Grand Canyon to Flagstaff Archives - Yeti Hikes

Arizona Trail Day 13: Flagstaff Zero Day

Yeti — Sat, 22 Oct 2022 19:20:03 +0000

0 miles

208.2 AZT mile marker

I took a zero today (0 mile day). I am feeling good on the trail and have no complaints, but I figured the time was right in a big city to take my first day off and let my body rest.

I ate out for all meals to take in some calories and did the remainder of my town chores. Nothing too exciting. Though good food, beer, mead, and cocktails are always exciting.

Mark arrived in town later in the day and is crashing on the floor of my motel room, hiker style.

It got windy today and there is supposed to be some weather rolling in overnight. Huge gusts to 65mph and rain/snow mix, along with cooler temperatures. Breaks got into town as well and we agreed to set out together again tomorrow. We will see what the weather brings, but we will get through whatever it throws at us.

The post Arizona Trail Day 13: Flagstaff Zero Day appeared first on Yeti Hikes.

Arizona Trail Day 12: Flagstaff

Yeti — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 19:20:03 +0000

13 miles
208.2 AZT mile marker

I got off to a leisurely start this morning since I was close to town and I probably couldn’t get into a motel until 3.

The trail was easy flat to downhill and rocky through ponderosa forest. There wasn’t much to see and it wasn’t very eventful.

I did see several groups of deer though, and an Albert’s squirrel with their huge ears and white tail. I’d seen a few of them and they are only in this region.

I had a few options to get into town. The AZT splits into an equestrian bypass trail to go around the ciry, which is the old AZT, or there is a newer urban trail that goes through it. That was logistically much easier since I wouldn’t have to get a hitch into town, so I opted for the urban route.

On the urban route, I found and booked the cheapest motel I could find in downtown, typical hiker style, and opted to further deviate to a bike path down a main road that would save me some distance in going straight towards my motel.

I stopped by the Museum of Northern Arizona since I had time and do enjoy some history and the geology of the region is interesting. Then I stopped for lunch and bought my food resupply at a grocery store before making my way to my motel.

Then I did all the typical hiker town stuff, laundry, eat, drink, spread my gear to every corner of my room, etc. The motel is very run down, but it will work just fine.

The post Arizona Trail Day 12: Flagstaff appeared first on Yeti Hikes.

Arizona Trail Day 11: San Francisco Mountains

Yeti — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 19:20:03 +0000

26.4 miles
192.6 AZT mile marker

Slept pretty well but still woke up tired. So weird, not tired when I don’t sleep well, and tired when I do. Anyways, I started a little earlier this morning with the sun, not knowing exactly where the day would take me.

The trail started as 2-track walks for the first few hours of the day. Not the most exciting, but it quickly cut across the country and got me that much closer to the looming San Francisco peaks. I tried taking shorter stops every 3 hours or so today rather than a longer lunch break, and I think that worked out better. The breaks restored my energy.

The junipers gave way back to pines as I slowly climbed – so slow that it was hard to tell I was going up. Some of the rock was old lava, and I passed an ancient volcano, but it must have been very old because it was weathered and you couldn’t see much. The trail wound around some hills, thankfully staying in the pines since the day was heating up, and then started the shallowest, laziest switchbacks I’ve ever seen. I could have easily walked straight up the slope and not broken a sweat, but it was apparently necessary to make the climb imperceptible.

Part way through the switchbacks up San Francisco, I saw a school bus parked, and shortly I saw a ranger leading a large group of grade schoolers towards me. The ranger asked me if I was thru-hiking, and then told the kids that I was hiking from Utah to Mexico. The kids said WOAH and all waved to me as they went past. It was cute.

About this time, aspens again appeared mixed in the forest. They were bright yellow like around the Grand Canyon, and were just as beautiful in the thicker forest. I was finally able to put my audiobook down and enjoy the scenery. I need the entertainment for some of the less scenic portions of the trail.

I had lunch under some of the aspen and moved on, taking several breaks to enjoy the trees, especially when the snow covered peaks of the San Franciscos came into view. It was stunning with the combination of the aspen and white peaks. I got up to 9,000 feet, but thankfully the snow was nowhere near the trail.

I arrived at my notional stopping point, a small tank (retention pond), but it was just after 3 and way too early to stop. There was no water between there and Flagstaff, so I decided to just camel up and dry camp. That would make tomorrow into Flagstaff shorter too which is always nice for a town stop.

I took 5 liters and headed down the trail. It slowly started to descend which was nice. Camping at 9,000 feet would likely be cold. I decided to target a marathon day, my first of this trip since I was close to the mileage. That would also help me get lower.

I did slow down a little, but I made it just over the 26.2 miles at some power lines and quickly found a flatish spot to camp. It looks on the map like I will be by more and more roads as I approach town, and may not have many more options to camp. I’ll head into town tomorrow and maybe take a zero; I haven’t decided yet and will check the motels when I get signal tomorrow. Looks like some tougher weather is coming up with rain and low 20s temps a couple nights.

The post Arizona Trail Day 11: San Francisco Mountains appeared first on Yeti Hikes.

Arizona Trail Day 10: Ranch Land

Yeti — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 19:20:03 +0000

23.7 miles
166.2 AZT mile marker

We had a lot of condensation again last night, and Breaks was slower to get started because of it. She said she would meet me at the first water source and I took off.

The trail was once again pretty flat and easy, and I felt like flying! I tore up the trail and had a lot of energy. I averaged 3.5mph sustained, which is pretty good for me. I got to the first water source, another catchment, in no time.

