Books read:
- Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf
- A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
- Home by Marilynne Robinson
- Merchants of Doubt by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M.
Conway
Trails walked:
- Aspen/General Crook loop near Payson (Oct 3rd)
- Lockett Meadow to Bear Jaw near Flagstaff (Oct 11th)
- Pine Mountain Wilderness near Dugas (Oct 17th)
- Parsons Trail near Cottonwood (Oct 22nd)
Song of the month:
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| Aspens near Lockett Meadow |
In my March blog
I mentioned the start of spring training baseball in Phoenix. October is the culmination of the baseball
season with the baseball playoffs and the World Series. I enjoy watching most sports, but for me,
the World Series is the best. After a
long season of 162 games, each lasting 3 or more hours, it all comes down to
two teams and the best of seven games. There
is pressure and intensity on every pitch and every at bat. The weather is turning cold, and it seems
that it all must end soon before the real cold sets in. I try to get in hikes this month to
highlight the changing of the leaves. Of
course New England and the big Eastern National Parks are synonymous with spectacular
fall color and rightly so (I’ve spent October weekends in New England and it is
stunning); but here in Arizona there is beautiful fall color not only in the
mountains, but also in the desert riparian areas throughout the state. And the color can last into the last weeks of
November for some of the lower lying areas.
For my reading this month I’ve read three novels and one non-fiction
book; they have tackled subjects ranging from ageless time travel, to British India
Colonialism, to what it means to come home after being away too long, to the
denial of science. Enjoy!
Song of
the Month – Motherland by Natalie Merchant: I’ve
been a fan of Natalie Merchant since her days as lead singer for 10,000 Maniacs
which lasted from the early 80s through the early 90s. In 1995 she struck out on her own with the
album Tigerlily which had 3 pop hits (Wonder, Carnival, and Jealousy). She’s made 9 more albums since then and has
had good success and a loyal following. But
for me, her album titled Motherland is my favorite. Released just after the 9/11 terrorist
attacks, the album was dedicated to all the victims lost. Even though the title track was written before this tragic event, its words became even more meaningful
afterwards as a sort of longing for the innocence of the past. The music is
beautiful. Set as a waltz, with accordion,
guitar, and banjo it is mesmerizing. The
first four lines in the song echo for me the reason why I try to get out into
nature as often as I can:
Where in the hell can you go
Far from the things that you know
Far from the sprawl of concrete that keeps
Crawling its way about 1,000 miles a day?
Orlando:
A Biography by Virginia Woolf: I knew
nothing of this novel when I read it this month. All I knew was that I had read two of Woolf’s
previous novels, Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse and really enjoyed her
creative way of dealing with time and thought.
In Orlando, she really takes time and thought to “a whole nutha
level.” It starts out innocently
enough…Orlando is a 16-year-old nobleman in Queen Elizabeth I’s court in the
1500s. He falls in love with a Russian
princess who then abandons him, then he meets a literary critic who says Shakespeare’s
works will fade with time, becomes confused when an androgynous looking
archduchess flirts with him, and eventually ends up as British Ambassador in
Constantinople. The description of the
court and Orlando and his thoughts was fine and interesting, and I was ready to
chalk this up as an OK period piece. But
then before you even realize it, the title character was mysteriously turned
into a woman after a week-long slumber during the Christian/Muslim revolts in
Constantinople. Orlando, the now woman,
escapes the riots in the care of a troupe of gypsies where she has
conversations about the privileged vs the poor.
She eventually makes it back to Britain in a ship where she begins to
see how being a woman has certain repercussions (a sailor nearly falls to his
death when Orlando accidentally shows him her bare ankle!). From there it just gets crazy! Orlando lives through centuries, from the
1500s through 1928 (when the novel was published), yet only ages 20 years
during this time. The literary critic Orlando encountered from the 1500s returns to now worship Shakespeare and harshly criticize the
latest literary figures of the day (I suppose a lampoon on critics who have no
idea what they are talking about).
During all this time travel, Orlando must deal with the difficulties of
being a woman, with no rights or land ownership. The androgynous archduchess returns as an
archduke. Orlando, the now woman, ends up marrying a
different man mainly to acquire a male heir so that he/she can establish ownership
of land that is rightfully hers (his?).
