Looking at the moon

One of the things that we do in Arizona is hike at night. I am not sure that this is so prevalent in other places, but when it is over 100 degrees outside, we would leave for our overnight hike late in the afternoon, or just about moonrise and hike by the light of the moon. You would think that this was only good where there was a defined trail, but of course, we would never do anything so simple as to hike on a trail. We would cut straight across country, hoping to hit the trail or dirt road we were aiming for. Hiking at night is an experience, you need to be careful not to step on things. Things that you would normally not want to step on during the day, like cactus and sharp rocks, but also things that are out in the nighttime that you would probably miss during the day.

If there was a trail we would make really good time, because we weren't stopping to look at the scenery or whatever, but crosscountry, we had to pick the trail, hoping not to end up at the top of a drop-off (or the bottom). Even though it was not nearly so warm as the desert, I would also, from time to time hike across the Mogollon Rim country in the dark. There is not so much to worry about as there is in the Sonora Desert, but on nights where there was no moon, you sort-of wished that you ran into something familiar. 

Back to the desert, another interesting area to hike at night is the Colorado Plateau. There is a lot less cactus, a lot fewer trees than the Ponderosa pine forests of the Rim and you can see for miles. Walking on the Plateau is sort-of like walking around in my backyard. You can't get lost on one hike because you can't walk far enough to make any difference. I have never been lost in Arizona, that I can remember, but I am getting on in years and maybe I have forgotten being lost. 

I never could understand getting lost anyway, until I left Arizona and went to someplace like the Pacific Northwest or the Midwest where the trees grow so thick it is impossible to see more than a short distance and without a compass or map, you might just start going around in circles. Never would happen to me in Arizona.