Are we there yet? How much farther???

We – Nick, Nutmeg and I – climbed Gomez Peak on Sunday. About 800 feet elevation gain/loss. I whined most of the way up and Nutmeg whined most of the way down.

Our intention was to take Nutmeg for a “bit of exercise,” an extended poop-walk, if you will; she hadn’t had much exercise for the last couple of days, except walking around the block. Gomez Peak/Little Walnut Picnic area is a short 10 minute drive from here. The trails range from a nice walk to a healthy walk to a flat-out hike-and-climb. I was thinking nice walk or healthy walk. I was not prepared for a flat-out hike-and-climb. We had with us 3 water bottles, two apples and two granola bars. Ok for snacks on a walk of an hour or so, but since we left a little before 11, not enough to cover lunch and water for 3 over a period of 3+ hours.

We planned to follow a trail we had followed before when Nick’s sister Maria was here – trail head to post 2 to post 3 to 4 to 5 and then back to the trail head. This would have been a healthy walk, with a little uphill, plenty of flat and then back downhill to the parking lot. Elevation gain, maybe 300 feet over a long stretch. But we reached Post 5, with most of 2 of our 3 bottles of water plus all our food, and only 45 minutes into the walk, and decided to go up to Post 6. We had also walked part of that way before, turning back when the trail narrowed. Sunday, we figured we could turn back whenever.

The problem wasn’t getting to Post 6. Along the trail, we found a shady spot with an excellent view, dug out the apples and munched away, sharing with Nutmeg, of course. Past Post 6, the trail begins a series of switchbacks at an ever increasing angle, until there’s no more mountain to switch back on and the trail turns straight up steps to the top. And that’s where I started to whine. At first it was in jest. And then the jest became more serious. At one point, after Nick had told me for the third time, “only about 5 more minutes; we just have one more switchback…” I looked up and still couldn’t see the top and just sat down! Nutmeg was flagging as well.

I was persuaded and we managed the last two switch-backs and the 3 flights of steps – a loose term meaning large stones and small boulders creating a stairway up to the tip of the mountain. Here, Nutmeg really had to scramble – 4 legs lost their advantage over 2.

When we finally made the tippy top, I found it was about the size of a large bedroom. There was one scrubby tree throwing broken shade, into which Nutmeg immediately retreated. She dug furiously to create a fresh bed of cool earth, turned around twice and flopped down with a huge sigh.

We stood looking at the view. I have to admit, it was something. 360 degrees and 75 miles in every direction. South: Mexico. North and east: Black Range. South and east: Cooks Peak, all the way over by Las Cruces. West: Mogollon range and due North into the heart of the Gila Wilderness. The Gila National Forest spread from the Black Range over there, to the Mogollon way over that way. Silver City tucked in below us. Could really appreciate the ecological transition zones which we occupy here. Looking south beyond Silver City, you see nothing but brown – the high desert; then there’s Silver with swaths of cottonwoods following the creek beds that run through the town and the transition to pinion, juniper and scrub oak. Moving north by the mile, the ecozone changes from pinion/juniper to ponderosa, except for the hillsides that are patched from either long-ago fires or logging.

Other lovelies up there – there was a type of barrel cactus that was blooming with large, brilliant, rich orange blossoms. Lots of teddy bear cholla with large yellow bloom pods on the tips and even some prickly pear with pears. Lots of birds. If only I had my binoculars to look down into the treetops. How many times do you get that opportunity – to look down on the tops of the trees to pick out the crown-dwellers. Well, and for that matter, if I had had my camera, I would have been showing pictures, rather than trying feebly to describe it.

But we were down to our last bottle of water and we needed to get our panting pup down. So off we started. I felt much better going down, knowing I’d probably get down before my blood sugar did. Remember me, I never miss a meal. Plus I could watch my feet, watch for snakes on the trail ahead, watch Nutmeg and still get glimpses of the views. An impossibility going up. And yes, I did say, snakes. It’s rattler season now. And they love nothing more on a sunny day than to find a bare spot or a rock to sun and trails are perfect for that.

Nutmeg was so tired – or perhaps more hot than tired – that every time we came to any significant shade, she just fell out. And whined when we urged her up and downward. I know this was her version of, “aw gee aren’t we there yet?” She was heartened when she got to familiar ground on the lower trail heading for the trail head and she didn’t drag as much. Gave her more water at the car, and when we got home, she raced for her water bowl, then for her rug and we didn’t see her again till dinner!

I’ll climb Gomez Peak again, but: I’ll get an earlier start; I’ll leave the dog home; I’ll take my camera; I’ll take more water; I’ll take more food; I’ll take my binoculars; and I’ll be ready to rock, uhmm, to climb that rock. ss