I didn’t do a big hike last weekend due to the torrential rain (really! Phoenix does get rain and we’ve had a lot of rain this October, so much so that this month has been the 3rd wettest month in state history). However, yesterday was a great day, so I chose to do a solo hike up Mount Ord near Payson. Longtime blog readers (all 5 of you?) may recall that my SAT (self-appointed trainer) and I hiked Mount Ord earlier this year, enjoying a good climb, better views, and junk food at the summit. I really enjoyed the hike and thought it would be a good training hike for my DIY summit challenge.

I had a great hike. The temperature was around 19-20 C/high 60s F, which felt amazing, and there was green everywhere due to the recent rains. The scenery was lovely, even though there were no purple bushes like last time. My legs felt strong due to the hiking training I’ve been doing and I believe I kept a pace of at least 2.5 mph according to my GPS. My GPS also said that my total mileage was 15 miles and almost 4000 feet of elevation gain, which was a little off of the statistics the last time I hiked Mount Ord. As a treat, I brought some pizza and a Coke for my summit snack, like last time.

What I saw yesterday that I did not see last time were 2 snakes and 1 tarantula. I almost stepped on the first snake, because I thought it was just a piece of wood….then I noticed some spots and a forked tongue….!

The second snake scared me a bit because I did NOT notice it until I heard its rattling. I was listening to a podcast and was pretty focused on it when I noticed a weird rattling noise. My internal monologue kind of went like this: “What’s that weird sound? It’s not in the trees…..or on my right…or AAACK!!” The rattlesnake was maybe 3 feet to my left and it was upright and looking kind of territorial. I backed away slowly, then took a quick video of it (because if something isn’t captured on social media, it never happened). (I only took a video of the 2nd snake, i.e. no photos.)

My third encounter with a creepy crawly thing was with the tarantula. It was scrambling across the road minding its own business. I’m not a fan of spiders, but got over my initial “ick” factor to document it with my phone.

All in all, I got some great training in, my legs feel totally normal today, I got to see some wildlife up close and personal, and got to eat junk food. It’s a win!

Beautiful view from the summit.

Look at the blue sky!

I really like the color contrast.

Super green vegetation due to the recent rains.

Me and my (baby) Coke!

*”Slytherin,” of course, refers to one of the 4 school dormitory houses in the Harry Potter universe (Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin). The Slytherin house mascot is a snake and typical characteristics of Slytherin students include cunning, resourcefulness, and ambition. The main villain of the Harry Potter universe is Lord Voldemort, who is a Slytherin and could talk to snakes. For the record, all online “sorting” tests I have taken indicate I am a Gryffindor (courage, chivalry, determination, and just plain cool). I believe my snake encounters yesterday prove my courage and my photos/videos prove my determination to capture the best and most interesting content for my readers. I cannot communicate withs snakes, although I DID verbally express my gratitude to the 2nd snake for letting me know it was there, i.e. rattling!