{"id":8338,"date":"2019-08-25T20:07:19","date_gmt":"2019-08-26T02:07:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/?p=8338"},"modified":"2020-07-01T11:43:09","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T17:43:09","slug":"monsoon-canyon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maxcarmichael.com\/blog\/?p=8338","title":{"rendered":"Monsoon Canyon"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I hadn’t been able to do a serious hike for the past three weeks, due to problems in both feet, a knee and a shin. So I needed a recovery hike on a well-maintained trail without any long, steep grades. This canyon, less than an hour from home and between 7,000′ and 9,000′ elevation, fit the bill.<\/p>\n

While I was out of commission, our monsoon had been delivering some good rain. The flowers were outrageous, there were still red raspberries available, and a huge crop of rose hips would be ripe in a few more weeks.<\/p>\n

My lower body felt so good that when I got to the steep part near the end of the trail, I wanted to keep going. But I’d already hiked farther than I’d planned \u2013 the round-trip would be almost 8 miles and over 1300′ \u2013 so I decided not to take any chances.<\/p>\n

In addition to the wildlife I got pictures of, I saw two garter snakes and a bridled titmouse \u2013 first ever in the wild! And in the lower part of the canyon, I heard an invisible owl calling \u2013 in the middle of the afternoon!<\/p>\n