Day hike in the Catalina's

Ok, quite a weekend. Saturday i decided to get back out hiking abit and went to the Catalina Mountains just north of Tucson for the day. Seemed like a good idea - get out in some nice February sun and enjoy the scenery. And for the most part, it was. The scenery was amazing (kinda reminded me of the Grand Canyon on a smaller scale) and theres plenty of photos, some of which ill load up in due course. However, the lack of public transport kind of annoyed me. I was prepared to walk the 11 miles to the trailhead but anticipated catching a bus back. So much for that. I ended up walking to the mountains, ~15 miles in the mountains and about 9-10 miles back before just grabbing a taxi the last 3 miles. All in all, it was about 35-38 miles and pretty hard work. To make it more interesting, the path literally disappears at the top of the ridge so, with time constraints in mind, i cut down through the valley back to the path i came up on (it would have been fun if i wasnt so tired). Scrambling over rocks, through scrub bushes and up/down mini cliff faces.
When i eventually made it back to the road, the fun wasnt over yet. It was getting towards sunset and i some how trod on a rattlesnake before it spat some venom onto the back of my trouser leg. There was this weird squeching sound followed by a sharpish jab hitting the back of my calfs. I should clarify that the snake definately didn't bite me but the venom came at some force and i certainly felt it (probably not as much as the snake under my size 12 walking boot though!).

Sunday was a decidedly more relaxed affair. Mostly taken up by chatting to people back home and watching the superbowl. Only a brief comment there but the Patriots didn't win following the biggest upset in American Football history. The New York Giants won by 3 points to deny Tom Brady and New England the legendary perfect season.

On a side note, it seems that the popularity of beating sense into an Aussie teenager is still growing (www.slapcorey.com). I refer to the story a week or 2 back when some people who set up that website where you can "slap corey" down the street. (He's not particular popular in Australia following a series of parties and chav like stuff. The current hit count is 927311!

So now its back to uni and the usual busy reading and working regime. Fun fun fun!
Laters!