another heat refuge mudhole hike
Posted by Zonie on September 21, 2025 at 02:02:34
After nearly 17 years, I'm no longer a metallurgical furnace operator. Officially it's a layoff not a dismissal, but I'm rather surprised I was kept on as long as I was, as I was obnoxious to the boss by insisting that aerospace specifications be followed. I make no apologies for that. There may be valid reasons for going back to prison, but negligently contributing to an aviation mishap isn't one of them.
A few days after I was told I was laid off I got a telephone call from my cardiologist's office saying my insurance company refused to pay for my appointment on the 8th because coverage had been cut off on the 5th. I was informed of the layoff on the afternoon of the 8th. When I went into Dr. Berman's office that morning I honestly thought I still had a job and therefore insurance coverage. They told me I could have my treadmill test and consultation as a self-paying patient. I agreed. After all I'd like to resolve this atrial fibrillation. It might be very embarrassing to explain to paramedics why I was wallowing in a mud pit when I had a stroke. Then they told me what these tests would cost. It was less than the co-payment my former insurance company would have required. Sometimes the way healthcare is financed in the USA makes my brain hurt!
Thursday night and Friday there were thunderstorms with heavy rain in parts of Phoenix, and the state trust land on which I sometimes hike got about one inch. I figured nobody was likely to ask me to a job interview on a Saturday, so I decided to do another heat refuge mud hole hike.
It was mostly sunny with only a 10% chance of showers, and the temperature was expected to range from about 80°F in the morning to 100°F in the afternoon--not ideal for a protracted dry hike, but I was confident there would be plenty of big, deep mud holes, and indeed there were.
I dressed for water retention--thick (formerly white) cotton work shirt, blue denim overalls, cap and wellies. In the relative cool of the morning, I thought I'd start by stomping all the puddles before wallowing. There's a civic duty reason behind that--stomping mud puddles kills mosquito larvae.
That was fun for a while, but the sun was starting to be oppressive, so I went down in a big mud puddle and wallowed, taking off my cap and pouring muddy water over my head, shoulders and back. The deep puddles remained refreshingly cool near the bottom where solar heating hadn't penetrated much. I had to repeat this often, because the humidity was high and evaporative cooling of my soaked clothing wasn't all that effective.
As I got close to Coyote Central I heard gunfire from that direction, so I decided to explore some mud on the power line trail further north. I found some mud that had been churned up by ATVs--my favorite kind. Eventually I headed towards Coyote Central again and played in the mud there.
Then I headed along the southeast powerline trail. It had been graded several months ago, so the mud puddles weren't quite as deep as they used to get, but I found some good places. I found some shade and rested a while and then headed back west. Next to Tatum Boulevard I cleaned up in a large puddle and took stock of things. I had gone through a pint of Pepsi, a gallon of water and a quart of Powerade. Still I was cool enough. When I got back to my car I found I had spent six hours there. It was a great way to relieve stress.