As the novel ends, Orlando has finally found success in the poem she/he
has been writing since the 1500s, and she is finally awarded ownership of her
land and property (a nod to the times when women were finally getting voting
rights). I did some research on this
novel after I read it and found out that much of it was a sort of love letter
to Virginia Woolf’s longtime lover Vita Sackville-West who was from an
aristocratic family but who was not awarded ownership of land since she was
female (her male cousin was awarded the property). Some of the photos in the pretend biography of
Orlando were actual photographs of Vita Sackville-West! It has also become a sort of barrier breaking
novel on sexual identity with its gender bending themes (although Shakespeare also
did a bit of this I believe). Many papers and books have been written
analyzing this novel. There are many
ideas that I did not catch that would likely have made this an incredibly great
reading experience (literary references, political and social references,
Woolf’s own personal references). But I
still enjoyed it and appreciated it for its inventiveness.
A Passage
to India by E.M. Forster: There
is something about India that draws me.
I think I was in the 4th grade when I wrote a book report on
India and ever since then I’ve been fascinated with the place. Its mix of cultures, religions,
geography. Its complicated history and
chaotic present. Salmon Rushdie’s
terrific novel Midnight’s Children, which I reviewed in November
2018, is a fictional account set in India post 1947 Independence. A Passage to India is Forster’s fictional
account of India during the British Raj in the 1920s between the two World
Wars. I really enjoyed this book and
even though it was written in 1924 it had some very modern ideas about race and
gender that I’m sure were not so well received during the time it was written. The 1984 movie by David Lean was nominated
for best picture and director at the 1985 Academy Awards (another movie I need
to see….).
The story begins with a woman
named Mrs. Moore as she arrives in India with Adela Quested whom she hopes to
marry off to her son, a government official in the British Raj. There are fascinating descriptions of the
separation between the British governing the country and the Indian citizens
working with and for them. There is
rampant racism between the two, but also some very few enlightened characters
that are trying to break this barrier.
Mrs. Moore and Adela end up on an expedition to explore some ancient
caves, but during the expedition Adela gets separated from the group and ends
up getting assaulted in one of the caves.
An Indian man who is a Muslim doctor in the employ of the British is
accused and the tensions between the British and the Indians explode in riots
as it is believed that the Muslim doctor was wrongly accused. A trial is held which seems to be rigged to
find the defendant guilty, but something very surprising happens during the
trial which was written beautifully. I
felt that I was in attendance there at the trial in the heat and humidity teeming with
tension.
Time magazine listed the book in its 100 Best
All Time Novels and was considered by the Modern Library to be one of the top
100 English literature books. Both are
well deserved. It was another book I
looked forward to sitting down with each time.
It’s the story of British India in the 1920s, but also a story about
race and gender relations, religious persecution, and about friendship and
whether friendship can overcome the divisive forces of two different countries
and cultures. There is a terrific recalled conversation in part I, chapter IV between some Hindus, Muslims, and Christian missionaries. One missionary was commenting on the terrible caste system in India and that in his religion, all castes go to heaven. The Hindus then asked if monkeys go to his heaven. He responded, "Well, er, yes." Then they asked if jackals do. "God's love will accept them." They then asked if wasps were accepted into heaven. The missionary changed the subject. They finally asked if fruit and bacteria were accepted. "No, that is going to far. We must exclude someone from our gathering, or we shall be left with nothing!"
Lockett
Meadow to Bear Jaw trail near Flagstaff (Beautiful aspen leaves changing color):
See the July2019
blog for directions and a brief description of this area. The Aspen grove that sits a mile from the
Inner Basin trailhead is one of the largest in Arizona. Normally the first 2-3 weeks of October are
the best times to see them in their full yellow glory. It’s spectacular walking under these
100-foot-tall trees as leaves are falling and the trails are covered in leaves
with various shades of yellow. HB and I
arrived on the Friday before Columbus Day weekend and it was packed with leaf
peepers. It was a festive environment as
everyone wandered in wonder at these beautiful trees with smiles on their faces. The first 2 miles were crowded, but instead
of heading the last half mile to the Inner Basin, we headed 3 miles north on
the Waterline Trail to its junction with the Bear Jaw trail. There were 2 advantages to doing this. One, there were no people, and two, as the
trail rose we ended up with great views of the Aspens we had just hiked
through. By the time we reached the Bear
Jaw junction on the northern side of the peaks, the Aspens here had already
dropped all their leaves, so the trail was absolutely carpeted in leaves. We had lunch at the trail junction and had a
very easy 5-mile downhill walk back to Lockett Meadow.
