Whimsical September

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Hiking Carr Peak in Sierra Vista, Arizona

Carr Peak was one of the most memorable things we did while living in Arizona. Read on to learn why!
Before Saturday, I thought I’d been hiking.
Hiking Carr Peak in Sierra Vista, Arizona
Now I know that I’d never really been hiking. At least hiking with an end-result like this.
Sierra Vista is completely surrounded by mountains, and Jamie and I have talked several times about going hiking at some point while we are here. We’d wait for one of our parents to be here to babysit Hadley, and then I assumed we’d drive to the top of the mountain, “hike around”, eat lunch, and then mosey back on home.

Hiking Carr Peak in Sierra Vista, Arizona

Our hike at Carr Peak on Saturday was a little different than I’d imagined. After throwing on some workout clothes, I came downstairs to find Jamie packing our lunch and filling multiple water bottles and his camelback with water. He’d already holstered his pistol to his waist. He took one look at me and sent me back upstairs to put on a hat.
Somebody is taking this hike a little too seriously, I thought.
Driving up to the trailhead was equal parts thrilling and terrifying. We took a gravel and dirt road seven winding miles uphill on road only wide enough for one car while skirting a drop-off steep enough to make your stomach hurt. About 2/3rds of the way up Carr Peak, we rounded a corner and saw a SUV trying to get down. Like I said, there was only enough room for one car, and neither car could safely back up to let the other pass. With the drop off on our left and mountainside on our right, Jamie maneuvered his truck to the point where we were nearly hugging the mountainside in order to let this guy pass.
Once the SUV safely passed and we attempted to drive on, we realized Jamie’s wheels were stuck in a bunch of gravel and dirt. His wheels were spinning, but we were going nowhere! In order to get us out of there, he hopped out of the car and told me to scoot over the driver’s seat, put the car in a certain gear, and steer us out while he pushed.
I almost cried.
Erica, you have to do this!
Despite nearly hyperventilating due to fear of overcorrecting, I put my foot on the gas while he pushed, and a few seconds later we were back in commission. He was proud of me. 🙂
When we got to trailhead of Carr Peak, he strapped on his bag and we just started hiking. We didn’t have a distance we wanted to cover or a time we needed to head back, so we just kept walking.

 

After about half an hour, we stopped to make a decision of whether we wanted to stop and eat lunch and then head back or whether we wanted to just keep on going.
We kept on going, and the top of the mountain was getting closer.

 

 

So we kept on going. He did a good job staying ahead to keep an eye out for any snakes. 😉
95 minutes and three uphill miles later, we couldn’t climb any higher. We reached the tip top of that mountain peak and stood tall at 9,200 feet.
Being that high reminded me of skydiving and gliding back to solid ground after pulling the parachute. It’s so quiet.
We stayed up there for about 20 minutes. We scarfed our sandwiches and fruit and guzzled water. I must have thanked Jamie a million times for being so prepared with and carrying a ton of water.
Hiking Carr Peak in Sierra Vista, Arizona
Getting back down only took about an hour, and we both felt giddy as we made our trek back. When we got back to the trailhead, I did a little Heisman and almost did a cartwheel. I was really proud that we’d just completed our first big hike together.
We stopped at the grocery store on the way home (looking a hot mess) to grab a few things for dinner as well as some yummy beverages to treat ourselves to after an exhilarating day.
Jamie grilled us some incredible fajitas that night, and then we crashed early.
That single hike was good for the body, good for the mind, and good for our relationship. We can’t wait to do it again.
Hiking Carr Peak in Sierra Vista, Arizona

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