Full Moon Iron Mt. and Solitude

I did another full moon hike up Iron Mountain last night.  I'm really enjoying the night hikes, especially when there's not many people out.  As opposed to the HUNDREDS of people out at last month's full moon, I only counted about 20 people this time.  Last month's full moon fell on a weekend and it was all over the news as being the "closest and largest full moon of the year" so I think that had alot to do with the excessive crowds. 

This hike was good because I was sorely in need of some solitude.  I've been grouchy lately!  I realized that I haven't hiked by myself in many months with all the meet-up group outings as well as friends and family camps and hikes.  Not many understand the deep-seated yearning for alone-time.  I don't understand it myself.  I just know I get very irritated when faced with too many social situations.  Am I genetically geared that way?  Did I learn this behavior?  Combination of both?  I've also noticed that I get very amped out and pissed off when an obstacle comes up that potentially delays my trail arrival time.  I forgot my headlamp so had to turn back around and go home to get it (10 minutes into the drive) so that started me steaming.  Then I had to get gas and that was irritating.  My anxiety reaches a crescendo with all these stupid little items that mean nothing.  Then when I get to the trailhead, a sigh of relief escapes and my demeanor becomes noticeably calmer.  When I start walking, I am filled with serenity and peace.  What's my diagnosis?  LOL.  I think Dennis can attest to this psychotic behavior.

The weather was just perfect for this hike.  76 degrees with a nice breeze.  The air smelled like summer- that humid desert, sage-filled scented air that I love so much down here.  The full moon was spectacular, as always.  I am mesmerized by the moon as it comes over the horizon, full and orange.  It never gets old.  I've decided my mission in life is to capture a decent picture of the full moon.  So far that goal has eluded me. I will probably need better camera equipment to do that.

I wore my clod-hoppin' clunky clown shoes.  They are my $10, size 10.5, ebay specials.  I felt like a ginormous amazon with them on.  I was obsessed with looking at other chick's feet for the first 30 minutes or so and thought everyone's feet looked so petite compared to mine.  They worked well though and my toes didn't get scrunched coming back down.

I saw an animal that I've never seen before also.  My co-worker, Rocksanne, has a wildlife biology degree, so I described it to her and she said it was a kangaroo rat.  I thought it was neat because of the long tail and tuft of fur at the end.  Here's a picture I found on the internet because the rodent was too speedy for me to get an actual picture:



I thought I wasn't going to take any pictures.  I was going to just enjoy the hike and not mess with the camera but I couldn't help myself and ended up taking a crap ton of pictures.  Enjoy!