Mt. Lemmon to Mexico (Finish) Archives - Yeti Hikes

Arizona Trail Day 43: Mexico!

Yeti — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 20:20:03 +0000

21.8 miles
788.7 AZT mile marker

It was a cold night; perhaps my coldest on the trail. It was probably in the low 20s or high teens. We were just in some sort of cold pocket. We woke early to a convoy of about 50 trucks hauling empty shipping containers to the border since AZ is building their own wall. Tons of noise and rattling. Lots of Border Patrol as well but no one paused at our camp.

There was heavy frost on our tents. When I shook mine out in the morning, there was about a snowball worth of snow inside my tent. Such a heavy coating. Packed the tents up frozen and got up my fortitude to get out of my warm clothes and into my lighter hiking clothes. At the last minute as always.

Almost as soon as we crossed the stream we were camped by, the temperature warmed significantly. We were definitely in a very localized cold spot. Oh well, we made it through the night.

We crisscrossed the stream as we worked our way up it. We were on the start of a climb up into our final mountain range, the Huachuca Mountains. The creek ascent was very gradual for a while and pretty easy. We strolled across grassy fields and through forests. As the trail rose more, the surrounds changed to all forest with good size trees for this area. It was a nice walk up, and different than the surrounding desert we have been passing through.

The trail eventually ran out of creek to follow and we started steeply up switchbacks to finish the ascent to the ridge. I sort of like the steeper climbs since it gets you up the mountain quick, and since we are in good hiking shape now it wasn’t too difficult. We crested the ridge after a 3,000 foot climb this morning and took a lunch break at a clear spot where we could see off both sides of the ridge with flat desert and sporadic mountains around us.

We had been planning to camp on the ridge as close to the end of the trail as we could, but we assumed it would be even colder than it was at our camp last night and we weren’t looking forward to that. We would also have to get up pretty early to finish the trail and make it to our shuttle in time. We decided that we were close enough that we would just finish out the trail tonight and then figure out where to camp. It felt more fitting to me to have a bigger day into the end rather than a short few miles to tag the border.

With a new purpose, we continued on down the ridge after our tents were dried in the sun and wind. The trail followed the range for the rest of the day. Sometimes on the ridge, and sometimes skirting peaks. It was a great and scenic trail through a wilderness area. A fitting last hurrah of the trail.

We leapfrogged with Kelley and Chuckwagon who also intended to finish today. They had a friend meeting them at the end and we asked if there was extra water in their car but they were unsure. We filled up water at the last spring on the trail flowing into an old bathtub with enough for the rest of the day and night. The birds were quite pissed that we were at their watering hole.

We climbed to near Miller Peak, the high point of the range and namesake of the wilderness area, but it didn’t even cross my mind to take the short side trail to the summit. The border was the goal and our only purpose. The summit looked dramatic and rocky, but not on this hike.

The trail then started to forever wind down, undoing all of the climbing we did today. It was nicely graded but it went down, down, down. We arrived at Montezuma Pass, which is the trailhead for the terminus. Took a break and emptied trash. We also left our water for the night behind since we would descend to the border and have to climb right back up. We carried our packs, but no need for the extra water at the moment.

Then it was just a downhill sprint to the finish. We flew down the 1.8 miles which disappeared in no time, and we came at last to the boundary marker that we had been walking towards since we started the hike. It didn’t really hit me that I had finished, perhaps since we still had to climb back up. I will need time off trail to process.

We posed and took our pictures and spent a little time at the border before we headed back up. We shortly met Kelley and Chuckwagon who handed each of us a beer! The climb back up wasn’t very difficult and didn’t take much time. We got back to the trailhead around sunset, to enjoy it for the last time.

