Our Memorial weekend was phenomenal, we THOUGHT it will be ideal to go to Arizona before summer hits (yeah... or before deadly mid-summer, I know it's almost June...), even though we almost burned, it was still a delightful memory when I look back.
We drove to Chemehuevi Mountains Wilderness straight from LA, the open parking area is located at 34°35'38.5"N 114°37'57.9"W as above, you can just follow one of the dirt roads or start in any direction walk through a rugged desert landscape.
Quick tips here before you go, try to avoid hiking during the summer (June to September), when daytime temperatures can reach up to 120°F or even more, put shoes on your dogs, especially for bigger furry friends, their body weights could put too much pressure on their paws, and the ground will be too hot for them too! imagine dealing with pizza kiln with bare hands.
We also found a lot of cactus, some were too tiny to spot, Actaeas stepped on them twice OUCH!!
somehow other girls were perfectly fine, no one got hurt, just Actaeas...
Please remember and recognize your direction, you don't want to get lost in the desert, the reception is really poor here. we started to walk around 4:30pm, arrived at the bottom of mountain around 6:00pm.
For most of the brands, smallest size dog boots are still way too big for Actaeas, I found Actaeas a promising pair of shoes after I got back to So Cal, will post some photos after he put them on :)
The third day we went to SARA (Special Activities Recreation Area) Park Crack in the Mountain just south of Lake Havasu City, a huge public park owned by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management)
This place looks a lot like Red Wash Canyon Wash we went last year, and I kept telling Ti mom I think Red Wash is lot prettier :p
We woke up at 5am and started to hike at 7am in the morning to avoid the heat, we thought we were smart but we met some smarter people already walking back when we just started.
The seven-foot dryfall is smooth and can be slid down, if you are up for some adventure, this place is like a playground!
Tinkerbell jumped off the "cliff" without hesitation, or maybe she just did not see the drop coming?
I got down first to be the "catch" when Ti mom dropping 5 dogies down, I admit I trembled when she was getting Tiru ready to fall, luckily I managed to catch her just fine :)
Beware, if you are bringing a big dog, this jump might not do good for his joints, I saw people hiking with their lab, and I pray for that big buddy...
the time we went back, there was a couple forgot to drop the rope after they got up, lucky they heard us and returned for the rescue, so if you ever hike here, please kindly put the rope back for others.
Going back up was more challenging since we had 5 pups, it took one person to push and me to pull.
Going back up was more challenging since we had 5 pups, it took one person to push and me to pull.
sometimes it gets pretty narrow too
The reward for hiking this 3 miles trail is the view of the Colorado River, even though it's burning hot, we still determined to hike to the end.
did you see what I saw? we almost burst out crying when we saw a little piece of water
this might not be the most beautiful river I've seen, but it's definitely in the top 3 of those rivers who makes me so happy when I reach it.
me and Tiru got into the water before any other did, it was already 95°F , I made myself soaking wet and hoped this will help myself on the way back, that was a perfect plan to be honest although my cloth dried out in the half way.
Tiru refused to walk, she started to got any possible chances to lay on the ground like a dead fish on our way back, it's not a good idea to yank on her so Ti mom had to carry Tiru like she is carrying a bag of potatoes.
and here we waited for others to cross, I believed we all used this great excuse to get more rests, because no one had a mood to take anymore pictures after this point, great adventures, but we might have to go out even earlier to hike next time, we started at 7am and got back to our car at 1:30pm.
if you would like to try this trail, go early, and prepare tons of water
and I wish I did not pray for sunshine in my previous post, I really have to be careful what I wish for, things must be misinterpreted...
