My new life

23 Jan 2011

Updated May 31, 2008, adds Sedona's Natural and Man-made Art

In Heat: Sex on the Mountain

Being "in heat" takes on a whole new meaning on Camelback Mtn today; Also see, Climbing Camelback and; Hiking McDowell's (Apr 2008)

SCOTTSDALE, May 20, 2008 - My intention was to deliver the Love & Light message in person to McDowell and Camelback mountains from their sister Djurdjevic Mtn in Montenegro. And to show my sore sacrum who is boss. As it turned out, I got a lot more than I bargained for out these two mountain hikes... like seeing AND feeling firsthand what "being in heat" meant, while watching sex on the mountain even in 109F weather.

After a long flight from Rome to New York my sacrum started to act up, as it sometimes does on overseas flights after a lot of sitting. Well, never being one to allow my body to define me, when I get injured or sore, those who know me well also know that that's when I redouble my physical activities. So yesterday, I biked to the Club for about 45 mins; worked out with weights and machines in the Gym for about half an hour, and then hit the trail on McDowell Mtns for about 2.5 hrs. That put a sock in Mr. Sacrum's mouth. By the end of the evening, I was virtually pain free.

At my usual spot at the Gateway Saddle (about 2,400 ft - two left photos), I did my four winds ceremony and delivered the message from the Djurdjevic Mtn to McDowell's. On the way down, I got to witness an absolutely beautiful sunset (the next three shots). And then just as I got back to the Club around 8PM, a gorgeous full moon rose from behind the McDowell's. It was nature's art at its best. Then I biked back home in darkness. Not a smart thing to do without the lights on the bike. But then, who says I do smart things... I just count on protection from smart sources.

That was last night. When I woke up this morning, my sacrum was sore again. Not as bad as before, but still, letting me know about its unhappiness. So you guessed it. I decided to do Camelback Mtn right after McDowell's back-to-back. And I wanted to do it from the Echo Canyon, a much harder and steeper climb than my Apr 2 hike from Cholla Dr, as you will see in a minute. I had only done that side of Camelback twice in the last 27 years - in 1999 and in 1983.

When I parked ZFILLY at the Echo Canyon parking lot at about 1:10PM today (left), the temperature in my car thermometer registered 105F (41C). By the time I returned, about 2:20 hrs later, it was 109F (43C). So that's one aspect of "being in heat" while climbing a mountain. Little did I know at that point that I'll get to see another one, too...

Meanwhile, one thing that distinguishes Echo Canyon from the Cholla trail is that there is no warm up. There is no ado. You start right away on a steep slope and then it gets steeper (the first three shots - the middle right being a view DOWN from where I had just climbed). I was thinking of Beethoven's Fifth, as I huffed and puffed right off the bat. Unlike the Ninth, that gradually builds up to a choral and orchestral crescendo, the Fifth let's you know right away it is about passion and heroism (CLICK HERE to hear a 1952 recording directed by Arturo Toscanini at Carnegie Hall). It doesn't let you catch your breath.

It was interesting that I should have started with Beethoven's music in my ears right at the outset. Because by the time I eventually made it to the Summit (right photo, as seen from the foothills), I had Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" on my brain. I played it this morning, so that's probably why. And the beautiful Sonata descended with me soothing the scorching sunlight all the way back to the parking lot.

As if the 105-109F heat wasn't enough, about a third of the way up, I came across this warning sign (left). Dangerous "bees in the area." I remember hearing something a while back about hikers being hurt. or even dying. on Camelback from the stings of some African bees. "That's great," I thought. "So now I have a good incentive not to linger around, but to do double-time up the mountain."

But I soon forgot all about the bees as I started to enjoy the views. Even from just a third of the way up, they were pretty spectacular, as you can see. This is where I passed a young woman leaning against a shady side of a big rock.

We struck up a short conversation. Turns out she was from New Zealand. "Wow, you've come a long way to climb Camelback," I said. "But the weather in your country is a lot cooler than this," I added.

I tried to encourage her by saying that as far as I can remember, this trail gets easier near the top. That was baloney, as it turned out, but I honestly did think that at the time. As it turned out, it didn't matter to her anyway. She must have quit well before the summit. For, I never met her on the way down, nor some other young climbers I had passed on the way up.

It seemed as if with increase in elevation the heat was also rising. That was probably not true. But that's how it felt. When you're on a steep climb like this one in scorching heat, going up is all about oxygen and internal combustion. You fight with every step to get enough oxygen into your lungs so as to let your heart pump it up to your brain. So you could think, "you crazy nut! Why are you doing this?" :-) A few times, I've had to bend down so let the blood drain down to the brain, lest I got dizzy for lack of oxygen. On the way down, however, it's all about balance and safety. Two totally different challenges for your body that only mountain climbers can understand. Anyway, the above four shots were taken from about half way up to the top.

During one of my breaks at about the half-way point of the climb, I took a picture looking downward and then sketched a rough outline of the trail up until this point (left). That's where I also had the two middle pictures taken, the middle right being of the sweat that liberally dripped down my arms and legs and that point (sorry... hope that doesn't gross you out; but I like realism in my stories). Speaking of being grossed out, that's where I also saw a cigarette butt on the ground. I could not believe my eyes. Here I am, a non-smoker for over 30 years, fighting for every tiny little bit of oxygen, and there is someone clogging up their lungs with smoke at this elevation. Yuck!

