Bog Springs

     This past Saturday I attempted my first hike without the use of supplemental oxygen since my surgery. Now, I brought the oxygen with us, (or should I say my husband carried it with him), but I did not use it. This was a huge milestone in my recovery and healing. The hike took about twice as long as it has in the past, but I made it to the springs and that is what counts. It is a 3.8 mile hike and as a 1200 foot elevation gain. So hiking this without oxygen was no joke for me.It was quite difficult and as you can see from the picture, I was beat.
     We took our dog Zaphod (his name is from the book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) with us. He loves the mountains, but with me being sick, he's gotten a bit out of shape. So he was beat at this point too. Poor guy was limping around more than I was the next two days. But he loves running through the forest, smelling all the new smells and there is not a lot of that in Tucson (The forest part, there are plenty of smells).



     This is also a great escape from the boring desert landscape of Tucson. Now don't get me wrong, there are many beautiful sites in the desert, but we don't have too many in the Tucson are.  There is a lot of brown and scattered shrubs, until you get out into the parks. Madera  Canyon is one of my favorites. Now, this may have something to do with the fact that it is 15 miles from my house and one of the few places I don't have to drive very far to get to, but it is also very quiet and peaceful. Even the views from just a low altitude hike are amazing. Bog springs is only at 5900 ft. but it is still a very impressive site. The picture in the header is also from this hike. I am hoping that soon I will be ready to hike Mt Wrightson. That is Tucson area's highest peak. We are planning a trip up in May, I don't know how that will go, but I am going as far as I can. Who knows, maybe I will surprise myself.