Kelley and Chuckwagon’s ride was at the trailhead and offered refills of food and water. We all regrouped and chatted until after dark, when we had to go and find some place to camp. It would have been great to camp at the trailhead but there were lots of hiker comments about being harassed by rangers, so we walked down the gravel road looking for a spot to camp. We stopped at a windy pullout on the road and did our best to pitch our tents. Kevin and my tents are not freestanding, and it was about impossible to get stakes into the hard ground. I broke 2 stakes and just slightly got the others into the ground. I weighted everything down with rocks to prevent a stake from pulling up in the high winds and we had a last trail meal with our beers.

When we went to bed, my horrible tent pitch and missing stakes were apparent with the wind blowing my tent in on me, alternately pressing against me. I curled up into the smallest ball possible and managed to catch some sleep.

A lot of early morning traffic the next morning and my last coyote serenade along with some turkeys gobbling. A bad camp, but you just have to make it work on the long distance hikes. Everything isn’t going to work out ideally. We have a shuttle at 9:30 at the trailhead to take us to Tucson, so a lazy start before we started our journey back to beds, porcelain, all the water you can drink, and all the food you can eat.

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Arizona Trail Day 42: Last Easy Desert

Yeti — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 20:20:03 +0000

19.6 miles
769.5 AZT mile marker

Our tents got a layer of frost last night, but nothing new at this point. We had a more leisurely start after 7 today since we had plenty of time.

There were more rolling grassy hills, though there got to be a lot more trees throughout the day.

We had a small climb early on and got elevated views of the surrounding terrain and our approaching last mountain range that we would cross at the end of the trail. We could first see Miller Peak, the final mountain a week ago in the far distance, but it had been steadily growing closer to the point that you could make out features on the mountain today.

Though we did almost 20 miles, it seemed like a more leisurely day today and we took several long breaks. The trail was pretty easy and we moved pretty well between breaks giving us plenty of time to relax.

We crossed several good water sources throughout the day which made water pretty easy, and they were all pretty good and not water with cow shit sitting in it like yesterday.

We climbed to a second saddle later in the day and when we got to the top there were expansive views to the south, deep into Mexico. We had seen it before, but not this close or our entire horizon like this. We were passing on some of the only hills which reached above broad flat plains.

It was quite exciting to see both Mexico and the final mountain up so close. We all admitted that we were ready to be done with the trail, so we just have to go a little bit further to complete the last little bit.

I can’t really say much more about today. The hiking was again pleasant but summit fever was definitely the theme of the day. It was also nice to do a good amount of miles but take several good breaks during the day and not at all feel rushed.

We got to a campsite with a fire ring next to a dirt road where we set up camp. The others hadn’t had a fire yet this trip, so we gathered wood and started one as we watched a long string of Boarder Patrol trucks go past on the road. A nice clear night with the Milky Way out once again as with most nights this trip when the moon wasn’t too bright. Nice to have a fire and clear skies as the end of this trip draws near.

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Arizona Trail Day 41: Final Stretch

Yeti — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 20:20:03 +0000

10.6 miles
749.8 AZT mile marker

We planned a lazy start today. We are 50 miles from the end of the trail, and have to finish the trail and meet a shuttle driver 3 days from now, so we have to strategically finish the trail to meet the driver at the right time.

We decided to hit the trail again after lunch to get 2 meals in. Breakfast was at a coffee shop with some great biscuits and gravy and a mixed skillet. Then we resupplied and wrapped up everything at camp. Then back to town for lunch at the bakery where we also bought sandwiches for dinner tonight.

We didn’t drink the wine we were gifted, so I packed it out in a plastic bottle for dinner.

Rhino joined Kevin and I to finish up the trail as we could split the shuttle and all get back to town the easiest. We left the campsite around 1, and the sun was getting warm. We finished the AZT bypass we were on with the old trail by first walking a road for 3 miles before joining old trail at a trailhead.

The trail was up and down rolling hills, and the sun was really bearing down. It felt much warmer than it had been for a while and that slowed me a little. I powered through it though, and we made it back to the official AZT.

