Broadway Cave, success!

Yes, I know, I said I was going to wait until it cooled off about 20 degrees before I tried that again, and it was about 90 today. Well, I kept thinking about it this week. I thought about how it's a very long hike (by my standards, anyway (6 km)). That means I have to be in reasonably good condition to do it. Well, I could do it when I'm out of shape, but it would be difficult and I would pay for it for days afterward. What if I decided to wait until it cooled off, but before it did, I sprained my ankle really bad, or broke a leg, or had a heart attack or stroke, or got lung cancer, and was never able to get back into good enough condition to hike up there? Every time I drove down 60 I would look over at the cave and think, "I could have hiked up there, but now I never will." I decided to do it while I could. You might ask why it was so important to do it. Just one reason, that same old reason. Because it's there.

While I was resting in the shade of a saguaro near the cave, Lauren texted me. She asked if the cave was as cool as I expected it to be. I told her it wasn't cool, but I didn't get into the long explanation of why it wasn't. Actually, I never expected it to be cool. I don't like the trail to the cave, and I didn't like the cave. I didn't expect to. But it was there, and I could go, so I had to go.

On the trail, you are never out of the sight of civilization. That makes for some interesting pictures sometimes, but generally I don't like it. I like to get away from the rat race when I go hiking. And it isn't just the sight of civilization that is bothersome. I find the sound even more bothersome. For the entire 3 or 4 hours that I was on the trail, I was accompanied by two sounds. First there is the constant drone of traffic, punctuated by the occasional Harley with loud pipes. Second, there are the barking dogs. Bark, bark, bark, all day long. Why do so many people get dogs and then leave them in the yard all day to annoy the neighbors with their barking? These sounds follow you all the way to the cave. There is no escaping them.

I'm not saying I didn't enjoy the hike. I did. The sights are beautiful (if you look in the right direction ;-) ). Will I do it again? Probably not. I've already been there, and I have pictures. I'm going to go to Bulldog Canyon tomorrow and listen to the silence.

Anyway, about the hike... It's long. For about 3/4 of the way, it's a gentle up hill slope. Most people like gentle slopes, but they make my hip hurt. Strolling around flat places (like a shopping mall) is painful and leaves me limping. It felt good to get to the steeper part of the trail.

Have you ever hiked a long ways and then got to a steep part and thought, "Oh great, I'm already tired and now I have to climb"? I didn't. When I started up the steep part, my legs felt fresh and strong. That's why I went today instead of putting it off for cooler weather. I knew it would be easy today, but who knows what the future holds?

The steep part wasn't extremely steep. It's still a hike and not a climb (use of hands is not necessary). I must still be short a few red blood cells. I stopped a lot to catch my breath up the steep part. There was a light breeze out of the southwest, which felt really nice. When I got to the cave, though, I found out that the breeze didn't blow there. It was stifling. Also, the cave smelled sort of like urine. Maybe it was all the bird droppings. The cave was not a pleasant place to hang out today. I took a few pictures and went back down the trail to sit in the shade of a saguaro, where there was a breeze.

It's a shallow cave. A mine has been dug into the mountain at the back of the cave. The mine is only 10 or 20 meters deep. It looks like it might have been partially filled in, but I didn't want to stay in there long enough to figure it out.

Have you ever gotten to the end of a long hike and thought you couldn't have gone much further because your legs were so wobbly? I didn't. My legs were tired but had a few miles left in them. My hip was making me limp, though. I think it's tendinitis. What if it isn't and it gets worse and I go to the doctor and he says, "You need an artificial hip, and they aren't built to withstand hiking". Well, then I'm glad I hiked to Broadway cave today.

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