While I was waiting for Breaks and letting my tent dry in the wind, a couple with 4 horses showed up. They were also on the AZT and doing it with pack animals. I had never actually seen that except in the Grand Canyon. It seems like a lot of extra work to me. We chatted briefly and one of the male horses appeared sexually excited at the sight of water. Shortly after they left, Katherine showed up. She had been just behind us since we left South Rim. We caught up, and she hiked on before Breaks got there.

Breaks said she was dragging and suggested I go on ahead. I decided to do so since I was moving quickly today and energetic and we said goodbye.

I took off down the trail and caught up to Katherine. We had lunch and were headed towards the same next water source.

The trail went through juniper desert for the whole day today. We were slowly working our way towards the San Francisco peaks, still in the distance, but there was a lot of land in between.

Near the end of the day I came up on a clearing operation where hydroaxes were roaming the desert chewing up wayward junipers. I stayed well clear of that violence. The trail turned into dirt road, and the hard-pack gave my feet a pounding.

As I was approaching a T-junction, a pickup truck passed, stopped, and reversed back to the junction. When I got to him, he asked me if I needed anything, but I was all set. It is so great to see the kindness of others which is much more apparent on these trips than in real life. He went well out of his way to see if I needed any help, and I am grateful for people watching out for us like him. He was familiar with the trail and had talked to many hikers before, and asked to take my picture. While walking boring roads, this made me happy.

In one of the open meadows, I saw either a coyote or mountain lion. I’m guessing coyote, but it was alone. It was moving more like a dog, but it was too hard to tell for sure. The next morning I heard a pack of coyotes howling in the distance, so I assume that’s what it was.

I arrived at the night’s water source which was actually a flowing spring, the first of the trip! It’s so nice to have good quality water like this, and it makes you appreciate the conveniences of home more. Katherine arrived to spend the night as well, and I set up in a nice spot under some junipers that had obviously been well used by hikers. The Milky Way has been out in force every night, and I’ve seen shooting stars most nights too.

The post Arizona Trail Day 10: Ranch Land appeared first on Yeti Hikes.

Arizona Trail Day 9: Across the Colorado Plateau

Yeti — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 19:20:03 +0000

22.3 miles
142.5 AZT mile marker

We got tons of condensation last night, inside and outside of our tents. I even had it on the top of my sleeping bag. It was a little foggy in the morning which helped explain that.

We continued through ponderosa pine forest and were greeted by a group of curious cows almost immediately, as we heard the dreaded tourist helicopter in the distance. However, it was the only one we heard for the day, and we appear to have finally escaped their menace.

More flat easy trail today. We had a partial view of the North Rim, likely our last, after the fog cleared.

There were a bunch of partial cow skeletons throughout the day, and we didn’t see any more cows after the first group of the morning. Perhaps the skeletons were the reason. I did see 2 elk in the distance running away from me. The first truly wild elk of the trip. There were also tons of signs of elk throughout the day. Many prints and even a tree that had been used to clear the velvet off an elk’s antlers.

We were doing good on time and had an extended lunch where we also dried out wet equipment from the night before. We had to take water for the night at the lunch stop since there wouldn’t be any more water sources.

Yesterday from the fire tower, we had spotted the San Francisco peaks, hazy in the distance. Today we rounded a corner and there they loomed, visible through a clearing. They were much closer than yesterday and very snow covered at the top, though I don’t think we will be crossing them that high.

The ponderosa forest gradually changed to pinyon pine and juniper later in the day.

There isn’t much else for today. The scenery was mainly forest with a couple meadows and rare views of the surrounding country. The hiking was easy, but not very exciting. I hope it gets more interesting soon.

After dark in camp, an owl made it’s loud call from the tree above us, startling us. I had to relate my owl attack story from last year.

I hiked again with Breaks, and we will probably hike together until at least Flagstaff. We only saw one other hiker, Some Guy, passing at twilight when we were in camp. We also saw a mountain bike tourer on the trail. They are allowed on the route as well.

The post Arizona Trail Day 9: Across the Colorado Plateau appeared first on Yeti Hikes.

Arizona Trail Day 8: Colorado Plateau Continues

Yeti — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 19:20:03 +0000

20.3 miles
120.2 AZT mile marker

I had a leisurely start today since I had to wait for the post office to open at 8:30. I packed up and got a giant breakfast burrito to complete my town food baby. I was at the door waiting when the post office opened, and saw an elk out the window while stuffing my food into my pack. A local shoed it away when walking past.

I headed out today with Break. Freeze quit yesterday with foot issues, and most of the others were taking a day off. I thought I would be leaving with Mark and Katherine too, but I didn’t see them.

We set off down the paved AZT which followed a bike path to the next town. Easy walking, but not boring since I had a new hiker to talk to.

We passed the town of Tusayan and snuck into a campground to take some water for the day. We didn’t want to carry it all the way from camp if we didn’t need to.

After that we followed the AZT through ponderosa woods for the entire day. It was basically flat terrain and easy hiking. We had decided to push for about 20 miles which would put us at the next water source and not having to carry our water for the night.

The woods were filled with cows and loggers, and we were often disturbed by the tourist helicopters flying overhead close to the tree tops. I can’t wait to escape their racket.

There were also many trees that had been struck by lightning in the distant or near past.

At the end of the day we came to a lookout tower which afforded views back to the Grand Canyon and the trail ahead including an escarpment we will be following and the San Francisco Mountains in the distance which are now snow capped after the rain yesterday. We will have to see what they are like when we get there.

We found our rain catchment water source and got enough water for the night and camped on a road at a car camping spot since the sun was about to set. We watched the stars after dinner.

Today wasn’t too exciting, but once again it was nice to hike with another new hiker. My legs are starting to feel the miles. Will see how they feel in the morning.

The post Arizona Trail Day 8: Colorado Plateau Continues appeared first on Yeti Hikes.