another ... bloom, hike, and death

the hike:
where: ventana canyon trailhead
when: mon, 04 sep 06
the experince: f'n sweet :)
i finally made it out hiking. i started at 11:45, and didn't get back to my jeep till almost 6:00. i only made slightly past the maiden pools and falls area, about 2.6-3.0 miles each way. after the falls area, at about mile 2.4, the trail was really overrun. i wasn't sure if i was on THE trail, or an old indian trail for awhile. grasses, weeds, bushes, shrubs, and those prickly mesquite limbs form a canopy over the trail. all growth falls into the trail path. the midpoint of the canopy aligns well with the midpopint of the trail path. i thought this might be the case, and had my pruners on me. i only trimmed mesquite limbs though. i am definitely a minimalist when it comes to deforming nature in an area i am fortunate to be hiking in. i even avoid stepping on the red ants that are always scurrying along the same trail path i am traversing. we sorta have an unspoken pact. i avoid stepping on them, they don't bite me. so far, so good. anyways, i do realize that i am in nature's territory, not vice versa. the beautiful canyon system that i hike in is also home to all kinds of lifeforms. one lifeform i came across yesterday, amazingly enough for only the second time ever, was a rattlesnake. i just got done checking the time, and thinking that i need to turn around soon. i pressed on for what i thought would be another 15-30 minutes. shortly afterward, i encounter an area on the trail that was so heavily overgrown, i could not see my feet or legs while going through it. i didn't go through it long. about four steps in, i heard the very distinctive 'warning announcement', from a rattlesnake. i slowly backed out of the dense canopy, then stopped and waited to see if i could see or hear anything else. i saw nothing. i heard nothing. i do believe in signs. i believe that was a sign i should turn back NOW, which i did. so i had a great time, took alot of pics, as alwyas, and help ready the trail for the winter hiking season. EXCELLENT!
NOTE: in my constant need to organize and categorize everything, i will be making up a hking only blog. as soon as i do, a few of pics from this hike will be on there.

the bloom: my carrion plant. it was from the same one that bloomed back in august. there should be one more. notice the difference in cleanliness!

the death: steve, the croc hunter, irwin. he died doing his job. he got stung in the heart by a sting ray he was filming for his show. it was reported that it is rare for somebody to die of stingray sting. its stinger does contain venom, but not that much that a sting anywhere will kill a human. steve died because this sting ray stung him in his achilles heel, the only place a sting ray can sting someone to kill them, his heart. his death is tragic. i only watched him from a comical standpoint. i was always impressed with his knowledge though. he even did an episode where his 'animal' for the show was an air force or navy jet. i believe it was the F/A-18. i know alot about airplanes. growing up i wanted to follow my grandfathers footsteps in the air force. as i got older, i wanted to design air force jets. i read all his air force magazines. i memorized all US aircraft. steve knew what he was talking about when discussing the jet. my point of all this: the one common in all of his animal adventures was the peril he put himself in with potentially harmful species. this signature peril is what led to his early demise. steve is a hero in his home country of australia. i would assume he has thrilled and educated many, many children here in the U.S. to life in the great outdoors. his enthusiasm seemed authentic. but, i do believe that if u continue to do something dangerous time after time, the law of averages will win out. the bad thing that could happen will happen, sooner or later. to die of a sting ray sting is rare, but after all that steve has done prior, it really doesn't seem rare at all. i wonder if steve's show would have been nearly suceesful as it was without him risking his life in almost each and every episode. he might have thought it was necessary to do so to capture the audiences attention. of course, this could easily lead to many lengthy tangents of thought and philosophy. so, in conclusion: rest in peace, steve. and thanks.