2/25/14 – 79 miles.
It is nice to be finally headed north. For the first 60 miles the AZT travels almost directly west, leaving you with the feeling that you’re not getting any closer to your destination. I will definitely be glad to get a little farther away from Mexico.
The hiking today was pretty easy. The trail was many miles of level walking as it followed a ditch that was built in the early 1900’s to deliver water to a mining operation. The ditch, or flume some say, was an enormous project involving many workers and a lot of money back then. There was a tunnels dug through one hill that was 1000′ long, and one canyon was crossed by 24″ pipe buried underground. All this architecture is just a trace now as the land reclaims itself, but the nice part is that the AZT follows the route of the flume and tells you all the history with strategically placed signs. It was quite interesting. The project cost $200,000 to build and they took $3,000 worth of gold from the land before it went bust.
Tonight I am ay a place called Kentucky Camp. It is a few restored buildings to preserve the history of the old mining camp. I met the caretaker of the camp when I got here and asked him where I could set up my tent. He told me I was welcome to stay in the main building – kind of a restored ranch house turned into a museum – and sleep on one of the beds and use the kitchen facilities. I was glad to accept.
There is a faint odor of skunk in the building but I think I’m getting used to it now. I was glad to find a place to plug my phone as the solar charger I borrowed from Daryl didn’t get any sun today. At least I will be out on the wind for tonight and be able to make meals on a table. And water from a tap! What luxury!
Aw, you won’t get the adventure of eating in the dirt and keeping an eye out for mountain lions all evening. What fun is that? 😉
After all these miles on the trail, that skunk may be closer than you think……