Stats

Start: Grass Shack Campground – Mile 133
End: Molina Basin Campground – Mile 159
Elevation Max: 8,577
Elevation Min: 3,923
Elevation Change: 6,027 up & 6,907 down
Average Heart Rate: 111
Walking Time: 9 hrs 32 minutes

The Walk

5:00 came quick at Grass Shack. It was cold. The two water bottles I left outside the tent were frozen.

On the bright side, I had all of my hiking clothes on. It was cold enough to wear them all to sleep. Including a fleece and puffy jacket. But I slept well during the chilly night. Only woke up 2-3 times.

My fingers froze as I packed up camp and we were off by 5:30. I wanted to get an early start. Today was a lot of climbing. Starting with 5 uphill miles to the top of Mount Mica. The morning hike by headlamp went smoothly.

We passed another campground on the climb. Manning camp at 7k elevation. My body was warm, but I was happy we didn’t sleep there. I opened the hiker register and signed my name. Three people slept there last night. They must have frozen, because it was high than Grass shack. In the next few miles we met a couple from Germany and a solo hiker who confirmed it was really dang cold.

I still had gloves, my fleece, and my puffy the on. I didn’t take any breaks because walking kept me warm enough. After manning camp the sparse landscape transformed into a beautiful pine forest. The trail was covered in soft pine needles. A welcome change from the hard rocky trail.

The top of Mount Mica was covered in snow. We celebrated the climb with a few whoops and kept moving. It was early but we still had 15 miles to go.

The trail soon went down the snowy mountain to the flat desert below. We hiked until lunch and took a break at a trailhead l. The bear box had some water and hiker food! I grabbed a quest bar and package of ramen. It was the perfect find because food was running low.

After a few more hours of walking one more challenge was left. A huge climb to end the day. 1k elevation in 1 mile. The trail is rocky including a few small climbs.

I was exhausted, but I focused up on the 1 mile climb. A micro goal I could knock out then set up camp and relax. It was the fastest I hiked all day. The mile went by fast and I felt strong.

I met up with Salsa at the top and we hiked down 2 miles into the Molina basin campground. We passed a bear box right before the campground that had gallons of water! So clutch, because the campground don’t have running water. We grabbed a few liters for camp and to start the day tomorrow, walked the last few hundred yards to our campsite.

The campsite actually had a picnic table! It was the first time I had a place to sit while making dinner. And it was a nice break from sitting in the dirt or on an uncomfortable rock. I watched a few deer run across the mountainside while eating my ramen.

I setup camp quickly and settled down to sleep. Tomorrow is a 4am wake up to hike into Summerhaven. Only 21 miles until a shower and bed. I’m leaving at 4:30 so we can get into town by 3. The market and restaurants close at 4 and 5.