finding where it rained the most
Posted by Zonie on August 01, 2021 at 00:39:20
As enjoyable as last weekend was, it didn't last. We went back to partly cloudy and hot weather. The long-term forecast was for drying out with no chances for thunderstorms most of next week. There was, however, a pleasant surprise, a Friday night thunderstorm. This morning I checked the website of the Flood Control District of Maricopa County and found that in the northern part of Phoenix there had been a rain gage that got nearly half an inch of rain and it was right near the state trust land where I often hike in winter.
This was just an isolated thunderstorm, and the forecast for today was sunny with a maximum of 100°F, so I figured if I didn't find suitable mud puddles for wallowing, I'd have to turn back to avoid heat-related illness.
I drove to Tatum Boulevard about a mile north of Pinnacle Peak Road in northeastern Phoenix this morning and parked. I was wearing my usual mudding gear. I had a second pair of damaged socks to be wrecked in the mud, and the boots from last weekend didn't shrink from getting wet, and I could put them on quite easily.
There were numerous mud puddles by and on the power line trail, so I was able to wallow and soak myself almost from the start. I headed east for the intersection with the other power line trail and then northeast to coyote central. There was a dirt bike rider there, but he was staying out of the mud. He greeted me as I passed. Once I crested the ridge I saw that the water hole was much larger than it usually was even in the winter. The wrecked fiberglass boat was still there. I waded in but was surprised that I had difficulty finding a deep spot. Maybe a lot of sediment had been washed in and leveled the bottom. Finally I found a place that was nearly waist deep. The water on top was hot, but there was cool water near the bottom.
I then decided to explore northward to the southern terminus of 56th Street. As I walked north the mud puddles became smaller and more scarce. I got to the terminus but the dip in the trail there had only a fairly small puddle. It was enough to soak me again, but the water was all tepid because it was shallow. I guess it didn't rain as much in the northern part of the area. I headed back to coyote central, found a nice deep mud hole and had a nice wallow, bringing up cool mud from the lower layers. I dipped my hat in the mud and smeared mud on my face for protection from the sun.
Then I went back to the water hole at coyote central, found the deep spot again, and did my best to clean up. After I got out, I felt weak and found my urine was darker than it should be, both signs of dehydration. I got out my canteen and drank but noticed my supply of water was running low. It was time to head home.
Heading back to my car, the mud puddles seemed much smaller than they had been in the morning. It was all evaporating quickly. Fortunately the breeze had a cooling effect on my soaked clothes.
When I got back to the car, I looked at the clock and found I had been out for about 4½ hours. When I got home, I hosed down but decided not to go in at once. Last weekend's rain had caused the weeds to grow explosively, so I stayed outside and pulled weeds in my soaked clothes for a while before going indoors.
- Re: finding where it rained the most wetnboy 15:52:13 8/01/2021
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- Re: finding where it rained the most Zonie 22:54:24 8/01/2021
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- Re: finding where it rained the most Zonie 22:54:24 8/01/2021
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