 |
| Follow the Yellow Leaf Road |
 |
| This road leads to colorful trees |
 |
| Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow the yellow leaf road |
 |
| Color near and far |
 |
| Bright yellow! |
 |
| Lockett Meadow far below |
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| A map drawn on the hillside |
 |
| Wow |
 |
| Colors and contours |
Home by
Marilynne Robinson: I reviewed Gilead by this author in my February
2019 blog. Home is set in 1956 and
contains many of the same characters that were in Gilead, but from a completely
different perspective, so, sort of a companion novel. I can’t even begin to describe how much I
loved this book. It’s similar to how I
felt after reading Gilead. Gilead had
won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 and Home was a finalist for the 2008 National
Book award. It’s a retelling of the
Prodigal Son story. Jack Boughton is
this prodigal son and he returns to Gilead, Iowa after 20 years of absence at
the age of 43. When he gets to his
childhood home, he finds his preacher father very sick and being cared for by
Jack’s sister Glory. Both Jack and Glory
have secrets about their turbulent pasts that are slowly revealed as the story
unwinds. They have each come home for
different reasons and they end up propping each other up and helping each other
sort of get through this tough period in their lives.
The preacher (Robert Boughton) and his now
deceased wife raised eight kids in this home and many of their stories are also
revealed through the tense and brilliant discussions held between Jack, Glory,
and their father. Jack was always the
troublemaker in the family and never really felt a part of it and so after
dropping out of college he left and never returned until 20 years later. Even though he was the black sheep, his
father always held a special place in his heart for him because he could sense
his loneliness and torment, even as a child.
I found myself moved to tears in some of the incredible scenes
throughout this book. Marilynne Robinson
is evidently from another planet because it seems impossible for anyone to write
this beautifully. She combines issues of
the times (mid 1950s), religious scripture, and philosophy to iron out the
meaning of family, friendship, and life.
If you like action in your books, you won’t enjoy this, but if you
appreciate great dialog and the brilliant dissection of family life you will
love it. A couple of lines to show you what I mean:
She had followed her father's thoughts back to that old bitterness, and bitterness simmered in his half closed eyes as she reflected on the inevitability of his disappointment.
It was the sad privilege of blood relations to love him despite all.
...another flapping clothesline, another roof pitched under heaven to shelter human hope and frailty.
Jack gazed at him as if his father were the apparition of all the grief and weariness he had cost him, still gallant in his weakness, ready to be saddened again, ready to be burdened again.
Pine
Mountain Wilderness near Dugas (Astounding fall color, solitude, some history,
and stupendous views): Have you ever driven up I-17 north of Phoenix
and seen that Orme/Dugas exit that seems to be in the middle of nowhere and
wondered what was there? I have. And I’ve always wanted to see “what was
there.” So, I did some research and
found some hiking trails in the Pine Mountain Wilderness. HB and I, along with HB’s 16-year-old
step-grandson left Phoenix at 7:30am to start the adventure. The wilderness area is 20 miles of dirt road
east of I-17. Ten miles of that dirt
road is easy peasy 40mph road, but the other 10 miles is slow going, rut
filled, creek crossed, and not suitable for passenger cars. My trusty Forester was up to the task
though. This was beautiful hill country
leading up to the trailhead. A couple of
ranches spread here and there, but otherwise empty of people and civilization. Fred Dugas established the Dugas Ranch in
this area in 1879 and it eventually had a big enough population to warrant a
post office in 1925, but the depression ended that, and the post office closed
in 1938. There are still a few people
that live in this area but driving through the “town” it looks like an
abandoned mining town with dilapidated wooden shacks and an old windmill.
Dugas used to be considered the geographic
center of Arizona, but that point is actually around 20 miles southeast near
Horseshoe Lake. It took about an hour to
drive the dirt roads to the trailhead, but the scenery was nice, and it didn’t
seem so bad. The hike starts on the
Nelson Trail along Sycamore Creek (one of several Sycamore Creeks in
Arizona). The trail was cut by cattle
ranchers to move their livestock up and down the mountain as the weather
changed. In the first mile of walking
you notice the variety of trees and the many different fall colors this time of
year. Sycamore, cottonwood, oak, maple,
thin leaf alders, and even some apple trees left over from when the Nelson
family homesteaded this area. In
addition to the apple trees (which had some tasty and ripe yellow apples) there is an old stone wall that was part of the homestead. This is one of the most beautiful riparian
areas I’ve come across in Arizona, and the remoteness made it even more
special. The variety of trees and colors
reminded me more of a New England autumn.
