Arizona, Part Deux

I'm in Arizona hiking with my Everest partner Rick and his wife, Lindsay.  You might remember our "adventure" earlier this year, when the trail ended we were lost somewhere in the Huachuca Mountains.

The adventures continue.  Today we did our "acclimatization" hike for the weekend at Montezuma Pass.  We had a sense of foreboding when we parked the car at 6,000+ feet and it was cloudy with drizzle. Ah, well.  Put on the ponchos and let's roll.

Do you know it rains in Arizona?  A lot?  Heavy, pounding rain?  Do you know the clouds hang pretty low when this happens, around 7,000 feet?  Yes, folks, Rick and I were hiking IN the clouds in driving rain.  See photos.  It went from bad to worse as the wind picked up.  We were soaked and cold, and we turned around at about 7,500 feet.

On the way back we passed three Border Patrol police officers, who were hurrying  up the mountain to "meet some people".  When we finally got back to the parking lot there were two Border Patrol "pokey wagons",  four Suburbans, and at least five more police officers.  We assured them they weren't looking for us, and we headed back down to Jack In The Box for burgers, then me to DQ for a cone.

Two more days of hiking.  What kind of adventure will we have next?