We passed through a lot of mesquite forest with rolling grasslands around mountains. It was scenic at times with rocky mountains and cliffs. A nice stroll.

We got to a solar well where we considered filling up on water, but there were reports of a flowing stream ahead, so we opted to press on. We shortly got to the stream, but it was littered with cow pies and signs of heavy cow use. It smelled bad so we continued to follow the intermittent stream without filling up.

We got to a point in the stream where there were fewer cow pies and filled up our water for the night, but when I tasted it, it still tasted like cow even after my filter. We carried the water because it was what we had. We passed through a gate which stopped the cows and came to the stream again and dumped our water and got water that tasted a bit less like cow. Probably should have just filled up at the well, but in any case we had water.

Shortly there after we found a spot to camp because the sun was going down. It’s not the flattest or best spot and is on a 4×4 track but it should be good enough. After setting up camp, we set to work on the red wine and paired it with white meat sandwiches and Skittles, which would I’m sure make a sommelier grimace. It worked for us though and we finished our fresh food and wine before wandering off to bed.

39 miles to Mexico!

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Arizona Trail Day 40: Patagonia

Yeti — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 20:20:03 +0000

9 miles
737.2 AZT mile marker

Up to another dry tent and out at the normal time to book it into town. We had 2 miles to the trailhead and another 7 into town, so we were motivated to get there. It was also all on the same forest road, so we expected easy hiking.

We bounced across the same stream we had been following yesterday a few more times and filled up our water before we left it for the last time after 2 miles.

We reached a trailhead where there is a bunch of new trail circuitously avoiding Patagonia, the town we were headed to. The old AZT goes straight through town, but the trail was rerouted 4 miles away from town to get off roads. We opted to greatly simplify our day by taking the old AZT into town since we would have had to do more miles and hitch into town. Not sure why so much work was put into the new trail as it sounds like most hikers just stick to the new trail.

The last 7 miles on the forest road were easy as expected with some moderate views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. The focus was town though.

We flew down the trail and made great time. We arrived in the town of Patagonia in about 3 hours when everywhere was still serving breakfast. We arranged to meet Hiep who had gotten to town the night before for breakfast at a bakery where I had a good brisket sandwich and milkshake. We ran into Rob and Jill, the Aussies I camped with one night before heading to our campground to check in. Hiep headed back to the trail and we said our goodbyes for the last time.

As we were crossing a road, a car stopped and asked if we were thru-hikers. When we said yes, they asked if we drank wine. I said yes, and they handed me a bottle of red and said it was from one thru hiker to another. Wow, I think that was my first real trail magic of this trip!

Then it was nearly time for lunch, so Kevin and I went to a Mexican place and I got 2 decent size burritos with chips and salsa and we bumped into Rob and Jill again, and Rhino showed up.

We did most of our town chores, including my first shower in 10 days I think. Much needed. Then it was time for dinner. Back to town to an average American place for some salad to get some veggies in me.

There was a mix of people at the campsite and I talked with a bicyclist who has been on the road for 6 months and some car campers who were amazed that people would hike a trail like I am doing. All good people.

It was a good day and a really refreshing town stop.

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Arizona Trail Day 39: Mount Wrightson Wilderness

Yeti — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 20:20:03 +0000

22 miles
723.5 AZT mile marker

It was moderately cold last night, but in the middle of the night a breeze started which seemed to flush out the cold air trapped in the valley. It seemed a little warmer after that. There was no condensation on our tents for the second night in a row which might be a record. A good record.

A little uphill first thing which is always good to get warmed up as the sun was rising. Rolling hills for a couple miles before the trail dumped out on a gravel road for bit.

I walked the road until I came to Kentucky Camp which is some sort of park. A couple hosting there showed me the amenities which included a privy, running water, power, and even a microwave. I didn’t need all of that, but it was a pleasant surprise.