After 2.5 miles on the Nelson trail we turned left on the Willow Springs
trail, then 1.5 miles later it was right on the Verde Rim trail to Pine Mountain. The views along the Verde Rim trail are
spectacular. Rugged country for miles,
including the Verde River Canyon, the western slope of the Mazatzals, Horseshoe
lake to the southeast, the Bradshaws to the west, and we could even see Weavers
Needle and the Superstitions far far in the distance. This was our lunch spot! After lunch we headed further along the Verde
Rim trail and turned right on the Pine Mountain Trail, then back to the Nelson
trail and the car. We saw some deer,
some trout in the creek, and several
birds and lots and lots of bear scat, but no bears. Overall a great day in one of the more remote
and beautiful areas in Arizona.
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| Sycamore Creek (one of many in Arizona) |
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| Remnants of the Nelson Homestead |
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| Into the colors |
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| Baby aspens changing color |
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| Trail art |
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| Top of the hill reflections |
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| More views |
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| Lots of wildflowers still |
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| Many trails combined for our loop |
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| Bending colors |
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| Even some red |
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| Apple tree left over from the Nelson homestead |
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| Cool cloud at the trailhead |
Merchants
of Doubt by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway:
One of the reasons I’m so involved in helping to address Climate
Change is because, as an engineer, I’ve been very puzzled about how nothing is
being done when all the scientific data leads to the absolute need to do
something soon. Yes, I know politics get
in the way, and yes, I know there are still deniers. But why?
This book clearly answers this question.
Naomi Oreskes is currently Harvard’s Professor of the History of Science
and Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, while Eric M. Conway
is currently Historian for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. They met at a conference in Germany in 2004 and
as they were discussing the conference topic on the History of Meteorology they
both noted that the people who were challenging the science of human-caused
climate change were the same ones that had also challenged scientific evidence
of ozone depletion and the dangers of tobacco smoke. When they found evidence connecting these
people to the tobacco industry, they knew they had a story to tell.
Five years of research later, they published
Merchants of Doubt. The book addresses
the battles fought to address the following topics: tobacco smoke’s link to diseases; nuclear winter
and the Strategic Defense Initiative; acid rain due to coal smoke; ozone
depletion due to CFCs; the impact of secondhand tobacco smoke; and global
warming. And the last chapter, before
the conclusion discusses the revisionist history taking place on the internet
regarding Rachel Carson and her scientific work to ban certain pesticides. The good news is that nearly all these issues (other than global warming) eventually had laws or regulations passed to help resolve them, however the bad
news is that it took years or decades to get anything done due to the doubt cast
by the minority. The pattern was the
same for each of these issues. First,
the scientific community discovers the problem, scientific papers are
peer-reviewed and published, and the science is solid. Then these other scientists (there are a
small handful of them) who have solid scientific credentials start to challenge
the science by cherry picking some of the data and then writing their own
(non-peer-reviewed) articles and publishing them, not in scientific journals,
but in mainstream media.
They took
advantage of the Fairness Doctrine at the time which was implemented at the birth
of radio and TV to assure media would represent both sides of any political issue. They told the media outlets that they had to
publish their viewpoint to meet the Fairness Doctrine. And so, even though, in all these cases,
95-99% of scientists agreed there was an issue, the 1-5% minority view was published
over 50% of the time. What was unknown
at the time was the link between the tobacco industry (and later the fossil fuel
industry) and these handful of scientists stating their minority unscientifically
proven views. These same scientists,
along with the tobacco industry created a handbook entitled Bad Science: A Resource
Book, which provided a playbook on how to refute the real science on any
topic. These methods included cherry picking
data, sowing doubt about the science or the scientists in the minds of
consumers, and publishing in mainstream media. All this while the actual scientists were publishing in
scientific journals rarely read by everyday consumers.
But why?
Why would scientists with real scientific credentials refute real science? There is the obvious reason related to money
supplied by the various industries, but they fought hard and showed a real strong
belief in their cause. The answer
offered by the authors seems to make sense and gave me a real “aha!”
moment. These scientists all came of scientific
age during the cold war and were key in developing nuclear technology to defeat
communism and socialism in all its forms.
And the scientists of the 40s and 50s did many positive things for the
country and for the world. However,
their intense fear and hatred of communism and socialism led them to defend any
act that seemed to lead to that end. In
their view, any kind of regulation on industry and the free market was an attack
on capitalism. So even though they knew
the science was solid, they fought it because in their opinion, any price to
pay to keep capitalism and fight socialism and communism was worth it. And the thought continues to this day. Even though Nixon’s Republican administration
did a great service to society by banning DDT and starting the EPA, there is now
revisionist history taking place refuting all that science and stating that those were bad ideas that were
unpatriotic and led to even more deaths and to US financial instability.
