Heavy Rain Greets my Arrival

Monsoon season officially ended at the end of September and it was average to a little dry.  Then, last week a tropical depression came out of the Pacific and doubled the rainfall from the Monsoon and another came through this weekend, adding another 1-2".  Amazing and well needed but it is odd how many times my first day here has been greeted with rain.  I arrive at Sabino Canyon.

Not seen this warning sign before.  Used to Mountain Lion sighting signs and rattlers but no this one for flash flooding.

Many neat views of cloud cover all around me.  Found it difficult to choose just one.  The desert is very green.

I am headed to Blackett's Ridge but to reach the trail, one must cross this bridge which is usually dry.  I stood there for awhile, watched as a group of 5 took off shoes and socks and decided I too should go.  I supposed the water would rise during the day (it did) but that is a problem left for the return.  I was at the end of the group and frankly, became a little worried as my footing was not ideal.  About 2/3 of the way across, a big guy stopped and reached back for me!  How about that.  I gladly grabbed his hand and once everything was readjusted, headed up.

Being my first hike, I intended to take it easy but when I got close to the only other person on the trail, he picked up the pace and I just wouldn't give in.  I kept planning to pause to change out of a long sleeve shirt but of course, that wouldn't do and get dropped (I take more pride in my hiking then I do cycling, obviously).  

The clouds add to the dramatic effect of the mountains.  So, I headed back down, curious about the river.

Uh-oh, rain approaching in the distance although later it petered out.

Oh boy, the river had risen and a ranger was there to prevent people from crossing.  He shouted to me to head up river where there was another crossing.  As I walked the way instructed.....

….note the helicopter in the upper portion of the image.  While descending and being able to observe from higher up, I had seen two emergency vehicles on the road the shuttles use (they were not running for the day) so someone had fallen or something, requiring emergency care.

Well, a little better.  Two other hikers approached from behind and we decided to do it together.  This time, I left my shoes on.  Damn, again my footing was a problem as the current was swift. I could feel my feet moving slightly with the current. About half way across, I lost confidence and began taking really small steps, gaining maybe 2" at a time. Just shuffling along:(.  I turned into the current to slightly reduce the exposure, thinking less mass in the line of the water was better.  The water reached above my knees in that frothy section but the blog lives on as I made it.  Kind of dumb to have crossed the first time.  I was anxious to hike. Finished with 7 miles and getting ready for a bucket lister type hike later this week.  Got in with a guy who has a 4WD which is needed to reach the trail head.