Like any climb, the trip back was easier and a Curve-billed Thrasher sang to us as we returned to the truck.

Nice outing for man and dog.