Reflections

The first photo shows Mike, Susan, Phil and Christina, with Mt. Wrightson in the background. We were taking a break after the most steep part of the trail.
The second photo shows JT Merrill, Shannon's sons, and Paul Moore.
This photo shows the mirror set up that Mike carried in a backpack and assembled on site. This is the top of the peak and you can see the Rincon Mountains behind us. We had a 360 degree view.
The last photo is of Shannon Thomas and his mule, and is the best shot showing the colors. I think this is a pretty picture!


September 18 Mike and I participated in a Varsity Scouting activity called 'On Target'. The objective was to use mirror signals on the mountain tops in Arizona in a relay fashion to communicate from the southern border to the northern border. We chose to climb (ride horses) to the top of Mount Wrightson, a 9400 ft. peak in the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson. It was one of those times when the 'boys' had a fun activity scheduled that appealed to us, so we decided to participate with them. It turned out there were 7 adults and only 2 boys. The boys were sons of Shannon Thomas of Pomerene - not even in our ward. But since Mike is the stake young men's president, we justified our going and participating. It was an enjoyable event. We got up at 2:30 AM to get ready. We met Phil and Christina on the way and were on the trail at 6 AM. The signaling was supposed to happen from 9 to noon. We were in place by about 9:30. We were able to send and receive signals from Carr and Miller Peaks south of us in the Huachuca range. We could also see flashes from the group on Kitt Peak. The most fun was signalling scouts from Thatcher on Heliograph Peak in the Grahams. We had cell phones and numbers of the scouts on the various peaks. Our service wasn't stellar, but we were able to talk as well as signal most of them. The Old Baldy trail up is about 5.5 miles and you have to walk the last mile - too steep and rocky for the horses. We took a longer and more gradual trail down, the Super Trail, which was about 7 miles. It was a long, hot, but enjoyable day and the wild flowers were really pretty. I wish we had more 'excuses' to get out and ride.