19.4 miles
464 AZT mile marker
I didn’t get the best night’s sleep due to lights and road noise. There were a few rain squalls that rolled through, but they weren’t bad and the wind dried my tent by morning.
I had to get organized in the morning; package my food, find water, and a little more power, but I was ready to hit the trail not much later than usual since I was awake early due to not sleeping well.
Heading out of town, the pack is always the heaviest, and there is usually a climb, and this was no exception. The trail wandered around for a bit and followed a steep road before settling in tracing a dry creek bed into the hills.
The creek trail was pretty lush, and the cows really liked it too since the trail was about paved in their droppings. I was feeling a bit sluggish in the morning due to either the beers or lack of sleep, or the combination.
After a while, the trail took to rapidly crossing the dry wash which got annoying, so I just walked straight up the wash until the trail finally left it. It was so much easier.
It had started to spit some occasional rain drops, so I geared up as I continued uphill steeply on a 4×4 track. Near the top, I came across a hunter that had just got back from a month of running aid in Ukraine. Interesting chat and of course he offered me food and water which I didn’t need.
I entered the Superstition Wilderness and climbed to a high point with the wind picking up. Heading down I ran into Hiep who had found a nice sheltered spot to hide and have his lunch. I crowded in for mine as well. I’m glad I did since the weather decided to turn nasty after that.
The trail followed the top of a ridge for a while, and there was a strong cross wind. The clouds were also low and blowing directly across the ridge at times. Then it started with a mix of rain, snow, and hail, driven hard by the wind.
I was initially just slogging through the weather, but it quickly energized me and I came to love the experience of powering through with the weather unable to stop me. I ended up thoroughly enjoying the harsh weather on the ridge.
Turning off the ridge, I was finally able to put my rain pants on, out of the wind. My pants were wet, but I figured they would dry under the rain pants. However, I was hesitant to actually wear the new rain pants since there are a lot of grabby and pokey things reaching into the trail like mesquite. I didn’t want to destroy the pants the first time I used them. My fears were realized as the vegetation seemed much more attracted to the rain pants than my hiking pants, but I just did my best to shoo them away with my hiking poles, but it was a constant battle. The trail is frequently overlapped with vegetation.
Off the ridge, I quickly began to run out of steam. When I turned uphill again, I was almost dead in the water. I tried some electrolyte tabs and they immediately picked me up and I powered up the next mountain ridge.
The Superstitions were a bit rocky and rugged with cliffs and rock prominences. I couldn’t fully see everything due to the low clouds and weather, but it was nice terrain.
A few more ups and downs and it was getting late in the day. I grabbed water at a stream crossing and decided to get the next tent spot. I had to hike for a bit to find somewhere slightly sheltered. There were many open places, but I expected those would get very cold with the weather clearing overnight. With darkness approaching, I found a good enough spot beneath some pines.
I set up camp and ended up getting in my tent shortly thereafter since my feet were getting cold. This was actually the first time of the trip they got wet, but it was quickly approaching freezing as night closed in.
I hid in my sleeping bag and got warmed up and had dinner. Hiep rolled in and set up as well. When I got out of my tent around 8 to pee before bed, my rain pants which I had left hanging on the tent were already frozen solid. That didn’t take long, and the temperature was dropping quickly. I knew I would have some gear issues in the morning, but there was nothing I could do about it other than keep my water filter warm. Expecting a cold night, I closed down my tent and went to bed.
