Stats

Start: Dirt Road Junction – Mile 276
End: Superior – Mile 295
Elevation Max: 3,791
Elevation Min: 2,495
Elevation Change: 3,667 up & 3,089 down
Average Heart Rate: 120
Walking Time: 6 hrs 30 minutes

The Walk

Cowboy camping was awesome. Throughout the last two weeks I’ve stolen glances at the night sky. But bedtime has been right after dinner. On early morning hikes I’d look up at the stars. But I needed to keep glancing at the trail.

But laying on one sheet of Tyvek was different. Sure I was mildly scared an animal or rattlesnake would come up to me in the middle of the night. Or steal food out of my pack. But Salsa had done it every night. I told myself I’d be fine. And I was.

The dark sky exploded with stars. The moon was almost full. And I could see the silouette if a tall mountain poking though the horizon like a finger. I laid on my back for 30 minutes taking it all in. Trying to find constellations or mostly making up my own because I only know the Big and Little Dipper.

I woke up with a renewed appreciation for the desert. The saguaros were massive and covered the hills. We broke camp and Chris stayed behind a few minutes, having a slower morning. Off we went. 10 miles to water. Not bad at all. Especially with the cool desert morning. We were on trail by 6:30. One of our latest days, but I didn’t mind. We didn’t need to use headlamps to light the trail.

Roosevelt was 55 miles away but all of the hotels were booked. Superior was the next closest town, 20 miles ahead. If I couldn’t find a Roosevelt hotel by the time we got to Superior, then I’d stop there. I didn’t want to end up in Roosevelt with no place to stay and no ride.

I knew this was likely the last day of my hike. It felt weird. I’d be relieved to have a break. But my body feels strong. This is the best I’ve felt all trip. But now it’s over! I’ll miss hanging with awesome people on trail. Let’s get these last 20 miles!

As we hiked the desert came alive. Flowers were blooming and filled our noses as we walked through the desert. In another week the hills would be covered in fresh blooms. I had a feeling of sadness because I would miss the bloom in the miles ahead.

But I enjoyed them for today. The trail wound up around and down a canyon. With a beautiful view of the mountains we approached last night. We were closing in on the Superstition mountain range.

We climbed up a few hundred feet to a rain catcher for a break and more water. We hiked .3 miles off trail to get water, which sucks. It’s better to get water on trail. We relaxed for 30 minutes. The next big trailhead with water was only 7 miles away. So we had a small water carry. I grabbed 1.5 liters and we were on the way.

About 3 miles in I checked the app and noticed the trailhead was 8 miles away! What?? One issue with FarOut is if you aren’t on trail the miles to go is wrong. Since we had 11 miles instead of 7 I had to ration water. It’s best to save a half liter of reserve. So salsa and I both had one liter for 11 miles with the sun beating down.

The stretch was mostly flat desert and I was just focused on getting the miles in and sipping water when needed. We passed a few day hikers who wanted to talk, but I casually responded while continuing to scoot toward Superior.

At 2:00 the trailhead came into view and we had a final trail lunch of tuna and tortilla. And chugged a liter of water. Chris caught up and and chatted for 30 minutes at a shaded picnic table. She was headed on and Salsa and I were hopping off trail. We hitched a ride 5 miles to town and found our new home at the Copper Mountain Hotel.

Superior was a nice little stop with the best carne asada burrito. Check out Jalapeños if you ever pass through. We got into a bind because Salsa had a computer 90 miles up (by road) and his class started this week. We initially planned to hike it, but couldn’t get a hotel near town.

So he rented a uhaul and we took a trip to Lake Roosevelt. We drove through the mountains and passed a few copper mines on the day. Day rental of a uhaul for a drive across Arizona… only on a thru-hike.

295 of the 780 miles complete. Almost double what I planned to do. I’m happy with the trip. I learned a ton from hiking with Salsa and Chris. I’ll be back to finish the trail another day. But now my focus is on the PCT. April 3rd is coming quick! And I have a few gear tweaks to make. You’ll see the changes in my PCT gear list!