So, what to do about climate change? The Fairness Doctrine has been disbanded now
and that has led to the situation we currently live in, where news outlets spin
all the news only towards their (and their viewers’) particular political beliefs,
perhaps with some weak token representation of the other side. How do we bring everyone together to
understand and get behind the overwhelming scientific evidence to do
something? With Climate Change it will
be a tall order and I’m not sure it’s even possible (but it won’t prevent me
and many others from trying). Because in
order to address climate change, there would necessarily be impacts to the American
way of life being lived by our society since the Industrial Revolution. Even many people who believe in climate
change don’t want to change their way of life in any drastic way. There are folks out there riding their bikes
to work, no longer eating beef, and trying to eliminate plastic from their
lives and it’s admirable; but it’s like bringing a squirt gun to a forest fire….things
have to change on a global scale in order to have an impact.
The book ends with an analogy (or is it an allegory?). Picture hundreds of millions of people at a big,
beautiful banquet with all kinds of food and drink. Everyone is enjoying themselves and having
fun, but then a guy shows up with the bill.
Nobody wants to pay the bill. They argue with each other about the bill. They
want him to go away so they can continue to enjoy their banquet. Well, the bill has come due for all the
positive things Industrialization and Technology have done in our lives in the form of CO2 and other green house gases keeping the heat in. But nobody wants to pay it, even though 99%
of scientists say it must be paid soon to prevent the tragic impacts of a
warming earth.
Parsons
Trail near Cottonwood (Nice fall color, beautiful riparian walk, adjusting to
the situation at hand): The
original plan HB and I had was to hike the West Fork of Oak Creek near
Sedona. We left early on a Monday hoping
to beat the crowds, but as we drove up Oak Creek Canyon, we figured we might be
in trouble. Number one, it was
spectacularly going off in many colors, and number two, there were already LOTS
of cars on the highway. So, we got to
the parking area and there was already a line of cars waiting for open parking spots. On a weekday! That’s Sedona.
We thought about a backup and decided to try
another creek walk near Cottonwood. We
headed to the Parsons Trail #144 which is at the end of an 8-mile dirt
road. However, as we were bumping along
the road, we were stopped by a work crew replacing a utility pole and the
entire road was closed off. We asked if
they were gonna be long and they said it was an all-day job and that “someone”
was supposed to close the road (it’s always someone…). So, we pondered some and decided to park the
car in the road where we were and walk the remaining quarter to half mile of
road to the trailhead. We were gonna
walk along a creek today by God! And
what a beautiful creek this is. Another
Sycamore Creek (around 100 miles from the Sycamore Creek we hiked the previous
week in the Pine Mountain Wilderness).
This Sycamore Creek feeds into the Verde River very near the
trailhead. We walked up the creek
without paddles and enjoyed the fact that we were finally out of the car and
into the wild. The elevation here is
around a thousand feet lower than Oak Creek and last week’s Sycamore Creek, so
the trees were just starting to turn colors.
In a couple of weeks this would have been another spectacular hike. As
it was, we had to settle for pretty and nice.
Running water, lots of trees and shade, red rocks, and we saw less than
10 people total (all of whom ended up parking behind us in the road). We sat on some ledges over the water and ate
lunch in another beautiful Arizona spot.
The crew was still working when we walked past them on the way out.
Until next month, happy reading and rambling!
Song of
the Month – Motherland by Natalie Merchant: I’ve
been a fan of Natalie Merchant since her days as lead singer for 10,000 Maniacs
which lasted from the early 80s through the early 90s. In 1995 she struck out on her own with the
album Tigerlily which had 3 pop hits (Wonder, Carnival, and Jealousy). She’s made 9 more albums since then and has
had good success and a loyal following. But
for me, her album titled Motherland is my favorite. Released just after the 9/11 terrorist
attacks, the album was dedicated to all the victims lost. Even though the title track was written before this tragic event, its words became even more meaningful
afterwards as a sort of longing for the innocence of the past. The music is
beautiful. Set as a waltz, with accordion,
guitar, and banjo it is mesmerizing. The
first four lines in the song echo for me the reason why I try to get out into
nature as often as I can:
Aspen/General
Crook Loop near Payson (A nice walk in the woods with a view):
Hiking buddy (HB) and I headed back up to the Mogollon Rim to hike a
nice loop in the cool pines. We combined
parts of the General Crook and Aspen trails into an 8-mile loop. We saw only 2 mountain bikers and no hikers during the
entire day. The highlight of the walk
was a spectacular view of See Canyon and beyond from a viewpoint not seen by
many. The hike was on a fairly
flat bluff between the Rim Road and the Mogollon Rim. Our hike started at the Carr Lake trailhead
near Forest Road 9350 campground, about 5 miles west on the Rim Road from
the SR260 junction. There were only 2-3
miles of graded dirt road to travel, easily driven by any vehicle. Carr Lake is a bit of a stretch. More like Carr mud puddle. There is a stand of aspen trees near the
trailhead that would make for a beautiful short walk when the trees completely change
color to yellow. There were a few leaves
starting to change on this day, but it will likely be a couple of more weeks
before they really “go off.”