I took a break and waited for Kevin who was lagging today. My hiker hunger is starting to hit me pretty hard. I saw my lunch while I was waiting and ended up eating most of it only a quarter into the day. Not what I intended but the lunch gave me a look I couldn’t refuse. I want to eat everything these days from my body telling me it needs more calories. I can only carry so much and am still eating more than I do at home. Doing 20 miles or so every day takes a lot of fuel though.

Kevin showed up as I was thinking about continuing on and was having some muscle issues. He was ok to continue, but I went on ahead and we agreed to meet at camp at the end of the day.

From Kentucky Camp, the trail took an interesting route. The camp was formerly used as a mining camp since there was gold found in the area. Mining gold requires a lot of water to separate it out, and since this is the desert water wasn’t immediately on hand. To get water, a pipeline was build to take water from a stream 10 miles away to the claim. They used a combination of open ditches, 24″ pipeline, dams, and even a tunnel to channel water from the source to the mine. They put an incredible amount of work into the pipeline, routing it around hills at such a grade that no pumps were even required. When they finally got the mine running, it only produced enough gold to pay for a fraction of the price of the pipeline, so someone took a big loss on it.

The trail following the water route crossed a couple streams that were used to transport the water and also add more water to the pipeline. It was a really neat setup.

I travelled the complete length of the pipeline which made for a pretty gently graded hike.

The source of the water was a creek in a canyon surrounded by large mountains. The mountains were quite a change from the lower hills of the past couple days, and a welcome change at that.

I passed through a wilderness area with some great views of the mountains. I climbed up to a high saddle to cross the range, but it was a pretty easy climb since it was almost entirely shaded which was a pleasant surprise.

Heading down the other side of the saddle was trail for the first mile, but then changed to a 4×4 track that I would be following for the rest of the day. The track descended steeply and had very loose dust and rock on it, which made the descent a bit treacherous at times. The steep parts weren’t that enjoyable, but since it was steep I dropped elevation quickly to where it levelled out and began weaving back and forth across a trickling creek.

I set up camp right after one of the crossings where water was available. Kevin made it about an hour later. We made a notional plan for tomorrow when we will be headed to town, and will have to figure out the logistics for finishing the trail and getting a shuttle back to Tucson.

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Arizona Trail Day 38: Rolling Hills

Yeti — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 20:20:03 +0000

22.9 miles
701.5 678.6 AZT mile marker

Lots of coyotes howling last night once again; a common sound out here. It is one pack all howling and then maybe another some distance away joining in.

Woke up to a dry tent for once which was great. On the trail at sunrise and small rolling hills through the desert for the morning. Nothing too exciting.

We stopped 5 miles in at our first water source. It was a heavily used muddy cow pond. I still had some water left so I grabbed some of the dirty water in case I had to use it before the next source.

The hills got a little bigger and we wound our way through them, going from saddle to saddle and occasionally descending slightly to cross washes. The sun was out in force. It wasn’t that warm, probably just the 60s, but the direct sunlight makes it feel so much warmer. There wasn’t much shade for most of the day, and we took our lunch break under a mesquite tree which doesn’t offer much if you’ve ever seen one.

We had water spaced about every 5 miles today which was nice. I got to the next flowing trickle before I needed to tap into my cow water so I gladly dumped and replaced it with much fresher water. We were later able to get water from a tank that was leaking. There was no spigot on the tank, but I was able to collect the leaking water. Most of the water I have been getting lately is either from man made ponds or water tanks, both used to water cattle. Otherwise this would be a much more difficult trip.

I got ahead of Kevin at the end of the day through some larger rolling hills and mountains. The grasses and lighting made everything appear magical, especially when the sun was going down and the shadows were deepening.

We camped next to a flowing stream to cap off the regular water sources for the day. I found a dry spot tucked under a juniper for my tent which I hoped would keep off the condensation. It was obviously well used by cows, but it wasn’t hard to kick the dried cow patties out of the way.

