Brandy's Adventures

We were planning on doing a moonlight hike to Iron Mountain summit this evening with a Meetup group but that hike unfortunately was cancelled. Because we haven’t hiked since last weekend when we hiked Mt. Gower and are planning to hike Tuesday to Agua Tibia Mountain summit, we needed a hike to stay in condition. We decided on the Wild Horse/Ellie Lane/Iron Mountain loop because it’s relatively close and is one of our favorite local hikes. The forecast was some rain in the late morning.

The sky was mostly overcast when we started, but we knew to expect rain later and had our 88-cent poncho with us. Brandy had nothing but I do intend to get her a raincoat since we expect to be hiking in colder rain this winter. So far, she does very well in the wind and rain.

We were about half way to Table Rock and heard someone shouting or talking loudly ahead of us. Sometimes sound carries very far in the mountains. I looked around and finally spotted a group of fifteen to twenty hikers in a row standing on the trail across the valley on the hillside almost to Table Rock. They were several of the hikers dressed in red and I was surprised that I didn’t see them before I heard them. They were so far away that I’m sure that they weren’t shouting at us but were probably shouting to a straggler in their group or to a hiker way ahead of us. Lesson is that I need to be more observant. As we continued on, we could see that the group started hiking again and were going in the same direction as we. They were soon out of sight as we went down in the valley to cross the creek and ascend to Table Rock.

We expected to be able see the hikers when we got to Table Rock but when we arrived we just saw fresh tracks on Ellie Lane. We soon heard voices but the hikers were obscured by boulders and chaparral. Imagine our surprise when we saw them, not on Ellie Lane Trail, but on the connecting trail between Ellie Lane Trail and Miners Trail. The group was standing spread out around the corner of  the connecting trail and a side trail leading to the valley back to Ellie Lane Trail. They were standing there as we worked our way down to the valley from Table Rock and back up the rocky hill toward the junction with Miners Trail. We never did understand why they were standing in one place for so long–guessing about 20 minutes or so. It was an unlikely place for a break. Could they have been lost, intending to be on Ellie Lane Trail? Now, instead of them being considerably ahead of us, they were significantly behind us.

It had started misting on us as we were leaving Table Rock and that had turned to a light drizzle as we crossed the valley and headed up the hill. Also, the drizzle came with a breeze and I was determined not to use the poncho until the last minute. We met a hiker with no apparent rain gear, said “Hi!” and continued on. Soon the drizzle turned to rain and I stopped to put on the thin polyethylene poncho. Fortunately, there was no heavy brush along the trail to rip the poncho. The poncho provided both shelter and warmth. Perhaps I needed to hike faster to generate the warmth. My hands were cold due to the wind but my core was warm and dry. Soon, we met a jogger in rain-saturated shorts, tee shirt and carrying weights in each hand.

As we headed up to the saddle, we could see and hear the hiking group as it rounded the base of the hill behind us. Soon the terrain blocked them from view. We continued to the saddle and down to the junction of Ellie Lane Trail and Iron Mountain Peak Trail. We passed several solo hikers and pairs of hikers, as well as solo joggers. It was like a freeway on Ellie Lane Trail. We’d never seen so many people and on a rainy day, no less. Some of the hikers were dressed for the weather and some had just shorts or pants and tee shirts. I just don’t understand how some of them could keep warm in the wind and rain. I was content with my poncho, although I had taken my arms out of the arm holes to keep my hands warm. I thought that the poncho was big enough and thin enough that if I fell I could still use my hands to temper any fall.

We had thought that if the weather was good enough, that we would go to Iron Mountain summit but there was enough rain that water was flowing on the trails so decided against it. Although there was water on the trails, there was no mud due to the relatively large size of the decomposed granite and the rocks.

We met two hikers with dogs on the way down Iron Mountain Peak Trail. Since Brandy was off leash and sometimes has an issue with dogs she doesn’t know, I called her to me and moved off trail as best I could, holding her harness. I was holding her with my left hand and squatting on my left foot and moved the right foot back, failing to find support. I wasn’t falling but I don’t think I would have had the strength in the left leg due to my position to lift myself with that leg alone.  I was able to quickly grab a rock with my right hand to pull myself up. I looked back through the chaparral next to the trail and saw it was about six feet down the rock to firm ground.

While we were returning to the car, as it was still windy and raining, I was trying to decide how to get Brandy in the car without mud on her feet. I couldn’t see any good way but thought that if I had parked closer to the restrooms that I could have put her in one, got the towel from the car, cleaned her and then carried her to the car.

When we got to the car, I could hardly get the key out of my pocket because my fingers were so cold. I could hardly move them and they had no strength. I just opened the door and let her get in the car, mud and all. Then, I tried to clean her a little but I needed to get out of the rain and wind, so I just gave up.

In the process of getting both Brandy and myself into the car, a considerable amount of rain blew into the car but I’m sure it will eventually dry out.

Despite the wind and rain, it was an enjoyable hike. I’m finding out that hiking in the rain isn’t as formidable as I had thought.