Lockett
Meadow to Bear Jaw trail near Flagstaff (Beautiful aspen leaves changing color):
See the July2019
blog for directions and a brief description of this area. The Aspen grove that sits a mile from the
Inner Basin trailhead is one of the largest in Arizona. Normally the first 2-3 weeks of October are
the best times to see them in their full yellow glory. It’s spectacular walking under these
100-foot-tall trees as leaves are falling and the trails are covered in leaves
with various shades of yellow. HB and I
arrived on the Friday before Columbus Day weekend and it was packed with leaf
peepers. It was a festive environment as
everyone wandered in wonder at these beautiful trees with smiles on their faces. The first 2 miles were crowded, but instead
of heading the last half mile to the Inner Basin, we headed 3 miles north on
the Waterline Trail to its junction with the Bear Jaw trail. There were 2 advantages to doing this. One, there were no people, and two, as the
trail rose we ended up with great views of the Aspens we had just hiked
through. By the time we reached the Bear
Jaw junction on the northern side of the peaks, the Aspens here had already
dropped all their leaves, so the trail was absolutely carpeted in leaves. We had lunch at the trail junction and had a
very easy 5-mile downhill walk back to Lockett Meadow. 
Home by
Marilynne Robinson: I reviewed Gilead by this author in my February
2019 blog. Home is set in 1956 and
contains many of the same characters that were in Gilead, but from a completely
different perspective, so, sort of a companion novel. I can’t even begin to describe how much I
loved this book. It’s similar to how I
felt after reading Gilead. Gilead had
won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 and Home was a finalist for the 2008 National
Book award. It’s a retelling of the
Prodigal Son story. Jack Boughton is
this prodigal son and he returns to Gilead, Iowa after 20 years of absence at
the age of 43. When he gets to his
childhood home, he finds his preacher father very sick and being cared for by
Jack’s sister Glory. Both Jack and Glory
have secrets about their turbulent pasts that are slowly revealed as the story
unwinds. They have each come home for
different reasons and they end up propping each other up and helping each other
sort of get through this tough period in their lives. 
Pine
Mountain Wilderness near Dugas (Astounding fall color, solitude, some history,
and stupendous views): Have you ever driven up I-17 north of Phoenix
and seen that Orme/Dugas exit that seems to be in the middle of nowhere and
wondered what was there? I have. And I’ve always wanted to see “what was
there.” So, I did some research and
found some hiking trails in the Pine Mountain Wilderness. HB and I, along with HB’s 16-year-old
step-grandson left Phoenix at 7:30am to start the adventure. The wilderness area is 20 miles of dirt road
east of I-17. Ten miles of that dirt
road is easy peasy 40mph road, but the other 10 miles is slow going, rut
filled, creek crossed, and not suitable for passenger cars. My trusty Forester was up to the task
though. This was beautiful hill country
leading up to the trailhead. A couple of
ranches spread here and there, but otherwise empty of people and civilization. Fred Dugas established the Dugas Ranch in
this area in 1879 and it eventually had a big enough population to warrant a
post office in 1925, but the depression ended that, and the post office closed
in 1938. There are still a few people
that live in this area but driving through the “town” it looks like an
abandoned mining town with dilapidated wooden shacks and an old windmill. 
Parsons
Trail near Cottonwood (Nice fall color, beautiful riparian walk, adjusting to
the situation at hand): The
original plan HB and I had was to hike the West Fork of Oak Creek near
Sedona. We left early on a Monday hoping
to beat the crowds, but as we drove up Oak Creek Canyon, we figured we might be
in trouble. Number one, it was
spectacularly going off in many colors, and number two, there were already LOTS
of cars on the highway. So, we got to
the parking area and there was already a line of cars waiting for open parking spots. On a weekday! That’s Sedona. 