A coldness descended on the valley we were in as it got dark. Valleys can trap cold and it seems like it could be a cold night. The coyotes were going again right after it got dark.

Today had a pleasantness to it. It wasn’t the most dramatic scenery, but there were portions of it especially later in the day that were a bit magical to walk through.

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Arizona Trail Day 37: Colossal Cave

Yeti — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 20:20:03 +0000

19.2 miles
678.6 AZT mile marker

Another frosted tent night though again it didn’t feel that cold. Kevin and I ended up getting ready at the same time and set out together around sunrise.

There were first some rolling hills that gradually made way to some more mixed terrain with dramatic cliffs and some swirling rock layers. We pressed forward and got to Colossal Cave where we would be resupplying when it opened. I had a resupply package, but Kevin was hoping for a good hiker box and lucked out. He was able to fully resupply from the hiker box so he wouldn’t have to go to Vail which was logistically challenging.

We relaxed at the cave for a couple hours. I had ice cream, iced tea, and when the café opened I got fried mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and chicken strips. They specialized in fried food and didn’t have anything fresh unfortunately, but it wasn’t trail food so it was good.

We did see a coati which lived in the cave and is sort of like a raccoon, but it was too quick for me to get a picture.

I dried out my frozen tent and we worked on our gear and set off.

The trail was quite a bit flatter after the cave. Just low desert terrain with grasses and bushes and occasional cactus. There wasn’t too much of note though it wasn’t a bad hike.

We passed some equestrians, one of whom wrote the first guide to the AZT. We took a break at a flowing stream. The equestrians came by again and gave us an apple and carrots which was nice.

We got some water from the stream but it tasted alkaline and there was some very bright green algae in it. Not ideal but probably drinkable. However, there was a water cache shortly, so we dumped out the nasty water and replaced it with the bottled water from the cache which tasted much better for once. We didn’t know this source wasn’t the best; other hikers had reported it as good. I haven’t been relying on caches at all this trip, but this was the first one that I was thankful for. We could have planned better and carried more water from the cave, but we didn’t know the stream wasn’t a good source.

Flat desert for the rest of the day and easy walking. It was warm but not too bad and we made good time. We crossed under I-10, our last interstate and a few miles later made camp at the first spot we had seen in a while.

Hiep walked through Vail to resupply, and he got ahead of us per a trail register. Not sure how far he is ahead.

Today wasn’t the most scenic day, but it was a nice day with a good “town” stop and some nice easy hiking.

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Arizona Trail Day 36: Saguaro National Park

Yeti — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 20:20:03 +0000

19.9 miles
659.4 AZT mile marker

The wind gradually died overnight and it didn’t get that cold. I even had to take my socks off because I got too warm. I was out at sunrise to start the big climb and hopefully get the brunt of it done before the sun hit.

The climb was steep, about 1000 feet per mile for most of it which is probably the steepest sustained climb on this trail. I tore up it though in the cool weather; it reminded me of normal trail grades in the Pacific Northwest and I was at home on it.

The trail climbed through boulders and rock monoliths which were scenic with the changing light of the rising sun. It got quite a bit colder on the way up. We passed the hikers who had camped near the National Park boundary and it was definitely below freezing there. I think we made a good camp choice for last night.

The ground was hard frozen and there was quite a chill in the air by the time I entered Saguaro National Park. There were even some small, isolated patches of snow. I continued to climb hard because I had set a good pace for myself and it kept me warm with the light layer of clothing I was wearing.

It turns out I had plenty of water, though Kevin gave me some extra this morning. I was able to skip the first source. I get very thirsty overnight out here and have to drink a good amount of water during the night or I end up parched. I’m not sure why that is, but I also have to take that into account with the amount of water I bring to camp.

I reached the trail high point in ponderosa forest, and only 0.1 miles from the summit of the mountain I had been climbing. I made the qick jaunt to tag the summit since I could before returning to the trail for the long descent, losing all the 4,500 feet of elevation I gained between yesterday afternoon and this morning. I met up with Kevin and we ended up hiking together for a good part of the remaining day.