Not far from there, I came across a very pretty black and yellow lizard. He was about a foot long and moved quickly and purposefully. You'll just have to trust me that he was there on those rocks in the left shot. By the time I came close to the top, I was stopping every 10 yards or so to catch my breath. But eventually, I was rewarded for all this effort and pain with spectacular 360 degree-views from the summit. To the west (two middle shots), I zoomed in on Camelback Village and Club, a gated community where I lived for 12 years before moving up to Grayhawk in North Scottsdale (right) three years ago. The two places are 20 miles apart, just to give you a feel for the distances in the pictures.

...east (left) and again south and northern views with me in them. Doesn't it look as if the world is at my feet in that center shot? :-) It actually was... as you can see from that rightmost shot looking directly down from where I was standing.

That's where I also recorded a short video clip... and later put it up on YouTube for faster viewing.

After that, I did my four winds and heaven and earth ceremony, delivering the greetings from the sister Djurdjevic Mtn to "my new mountain" - Camelback, as I also did last night at McDowell's.

I stayed at the summit maybe 20 minutes or so, savoring every one of them. I was amazed to see that even at such a high and dry place, there was grass growing (left). Life's resilience is just amazing, isn't it? And then I headed back down, "Moonlight Sonata" in my ears (no, I did not have the iPod with me... I had to play it myself). I sketched later roughly the path down that awaited me (middle), and I took a picture with my cell phone (right) that I sent right away to some friends and family members. Doesn't the Squaw Peak look positively puny from this height? Yet it is one of the more prominent hiking spots in Phoenix...

Not long after I started descending, at about the spot where I had earlier spotted that pretty black and yellow lizard, I witnessed the most amazing sex scene I have ever seen. Remember how I said the lizard moved quickly and purposefully? No wonder. He was going out on a date. While I was up at the top, the two of them met and evidently hit it off. So by the time I came back down, the colorful male had mounted his female mate from behind. The two of them were practicing sexual tantra, the 109F heat notwithstanding. The hotter, the better, it seemed. As you can see from the two shots, they were moving while copulating, even turning around to face the camera in the second shot. Guess some people may think of these photos as a sort of lizard porn? :-)

Well, I didn't stay long. Just long enough to take the two pictures. Lizards deserve privacy when mating, too. As I was going down, I was thinking about how this sex on the mountain in 109F gave a whole new dimension to the expression of "being in heat." :-)

As I walked under this giant saguaro, I looked up (left). It had to have been 25-30 ft tall. Yet they looked so tiny from the top. But they are tough, very tough to be able to survive and thrive on a mountain like Camelback. For, Camelback itself is one tough mountain (middle). No wonder it is so red. It exacts its toll in blood from those who dare challenge it (right). I am yet to climb Camelback without sustaining some sort of an injury. As a friend of mine's wife said a long time ago, also a Camelback climber, "I must have left a pint of blood on that mountain." Ditto. But today's cut was just a scratch. The blood had already dried up by the time I made it back to the parking lot. I felt lucky relative to several serious injuries this mountain has given me.

After I changed my shirt, I headed straight to the nearest Starbucks for some icy sugar and whipped cream nourishment (an "ice grande mocha," if you must know). :-) That's where I took some phone calls from a couple of friends. Both thought I was nuts to have climbed Camelback in this heat. I didn't argue. I just laughed.

"You are not the first person to use that attribute in describing some of my escapades," I said, without revealing that training for Machu Picchu and other Peruvian Holy Mountains that await me begins at the desert floor. "But that's okay. At least Mr. Sacrum now knows who is boss."

"Oh, it's a long story. You'd think I am even crazier if I told you about Mr. Sacrum. He is just an old nag." :-)

SEDONA, May 30 - I drove up to Sedona yesterday for a quick day trip. It was a beautiful Friday, quite warm for Sedona, with temperatures around 85F (29C), only six degrees less than Scottsdale. During a break in my afternoon schedule, I spent an hour-and-a-half playing a tourist in a tourist town. I realized it was the first time in 25 years since my first visit to Sedona that I have done something like that. It felt like being a tourist in your own hometown. Quite a nice feeling, actually. Kind of like getting acquainted with yourself, looking from a different angle.

The main reason for it was to get some birthday gift ideas for a friend. The inspiration came to me in the Crystal Vortex store. It led to a fairly elaborate plan about how to wrap, inscribe and deliver the gift, that included a sort of an "Easter egg hunt." The German ladies who own the store were so impressed they thought I'd had it all premeditated. Nothing could be further from the truth, I told them. I had not even heard of their store until I walked in by chance to ask about Alexandrite, a rare gemstone, that my friend likes. But I saw something else there that inspired the rest of the birthday gift plan.

Anyway, you can always expect the unexpected in Sedona if you keep your mind open. My friend likes to dance. So while I was looking at various stores, an invisible hand led me to that dancer sculpture on Hwy 89A, Sedona's main drag (left), and a group of nude dancers behind her, both displaying their beautiful bodies and graceful moves against a gorgeous backdrop of Sedona's red rocks. Thought I'd include this picture as part of the birthday gift for my friend.

As for the girl in pink (right), I saw her in an entirely different part of town. Yet the angle of the picture I took provides the same red rock backdrop while she went for a stroll through grass fields.

Not far from her, an enormous eagle with a brass head was taking off on a flight that was to take him high above Sedona's red cliffs.