3/10/14 – 219 miles.
I really miscalculated Sunday when I came down from Oracle Ridge. I thought Oracle State Park and Rt. 77 were close together, but in reality they are 8 miles apart. Richard and Dianna ended up waiting two hours for me to arrive. Richard even hiked a way south to meet me.
I really needed a zero day to rest my legs after 200 miles and it was good to see my support crew and spend a couple days with them. They had some shopping to do so it worked out well for my resupply too. We had enough time on Monday to drive through Saguaro NP and learn more about the Sonoran Desert.
Probably the funniest and most bazaar thing happened last night. We all felt like ice cream so after dinner Richard and I drove down to a nearby, new Walmart we passed coming home that afternoon. We thought it was strange that few cars were in the parking lot and even fewer in the store shopping. The shelves were all neatly stocked and everything was clean and bright. We found some ice cream and went to the checkout to pay and noticed a young lady at a table by the front door. We started questioning her about the lack of people in the store and she informed us that the store wasn’t open yet. What an odd situation that was. You would think they would have put a sign on the door, or had someone to stop customers, or even locked the door. Oh well, we found a better variety at the Fry’s down the road.
Dianna feeds me so well that I think I gained back whatever I lost since the
last time they rescued me from the trail. I have one more place I may need resupply but it might be difficult for them to meet me there. They have done so much I can’t ask for better Trail Angels!
I hit the trail about 10 am today and hiked about 10 miles. The terrain is mostly rolling hills with a deep wash to dip into every mile or so. The high desert is not as spectacular as the mountains I just came through but my body likes it better, especially since I’m carrying full food and water for this stretch.
I’m camped near a wash and a broken windmill. I think there is water a few miles up the trail so I will get up early and head there tomorrow. The temperature was perfect today and I’m hoping tonight will be as well.
Aww, shucks. I’m just glad I’m able to feed a hungry guy!
Hopefully your pack weighs a little less than when you started out this morning.
I found an old copy of the trail guide online. It was published in 2005. It shows following the pipeline for 8 straight miles before angling back toward the new trail.you are on.