The trail gradually descended, going backwards through the climate zones from ponderosa to juniper and manzanita and back to the cactuses. I had done most of the distance through the park before I saw the first actual saguaro.

I’ve been getting the hiker hunger where the same amount of food I’m eating can no longer satisfy me. I could eat anything and everything; I’m just ravenous. My body knows I need it. Kevin and I decided to try prickly pear and barrel cactus fruits. The prickly pear were tricky and it took us a bit to figure out what the ripest ones looked like. They also have tons of small barbs so I took to only touching them with my knife. The barrel cactus fruits were easier since you could just twist them off and eat them. They weren’t quite fully ripe yet though.

It was nice to eat some fresh food from the trail and it helped satisfy my hunger a bit.

The trail wound forever down and took its time meandering at the lower elevations. I exited the park towards the end of the day which I needed to do since I didn’t have an overnight permit.

There was a nearby stream to fill up with water and camped about a mile further at the first reasonable spot I could find.

Kevin later joined me, but Hiep pushed on. He will be hiking into Vail tomorrow to resupply while I have a package waiting close to the trail.

The national park was nice but not earth shattering, and besides the better quality trail, it was hard to tell from the other areas we were passing through.

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Arizona Trail Day 35: Rincon Mountain Wilderness

Yeti — Sun, 13 Nov 2022 20:20:03 +0000

18.4 miles
639.5 AZT mile marker

I slept much better last night in my tent to make up for the lack of sleep in the Post Office. I woke to frost on my tent and condensation on my sleeping bag yet again, though it didn’t feel that cold out.

Yesterday’s hiking seems to have gotten beyond the ruggedness of Mt. Lemmon, and the trail was much more gentle today. It started on rolling hills walking down a valley before crossing a road and climbing to a minor pass.

Shortly after the pass, I got water at a boxed spring which had a white frog living inside it. It’s always a good sign to see living things in the water you are taking as a sign there is nothing horribly wrong with the water.

Then it was wind swept rolling hills for most of the rest of the day. It was windy out and the wind was blowing the dead grasses around like fields of wheat.

After the first pass today, Mica Mountain loomed ahead. That is the next big climb and where Saguaro National Park starts for us. Throughout the day, the mountain quickly approached.

I got my tent and sleeping bag dried out in the wind and sun at a long lunch break. At least my tent gets wet most nights, but it is easy to get it dry during lunch most days due to the sun and wind. It would be a different story if it wasn’t so sunny here. It would then be a much larger challenge keeping the rest of my gear dry day after day.

As I crossed the last large wash before starting the ascent of Mica, I finally saw 2 javalina briefly foraging on the shore. They bolted quickly when they saw me, and they were actually near another hiker taking a break. She had no idea they were there.

The climb up Mica is a big one at 4,500 feet. We started the climb today and knocked off 1,500 feet of it. Nearly to camp, we came across a great flowing stream to take water from.

We stopped about a mile shorter than we had planned since there were some other hikers ahead of us and they were going to the spot we wanted. We needed to camp near the edge of Saguaro National Park so we can hike across it tomorrow in a single day and not need to deal with permits. It is a windy day, and my campsite with Kevin and Hiep is under trees and mostly sheltered from the wind. Some gusts still hit the tents though, so it will probably be an ear plugs night.

While cooking dinner, the wind knocked over my pot, spilling my water. That left me abit shorter of water than I’d like, but I should be able to make it work tomorrow. There is also the possibility of a seep shortly ahead where I might be able to get a little more water on my way up the mountain tomorrow.

Today was just ok. After the spectacular scenery yesterday, today just couldn’t compete. The mountain we are climbing looks like it could be good though with some great rock features, so I’m looking forward to see what the park has to offer tomorrow. I expect it will be pretty cold tonight.

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