My Trails

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!

2/24/14 – 66 miles.
After catching the latest episode of *The Walking Dead* in my motel last night, a relaxing slumber in a real bed, and a hearty breakfast at the local coffee shop, I felt rested and ready to hike this morning. The trail started out pretty easy for the first few miles, but then it started an excruciating climb, and it wasn’t long before I was hiking like one of those zombies.

Within a mile of town I met a man out for a run who told me he and his wife hosted a thruhiker last year. He said he was sorry he didn’t see me in town yesterday to offer me the same hospitality. How nice to see trail angels on the AZT. I met a Border Patrol vehicle a little later that slowed down long enough to realize I was 100% Gringo, and then passed by with a wave.

I stopped about 3:30 because the guide book says there are no good camping spots above here. There is a pool of water in the rocks above my camp that looks stagnant but at least no cows can get to it.

I will soon enter the Wrightson Wilderness and a section of historic hydraulic gold mining. I will be interested to see what’s there. I keep hoping to find an overlooked gold nugget. On second thought, I wouldn’t want to pack it out!

I was up at 5am and on the trail by 6. The trail town of Patagonia was only a short 7 miles ahead and I was looking forward to taking the afternoon off to rest and eat some restaurant food.

The trail into town was pretty easy with a three mile road walk at the end. I walked for about an hour with my headlamp,and shortly after it became daylight, I met four backpackers going my way. They were two adults and two scouts out to earn backpacking merit badges. I walked with them into town and even secured a slackpack down the road with their ride.

Richard and Dianna met me at my motel with resupply goodies, and we had a nice lunch at the local coffee shop. I don’t know what I would do without all the help they have been kind enough to provide.

The next section through the Santa Rita Mountains is longer and drier so I will be carrying even more weight. I will hike out in the morning, after breakfast of bacon and eggs, of course.

2/22/14 – 44 miles.
I wondered why I was having trouble keeping warm last night. I had on all my clothes and still felt chilly towards morning. When I crawled out of my tent the cold hit me like an iceberg. The water in my bladder was frozen solid and I am lucky it didn’t crack my filter. It must have been I’m the low 20’s to freeze that hard.

The first thing I did was build a fire. I’m not certain they are allowed here but this was a desperate situation. Once I had a good blaze going I made coffee and sat very close to the flames. It was hard to move away from the heat but eventually I packed up while returning often to the fire to warm my hands.

When I had been hiking a few miles up to Canelo Pass, I met two men who crossed my path while I was sitting on a rock. They were both carrying large, canvas rucksacks, a gallon of water, and when I spoke to them, answered back in Spanish. Can we say illegals? They seemed harmless but I wasn’t going to pick up my phone and call Border Patrol, that’s asking for a confrontation.

Later that afternoon I met a Border Patrol Agent on the trail. I told him of my encounter and he said they were looking for them. He told me that this has become a popular crossing area, and just last night officers raided a group nearby.

I told the Agent about my lion encounter and he said he has seen many in this area. I thought it was rare to spot one.

This area has been tough for water. Even though I load all my containers I still struggle to find good sources. A place called Down Under Tank was another cow pond but I took some there to make it to the next tank. Tanks that are fed by a pump are much tastier than ponds – at least the cows don’t poop in them.

2/21/14 – 31 miles
I started earlier this morning but it was really cold. There was ice in the hose on my water bladder, and every task froze my fingers. I kept wishing the sun would hurry up and warm me up, a complete opposite of what I would wish for in the afternoon. When the sky is clear in Arizona, the nights are cold and the days are hot.

I finished Passage 1 at 9am and descended into Parker Canyon. There was a nice stream that flows from Parker Lake and I rested and filled my water bottles. Then the trail starts into the Canelo Hills on a seemingly never-ending ups and downs. The steep downhill hurt my toes and knees, and the uphill hurt everything else.

After a few miles into the Canelo Hills, I came to a road the AZT guide book said to follow. After a few miles I became worried that I had missed the turn off the road and began to doubt the route. The guide book gives descriptions and turns but not distances. I wasn’t sure if the turn was in 100′ or three miles. Luckily, my GPS said I was on the trail and eventually found the turn.

Tonight I am camped in a nice shady area a couple miles from Canelo Pass. I’m hoping there is water at the road crossing – I will be pretty low when I get there. I took a liter from a cow pond half a mile back, but it was so gross that I’m using it only for cooking.

While I was eating my supper I looked up and saw a cow staring at me through the trees. She continued to stare for about 20 minutes until finally moving on. I guess she doesn’t see many hikers in her woods.