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| More signs are including the mileage to Mexico! |
The 123 miles from Flagstaff to Pine is "in the bag" with a total of 346 miles of the AZT completed! This section of the trail was mostly unremarkable and there were two days I didn’t take a single picture...so sorry. Here are the highs and lows as best as I can remember the last six days.
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| My campsite near the East Verde River |
Water: The worst and best so far. Cushing Tank was by far the worst water source I have ever drank from in all my hiking adventures. It was a warm muddy pond with hundreds of cows using it for drinking and other activities I won’t mention. I didn't take a picture and don’t want to get too graphic because the next time I see Eva, I want her to kiss me. East Verde River was the first running water I’ve seen on trail with the exception of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. I camped next to the river, soaked my feet and legs in the cool clear water and enjoyed the sound of running water as I went to sleep.
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| The Sill Creek Fire-A burning tree stump hole! |
Fire Detour: The active Sill Creek Fire has closed a section of the AZT and the alternate route (2.5 miles longer than the trail), included a 12 mile road walk. It was a dirt road which is easier on the feet than pavement, but the dust from vehicles traveling at high speeds was a real bummer. The one highlight was driver who stopped and asked if I needed anything and offered to take my trash. I happily agreed and unloaded about 9 ounces of trash crammed into two quarts size zip lock bags.
Elk Hunting Season: For several days I hiked through an area where hunting was in season and there were hunters in trucks, quads and blinds EVERYWHERE! I decided to start hiking a bit later and finish a bit earlier so there was plenty of daylight when I was moving…I didn’t want to get mistaken for an elk!
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| Road Walk! |
Hikers: I saw very few hikers in this section and the ones I did see are moving faster then me. I’ve slowed down my pace a bit since I am meeting Eva around the time I’m scheduled to arrive in the small town of Superior and at my previous pace I would arrive two days early. Eva is flying into Phoenix on the afternoon of the 27th and Superior is about an hour away. I might try to hitch into Phoenix to save her the drive and begin our short time together sooner. It will be 9 days since my last shower so I won't be hard to identify...by smell at least!
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| Warm and Dry! |
Hunger: After two and a half weeks of hiking I’m beginning to experience what is known as hiker hunger. I finished this six day section with only two granola bars and a spoon full of peanut butter in my pack. I estimate I’m eating about 3,500 calories per day but I'm hungry most of the time and dreaming of ice cream and snickers!
Heat: It's getting warmer! For the first two weeks on trail, I was pretty cold at night and a couple of nights I slept in most of my clothes, including my puffy down jacket! I also kept water filter and phone next to my body to keep them from freezing! (If my filter freezes, it will no longer do it's job properly and the water on the AZT definitely needs to be filtered!) I was also wearing my gloves for a couple of hours in the morning to keep my hand from freezing! But the trail is at lower altitude, I'm moving south, and the day before I hiked into Pine I noticed I was actually sweating!
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| Water! It's green and oily but it's wet and it filters OK. |
Thanks for following along!
Butterfingers
This is just amazing, Loren. My respect for your accomplishments grows greatly!
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