Backcountry hiking in the Sierras

Just a quick note, I am about to embark on a two night backcountry hiking trip into the Sierra Nevadas in California.  Im hitting up a trailhead just outside of Independence, Ca, and bringing all the necessities with me.  I had to rent a bear canister to keep all my food/trash in while im in the wilderness.  It should be a fun trip.  I just got out of Death Valley.  The place is unbelievably hot.  It was 11 at night when I went to sleep on my picnic table and it was still 100 degrees.  Today it was supposed to top 110, but I left before the heat of the day.  Whew!  Ill have lots of updates from Death Valley and the Sierras in a day or two when Im back on the grid.

Vegas baby

Just got done with a little tour down the strip in Las Vegas.  I’m impressed.  All sorts of people- vendors, trendy hipsters, homeless folk asking for your money.  It’s all there.  Something for everyone of all ages, if you got the money.  I did a bit of gambling both at MGM Grande (lost 10), and at the Bellagio (lost 10). I only did slot machines.  I’m not well versed in the card games enough to play.  I did watch some high rollers throwing down hundred dollar bills on a game of roulette.  After watching for a few minutes, I began to understand.  Doesn’t seem too hard.  Bet on red or black, or the number that the ball lands on.  If I swing back through on my way back east, maybe ill drop a few hundred on a game like that. 

Anything seems to go in Las Vegas.  Guys on the street were handing out what looked like trading cards.  I guess you could call them that.  Trading cards for adults is more like it.  You can walk down the street and drink a beer at the same time.  And of course prostitution is legal within city limits, but I didn’t notice any.  Too early in the day I guess.   

 Now I’m off to Death Valley, more or less just to say I’ve been there.  I didn’t have to go this way to get to California, but in the interest of seeing as much as I can on this trip, I decided this was the most interesting way to go.  Plus it lies directly along my route to Yosemite National Park which will be my next long-staying destination. 

Shout out to all those who competed in the Boilermaker in Utica, NY.  Awesome running.

Signs

Im getting fed up with all these signs.  Everywhere you look, its one barking order after another.  It could be that I’m noticing it more after being on the road for nearly 8,000 miles.  But signs these days are kind of rude!  “STOP!”, “NO PARKING!”, “EMPLYOYEES ONLY PAST THIS POINT!”, “ENTRY FEE $5!”, SPEED LIMIT 45!”  “ROAD CLOSED EXCEPT WITH PERMIT!”.  I feel like I’ve been following order this whole trip.  If that’s what it takes to keep our streets safe and orderly, fine.  But I could really go for a “Please Stop”, or “Speed Limit 45ish”, or something with a little more courtesy.  Wouldn’t that be nice?

From Tuscon to Lake Meade

So I ended up staying in the Tuscon area one extra day.  On Sunday, I made an early morning trip up to the Catalina Highway, a remarkable piece of highway that climbs 6500 feet in about 25 miles taking you from the low Saguaro Cactus desert up through the scrub habitats of the mid elevations, and finally up into the Pine forests up above 8000 feet.  To actually see the changing habitats as you drive up in elevation is really unique.  I wasn’t the only one, though enjoying an early Sunday morning drive.  I must have passed over 200 cyclists who were making the trip to the top as well.  I give those guys so much credit.  25 miles of pedaling uphill.  Man, makes running seem easy.  The top of the mountain afforded panoramic views of the Tuscon area and mountains even further out.  In fact I could see Mexico from a few vantage points.  That’s over 100 miles away!  Imagine being in Rochester and being able to see West Tower on campus.  Or for those followers back home in Pa, pretend you could look out your window and almost see Baltimore, MD.  It’s something like that.  

From atop Mt. Lemon looking down to the Tuscon area far below

Bug

Yellow-eyed Junco, one of those special SE Arizona birds I was looking for

I finished my hike and the car thermometer read a cool 68.  I watched that number go up up up, until I reached the deserts surrounding Tuscon a half hour later….100 degrees.  Well….it is July.  I spent the rest of the day making one of my longest drives yet, going from Tuscon, all the way through to Bullhead City, AZ which is on Lake Meade and only 40 miles from Las Vegas.  The drive was tough though.  It took all 77 Green Day songs and all 16 Guster songs on my ipod to get me through, but I made it.

