23.3 miles
416.5 AZT mile marker
I set an alarm for the first time in a while because I had a big climb later in the day today and wanted to start it as early as possible and allow time since it was supposed to be almost 80 degrees and a dry climb. I hit the trail as soon as it was light enough, and enjoyed the sunrise while I was walking. There were some clouds in the sky so it was a great sunrise.
Around the time the sun was rising, I passed the halfway point of the trail which was uneventful. No marker or anything, and I was a couple tenths past when I even noticed. It’s not a big deal, just a milestone.
The trail wandered on an old road among hilltops. Each of the hills had a different geology which was interesting. Then the trail dropped on a rocky trail down a drainage where I got my first water of the day. Earlier in this trip I was carrying more water to avoid water stops, but I am now trying to carry less with more frequent stops when possible to avoid carrying the extra weight.
The trail transitioned from hills to flatter pasture land as I dropped and approached highway 87 to cross once again, this time in large tunnels.
A short walk after the highway, I got to a creek with a pseudo beach where I had lunch and met some other hikers, Fungi and Mycelium. The water didn’t look the best with scum on top, but it’s what I had and what I took. I cut my lunch short and continued on because my hot climb was coming up and I didn’t know how long it would take.
The trail followed along dry creek beds and gradually climbed at first. The sun was out and bearing down making it quite warm. It was not the most scenic or enjoyable hiking, but I just had to plug away at it to get back into the mountains.
I established my slow, plodding hot weather pace. If you just keep moving at a steady pace, even slower than normal, you can still make good progress in the toughest terrain. I aimed to drink all of my 2.5 liters of water by the time I got to the top where there was another water source. I got a little dehydrated a couple days ago despite drinking a gallon of water during the day, so I’m trying to be more careful. I also pounded some electrolytes since I was sweating pretty good.
The trail was a bit overgrown with desert brush which was full of thorns and sharp leaves. It tore at my clothes constantly, and I got some new holes. This may be the last trip for my pants, we’ll see how it goes.
I took a break to regroup 600 feet from the top of the nearly 3000 foot climb and laid on a cold rock in the shade. That’s what I needed to rejuvenate myself, and I was able to charge up the rest no problem, although it also became less overgrown and way less rocky which also helped.
Then the trail picked up a rutted out road which I would follow for the rest of the day. The trail entered a mountainous landscape where there were large boulders littering the ground and even stacked on top of each other. Interesting change. I leapfrogged with the other hikers and grabbed some water at a wildlife waterer which I hadn’t seen for a while and hiked on down the road until I came to a nice pullout with a view. I set up camp just in time for the sunset which was as good as the sunrise this morning.
