Friday, April 12, 2013 - 10.1 km The noisy fridge in my motel room didn't bother me at first, especially since it quieted down when I hit it (a sure method for dealing with every appliance to ever have existed), but in the morning, I discovered that my leftover pizza was frozen. I suppose the …
Tag: Backpacking
The Arizona Trail Day 25
Thursday, April 11, 2013 https://www.flickr.com/photos/186593395@N08/49419766523/in/dateposted-public/ Water stand I took a zero in Kearny today, planning out my food requirements for the next few weeks. Before this hike I thoroughly researched gear, but food was a mysterious beast... in normal life I don't eat snacks or pasta/rice sides so I didn't know what I would like …
The Arizona Trail Day 24
Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - 12.6 km The beautiful end of Passage 15 provides a delightful contrast with the hideous beginning. Today's blue sky was peppered with friendly, non-raining clouds that gave form to the mountains and kept the temperature down. http://www.flickr.com/photos/186593395@N08/49420228281/in/dateposted-public/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/186593395@N08/49420451177/in/dateposted-public/ While on the ridge I decided to try out my phone to …
The Arizona Trail Day 23
Tuesday, April 09, 2013 - 22.5 km The wind worsened overnight, shifting so that it was blowing directly into the side of my tent. I was worried - not extremely worried, but worried - so I leaned against the wall to support it. In Oracle, I had received an email from my father saying that …
The Arizona Trail Day 22
Monday, April 08, 2013 - 20.3 km During the night a group of cows passed by. One of them approached my tent and started mooing, like 'Hey, you think there's treasure in here?' Then a cow from the group would moo back, like 'No, not in this one either, Bob... no, leave it... LEAVE IT, …
The Arizona Trail Day 21
Sunday, April 07, 2013 - 12.6 km Weird animal cries that sounded like a combination of a demented cow and a demented coyote woke me up during the night, and I don't like either of those things. Coatimundi? The Black Rabbit? Today's walking began with more of the same scenery. My ankle felt iffy but …
The Arizona Trail Day 20
Saturday, April 06, 2013 - 12.5 km I wasn't a happy camper today. My ankle started aching as soon as I picked up my pack to carry it to the car, and I was worried and unsociable on the ride (sorry!). At the trailhead I wrapped my ankle in a tensor bandage again. A tensor …
The Arizona Trail Day 19
Friday, April 05, 2013 John and his wife Gwen are wonderful hosts. I woke up this morning prepared to eat the Weird Cereal (backstory: food I don't like gets placed into a baggie, where it compiles. It was time to eat it), but then Gwen came into the kitchen and made me eggs and an …
The Arizona Trail Day 18
Thursday, April 04, 2013 - 21 km To say that the Oracle Ridge Trail wasn't my favourite section of the AZT would be an understatement. I won't deny that it had some great views, but it traversed an old burn area and sections were degraded and covered with loose, ankle-buster rocks. http://www.flickr.com/photos/186593395@N08/49417332076/in/dateposted-public/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/186593395@N08/49416857658/in/dateposted-public/ Progress was …
The Arizona Trail Day 17
Wednesday, April 03, 2013 - 22 km After a steady slog upwards from Hutch's Pool to Romero Pass, the AZT transitioned into a truly grim slog up the Mt. Lemmon trail. Eventually it levelled out and reached the trail junction for the Wilderness of Rocks, my favourite part of the trail to date. It's a …
The Arizona Trail Day 16
Tuesday, April 02, 2013 - 9.7 km My body wasn't happy with me today. One of my knees was hurting and questioning why we had to keep climbing up and down rather than walking through flattish cow pastures, and I replied that cow pastures are the worst. And it said, well you evil witch... To …
The Arizona Trail Day 15
Monday, April 01, 2013 - 25 km Mindblowing scenery today. I was puzzled by how the view from above the highway looked familiar, then I remembered that I had seen it on a 'most scenic highways' feature on MSN. Cool. It was scenic all right; would have been more scenic without the cars. http://www.flickr.com/photos/186593395@N08/49415828367/in/dateposted-public/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/186593395@N08/49415623931/in/dateposted-public/ …
The Arizona Trail Day 14
Sunday, March 31, 2013 - 16.1 km Happy Easter! Pops woke me up this morning as he broke camp at an hour that I prefer to not even think about. The two women were more on par with my schedule. When I dragged myself out of my tent and started making breakfast, one of them …
The Arizona Trail Day 13
Saturday, March 30, 2013 - 22 km http://flic.kr/p/2ihDq3C Today I hiked up to Manning Camp in the Rincons. It was a slog, but I solemnly swear that 1500 m (5000 ft) of elevation gain on a cloudy day is much easier than walking for a day through the low desert in the sun. Yes, cloudy …
The Arizona Trail Day 12
Friday, March 29, 2013 - 10.6 km This morning I met Pops C, a fellow thru-hiker and AZT trail steward. Finally another thru-hiker! He apologized for waking me up, but I was already awake, just lounging in my sleeping bag because I only had 10 km to walk today. A permit is required to camp …
The Arizona Trail Day 11
Thursday, March 28, 2013 My task today was to resupply in Vail. I decided to leave my pack in the El Bosquecito picnic area where I had camped, walk the eight kilometres into Vail, walk back to the ranch where I had left the trail, and slackpack back to the picnic area. A perfectly reasonable …
The Arizona Trail Day 10
Wednesday, March 27, 2013 - 17.4 km At 2:00 or 3:00 AM last night, I heard a dog barking outside my tent. I was sleepy and didn't think about who its owners might be (honestly, after the conversation at Kentucky Camp I was thinking it was rabid and just glad that I had no beef …
The Arizona Trail Day 9
Tuesday, March 26, 2013 - 25.75 km http://flic.kr/p/2ihhLMd I filtered two litres of water from the canyon and soon wished that I had taken more. The trail wound ridiculously around desert hills with no shade and unvarying scenery, adding pointless kilometres when it could have cut straight through. I encountered a cyclist and was astounded …
The Arizona Trail Day 8
Monday, March 25, 2013 - 22.5 km The caretaker brought me coffee this morning. I dislike coffee, but I usually drink it once or twice per year to accept someone's hospitality or seem more grown-up to a cute guy who never calls me again, probably because of the weird faces I make while drinking the …
The Arizona Trail Day 7
Sunday, March 24, 2013 - 19.3 km Today's walking was easy, mostly downhill or flat with a few uphill sections. Just past the junction to Bear Spring was a camping area and more water. It's a smorgasbord! The AZT then traversed a mountain called 'Ditch Mountain', and while the name has a story behind it …
BANE OF THE TRAIL 