Drove through lots of nothing to get to Lake Meade….

A lot of the trip was along a 100 mile stretch of highway, designated the Scenic Joshua Forest Highway.  But there was no forest in sight.  A poor choice for a highway name, the entire drive was simply more desert scrub, except with this tree everywhere…. 

Joshua Tree

Lake Meade is really bizarre.  Formed when they dammed up the Colorado River, it’s a boaters dream, especially for boaters from the west, who don’t see much in the form of large bodies of water.  But its just so unnatural looking in the middle of a rocky desert environment.  Either side of the Lake is just rocks and dirt.  There are no trees growing along its shores because there aren’t any natural streams that historically flowed into this area.  Despite the availability of water, the place still seems kind of desolate in terms of wildlife.  Plus, I did a run around the shore of the lake near the marina where I was staying, and the whole place has an odor of engine fuel, and some other unnatural stench to it.  Oh I’d love to go water skiing and tubing just as much as the next person, but if I had my choice, I’d rather be on Cayuga Lake, Sand Lake, basically any other body of water back east.  It did feel good, however to jump into clear 80 water the next morning after still feeling sticky from my run the night before.

Lake Meade

I feel like there's one of these in every town.  This one was in Surprise, AZ

The Patagonia Rest Stop Effect

We've all driven on the highway for long periods of time and had to use the rest stops.  Some are fancier than others, but at the very  least there's a parking area, picnic table, and a place to walk around and stretch your legs.  Thats about all there is at the rest stop just south of the town of Patagonia in SE Arizona.  But this particular rest stop is famous in the birding world.  Its probably visited by more birders than it is by normal everyday drivers.  Here's why:
Years ago, a birder was driving through the area, and probably pulled off to this particular rest stop to stretch their legs.  Knowing they were surrounded by good bird habitat, they were attentive to the sights and sounds around them.  Suddenly, they began noticing lots of really neat birds.  Birds like Thick-billed Kingbirds, rare breeders north of Mexico.  Word got out of the sightings and a few other birders showed up to look for the Kingbirds.  In their searching, they also turned up a major rarity, a nesting pair of Rose-throated Becard, a bird never before recorded in the US.  Birders from all over came to look, and in their searching they turned up other rarities, like Yellow Grosbeak.  And thus the term Patagonia Rest Stop Effect was coined.  Basically, the more that look, the more you find.  This is a well-known term in the birding world.  And it happens quite often.  In fact, it happened today at a pond just south of Tuscon, someone reported a Purple Gallinule, a small heron-like bird, and others who came to look for this bird also found a pair of Yellow Grosbeaks.

THE Patagonia rest stop. 

  I took the 50 mile drive south of Tuscon this afternoon to look for both birds.  The Gallinule was easy enough to find, but despite 3 other keen birders scanning the area, we couldnt turn up the Grosbeaks.  That was fine, because I had a little "Patagonia rest stop effect" of my own.  While looking for the grosbeaks, I heard the calls of a pair of Tropical Kingbirds.  I could see them in a tree a long ways across a cow pasture.  Not good enough for me.  At this point, I retract the statement I made in my previous post about not wanting to trespass.
  The coast was clear.  I would just stay hidden behind the trees along the backside of the pasture, out of view of the main road and the eyes of any possible farmer who owned the land.  While hopping the barbed wire fence, I found a whole, not yet decomposed cow, probably not a good omen.  Then again, if the owner of the land hadnt discovered one of his cattle missing, then they probably don't come around these parts very often.  I took it as a sign of fortune and continued on, obtaining my close-up views of Tropical Kingbird, and taking a few poor pictures.  After a bit, I got antsy, and scampered back across the field, avoided the dead cow, hopped the barb wire fence, and that was that.   Patagonia Rest stop effect at its best!

