Mountain Woman

This weekend, I explored the terrain around my new home, and I found something that will hold me together when I've got the homesick blues or whatever other shades of blue find me. I wandered down the road behind my apartment to the river, a lovely little trek bordered by various lower-level peaks of the White Mountains. I sat by the river for a while with my new friends and two neighbor dogs, watching them chase each other and climb around on the bolders, and then we wandered back, enjoying the desert sunset and the wide variety of colors on display: reds and pinks and blues and golds and greens.

Then on Saturday, with the same friends, I climbed Saw Tooth (or so it's called around here). This peak can be seen from my school and neighborhood. We started off by driving across the highway and parking on a road that was closed due to rains. Two months ago, it was a regular gravel road; now, it has caverns and canyons, and the gravel is all washed away. It's amazing how drastically the landscape changes after a month or so of monsoon. We walked most of the length of the road to the Kinishba Ruins, where we explored a bit before leaving the road and all trails, bushwacking our way up Saw Tooth.

It took us five hours to get there and back; I was covered in scrapes and bruises; I haven't been so tired since the AIDS Ride for Life; and it was worth every splinter, bruise, scrape, wound, etc. The view from the top, down to my new home, was blue and green valleys and peaks, with more peaks in the distance. Apart from a road or two, all I could see were mountains and valleys.

I've made a new goal to try to explore and venture forth in some way or another every weekend. Next weekend will hopefully include some hiking in the high country.

(The picture shows the Kinishba Ruins and Saw Tooth.)