Present Tense – Sabino Canyon 8/18/24

(A running journal in bullet point format to avoid overthinking how it all fits together)

• The night before, I am awakened by a very loud thunderstorm slamming the area.  There is also a talkative cricket somewhere in our ceiling.  I like both these sounds, but for whatever reason the cricket does not soothe me to sleep. I am also not awake enough to get up to put in earplugs, since that would mean getting up and going over to the other side of the room.  Around 4:30 I give up on sleeping and get up.

• I get started at Sabino Canyon around 6AM and feel guilty that I didn’t get started at 5AM.  There is just no pleasing my brain sometimes.  Lots of other people are showing up around the same time to start their pilgrimage up the tram road.  The sun has technically risen, but its not very bright yet thanks to a combination of some clouds and the walls of the canyon.  I won’t lie, I am not feeling very motivated to run today.

• The air is very wet.  I get flashbacks to Wisconsin a couple weeks ago.  Despite this and my disturbed sleep, I feel good going up the road and keep a steady pace.  I spot a couple dead frogs sprawled on the pavement, which seems pretty standard after a storm.  They all get excited and come out to celebrate, and so do all the animals that eat them or run them over.  Later on the trail, I see a very tiny, baby Spadefoot Toad that is very much alive and hopping from rock to rock. The photo below is a slightly different spadefoot but looks similar to the one I spotted.

• Two young boys are up early and riding their bikes up the canyon.  One of them is slow and steady, riding uphill without breaking a sweat.  The other one is similar in size and age and is either a friend or his brother.  He is struggling, stopping to walk his bike at frequent intervals.  The first kid stops every now and then to silently wait for the other one to catch up.  He’s also the one carrying their supplies in a backpack.

• I see a tall cairn of rocks that someone has stacked up in the sand next to the creek.  They must have done it just for decoration, since there is no need for trail markers on this tram road.  An older woman is walking in front of me.  She pauses, looks behind her for bikes, and walks over to the cairn. To my surprise, she very deliberately kicks it over with her foot and scatters all the stones into the sand.  I wonder if some people just don’t like others modifying the natural landscape.  (Later on, I read up on this topic to learn more about why, for example: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/cairns-rock-stacking-national-parks)

• When I get up to the trail at the top of the tram road, green is bursting out all over. There is long, wet grass and other vegetation growing over the sides of trail that makes it impossible to run for big chunks of it. It feels more like wading. At one point I go off trail in two different directions because there are bushes completely blocking the way. I commit to the slog for a little while and then finally bail and turn around. There is only so much slogging I want to do today. Its times like this I really appreciate the people who maintain the area and make it more easily passable.

• Coming back down, I start up my music again after listening to a book for a while. The song “Take your time” by the S.O.S. Band comes on. Its good timing because the sun is completely out now, after hiding for a long while behind the canyon wall and clouds. All the plants and animals and bugs are singing along and doing a little dance with me. This is why I’ve never done mushrooms. My imagination is active enough as it is.

• Today is not about efficiency. I stop many times to take a closer look at something. Sometimes, I stop just to enjoy the rush of water from the creek. A couple times I go down into the water, not because I need to fill my bottles but just to stare at it for a while and dunk things in it. I sit on the side of one of the bridges to watch many Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies having a morning meeting by the creek:

• I enjoy watching the antics of ground squirrels in Tucson. For better or worse, a lot of them make tunnels and entertain us in our yard. They look like mini prairie dogs. Before I leave, I notice this small memorial mural featuring many ground squirrel personalities at the shuttle waiting area. I like how the center squirrel looks like he’s the elected official (or maybe the benevolent dictator) of the squirrels, about to make a proclamation. The one with the extra big brain over to the left is obviously his personal advisor. The squirrel on the right pointing at the giant ants might either be in charge of natural resources, or national defense.

• Driving home, I am in the mood to listen to some lo-fi funk and soul music, like something that sounds like it was recorded with a single dynamic microphone. This mix was a good one and the channel that posted it has a lot of good soundtracks for driving.