Stats

Start: Summerhaven Airbnb – Mile 181
End: Tuscon Wash Road – Mile 207
Elevation Max: 7,924
Elevation Min: 3,728
Elevation Change: 3,392 up & 7,524 down
Average Heart Rate: 103
Walking Time: 8 hrs 59 minutes

The Walk

Wide awake at 5:00. I can’t sleep in even in a real bed! My mind was ready to get on the trail. It was better to lay down and relax with service on my phone. I spent an hour catching up on emails and current events.

At 6 I hopped in the shower to get maximum hot water. The shower pressure sucked. It sprayed only out of the side holes and not very close together. So by the time water got to you it was like warm. But that’s okay. It still felt great. Being clean is a nice change. Even if it will only last a few hours.

I ate all of the leftover stuff for breakfast. Pringles, a muffin, and hot chocolate (anything to get calories). Salsa made show insoles out of duct tape to give his feet a little more padding. He really hoped we’d get to Kearny in two days at 3:30, before the post office closed. Around 8 we packed up and headed for the trail.

The trail was on the main town road. We walked through town and another half mile road walk to the path. The trail was a mix of ups and downs. Mostly steep downhill miles. And the trail was rough. Golf ball sized rocks or gravel sections where you had to be careful not to slip. Every step was calculated so you didn’t roll and ankle or fall down. 10 miles of this was mentally exhausting. It felt like driving in snow.

We took a break for water and a snack. The trail turned into a soft dirt trail. It was smooth sailing after that. We stopped by a water tank that had a greenish tiny and bugs floating in the surface. I was thirsty, but noticed a High Jinx Ranch was two miles ahead and had running water. I decided to hold off and we kept hiking. I found a bench to relax on and had cheese and summer sausage at the ranch. It was divine. The cat liked the summer sausage too. I was worried the cheese may go bad in my backpack, but it won’t last more than 2 days.

After lunch we kept plugging along. We knew it would be a slower day since we had a late start and the first 10 miles were slow. The desert was all around and mountains framed the desert. It was a beautiful hike.

Around 2 we hiked up to a trail head and saw Greg, a thruhiker who had hopped off trail. Even though he was done hiking he was doing trail magic. I stopped to chat for 10 minutes and grabbed a soda and chips. I appreciated the boost and good vibes. My foot was still hurting so I took and ibuprofen (Vitamin I).

I threw in an audioboook and the trail came to me. I flowed through next 12 miles to the next trail head. Greg was here again! He was cooking hotdogs. 2 hotdogs for me! It was perfect. I also had a soda, chips, and lemon Oreos.

It was almost dark, but we were still 54 miles from Kearny. Stopping sounded nice, but we decided to squeeze in 4 more miles. I didn’t want to pull my headlight out of my backpack so I raced against the setting sun. I almost made it. The last .3 miles was by starlight. I used my phone flashlight to check for snakes.

As we approached camp we saw a fire going and two hikers were already there! I set up camp and had dinner around their fire. The night was chilly so I enjoyed the warmth of the fire. We chatted by the fire until 8, way past my bedtime! Then headed back to the tent.

Tomorrow needed to be 30+ miles, my longest day of the trip. This would set us up for 20ish miles to Kearny. 5 am is coming fast. And my fingers are getting cold while typing this blog. Time to call it a night!