Notes on Arizona

I've been keeping a little journal of all the birds I see and where I see them, plus just notes on the days events.  Here's some of my comments I've jotted down about this part of Arizona:
-90 degrees by 9am
-Thunderstorms every afternoon as the monsoon season is getting underway
-Coyotes howling in Saguaro National Park under a moon lit night
-There are way too many cops around the border of AZ and Mexico to risk speeding.  I drove from Sonoita, Az to Patagonia Az around 8pm.  It's a 12 mile stretch of road, and I passed at least 5 cops.  With my recent history of getting pulled over, I drove the speed limit the whole way.  Yea, I was "that guy". 
-McDonalds Empire stretches to every corner of the country.  If you drive past an exit that doesnt have a McDonalds, dont worry, there will be one at the next exit.  I past 3 while driving through downtown Tuscon last night...all on the same road. 
-for those who pay attention to national gas pricing, its cheap here:  $3.21
-running for an hour is now a real chore.  I've been running 3-4 days a week while on this road trip, and most of the time its only for 35 minutes.  An 8 mile run two nights ago was my second longest run thus far.  Very scenic, running as the sun went down, and a lightning storm put on a show over the distant Mexican mountain ranges.  But man, was I tired.  The next day's hiking was grueling.  The leg's werent responding, even though it was a flat hike.  I had to sit down for a bit. 
-Jack in the Box double chicken bacon burger, curly fries, and drink for $5.  First time I've ever felt truly full after eating fast food.

Just read an email that some of the local mountain forests have been reopened to the public!  My original plan had been to leave the area today for the long haul to the Lake Meade area, just outside Las Vegas, followed by a shorter drive the next day to Death Valley NP in California.  I might postpone that driving a day, and take a shot at some of these mountain birds.  Ill get back to you soon to let you know what I did!

Wrapping up SE AZ

I'm back in Tuscon, where I last left you.  I just finished up two jam packed days of birding in SE Arizona, specifically at Patagonia Lake State Park area and specific locales around Sierra Vista.  Both spots were within earshot of Mexico, and in fact driving three nights ago to Patagonia Lk SP I had to pass through a patrol checkpoint.  Despite my scruffy looking beard, they let me pass.  Overall, the birding was pretty good.  I was able to access tons of riparian areas- lush green habitats that border the few rivers (more like streams) that run through the otherwise barren landscape- which act as great magnets for rare and interesting birds.  But I could not for the life of me gain access to any of the mountain habitats which house many of the Mexican gems that I was looking for.  As predicted, all National Forest land, of which all the mountains are a part of- remained closed to the public due to forest fire danger.  I tried gaining access at three different locations.  I was turned around at all three, either by road blockades, or by military officers (I tried to drive into an active military base which has land in the mountains).  The only access to any mountainous forests is by way of private land.  Now, I am not one to obey private property signs.  Although everyone is entitled to their own land, and to do with it as they wish, I find is selfish for one family to own 10,000 acres of land, all of which is used as cattle range.  Although jumping a fence would have been easy as cake, I have had run ins with private landowners on other occasions while doing this, and the end result has not always been pretty.  In Ithaca, two guys in a mustang tore across their field towards me, got out, and threatened to kill me once.  I pleaded that I was only bird watching and would leave immediately.  They came at me with bats, so I used my XC speed and took off into the woods.  I escaped that time, but I learned my lesson.  Plus, being so close to the Mexican border, I didnt want to give the impression of an illegal immigrant wandering aimlessly across private land.  Needless to say, I missed a few of the special birds of Southeast Arizona I came here for.  It's frustrating having traveled so far for these birds, only to be turned around less than a mile from the forest access points.  The sky Islands as they area called are some of the top birding hotspots a birder's wish list, and I just got denied.  Regardless, I'm still leaving this region with around 30 new birds that I've never seen before.  And I got 6 different Hummingbirds.  I still had a blast.  I guess I just owe Southeast Arizona another visit in the future.
Computer batteries running low, so Ill post pics later, but here's a list of some of the cool birds that I saw.  Feel free to look them up.  Some of them are really "pretty"
-Varied Bunting, Vermilion Flycatcher, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Violet-crowned Hummingbird, Costa's Hummingbird, Thick-billed Kingbird, Painted Redstart, Magnificent Hummingbird, Mexican Jay, Gray Hawk, Summer Tanager.