Hiking Dude Blog

I walked 54864 steps on the trail today.
I traveled about 21 miles today.
Passed over the Gila River this am, which is the lowest point on the AZ Trail. After our open pit copper mine tour, Erik caught up with us and hiked awhile. But he was in a hurry and went on ahead. Met Lee and David who have helped create many miles of the trail.
Covered the new portion west of Kelvin which was beautiful, especially the view of the old train tressle.
This pic is similar to what I got to enjoy all afternoon and am now camped among. We could not find the new trail at Walnut Canyon so wound up going the old way past the artesian well.
All in all, a terrific day on the trail capped off with Mexican Rice and a Snickers bar.
Tomorrow should get me to a real bed and shower!

Just spent a very enjoyable break with Lloyd at Wilson Trailer Ct in Kelvin. The Kelvin bridge is the low spot on the AZT so it's uphill from here.
Lloyd also gave us a personal tour of the open pit copper mine which was amazing.
Well, the cooler forecast temps should help our hike so we're off again.

I walked 42762 steps on the trail today.
I traveled about 18 miles today.
I actually hiked more like 20 miles but the rounding of miles the past two weeks has pushed the total a bit higher than reality.
How do you like my little friend I met on the trail today?
Actually, I hiked with a new buddy named PapaBear today. Our paces seem to match fairly well so we're planniing to hike two more days, take a rest day, then see how it goes.
That afternoon rest break today was a great idea. We climbed the hill when it was a bit cooler. We're now camped on a ridge and the hot wind is really gusting. Hopefully, this little shelter will hold up.
We also got buuzzed by two military helicopters zooming past - pretty cool.
Awesome teriyaki rice and tuna for dinner, plus Oreos for desert! Here's a tip - generic poptarts aren't as good as the real thing.
Check out my current location on the map.

It's so hot we decided to rest here in the shade before tackling an open, south-facing hill. There's a constant drone of bees, flies, and whatnot but none really bothering me.
I did just notice two buzzards circling so maybe we look tasty laying here.
I backhiked a mile to the only water until the Gila River since we missed it coming through. Pretty gnarly with bees and algae, but it filtered just fine. My umbrella and filter are my two favorite items so far. The tips of my trek poles have worn off so I have to figure that one out - buy new poles, tips, or go without.
It's pretty amazing how we take clean water for granted.

Some folks have asked to see more of the environment I'm walking through so I'll try to post a pic a day of what's out here.
Not much, but this is the desert ahead for Saturday's walk. I hope to almost reach the Gila River today, hiking with a new friend by name of PapaBear.

I walked 67374 steps on the trail today.
I traveled about 30 miles today.
My first 30 mile day ever! From Oracle to the Freeman Road water cache, I enjoyed the shade of my umbrella in the 90+ heat.
I started with 5 liters and the only water source was Beehive Well at 21 miles. Fortunately, there was plenty of water there with about a billion bees in, on, and around the water. My Sawyer filter worked just great and I had plenty of water.
I met two trail stewards on horse and chatted a bit with them. I actually used their hoofprints to help follow the trail in a few sketchy spots. I also met PapaBear at the water cache where I'm camping tonite. He was all set up here and we might hike together a bit tomorrow and see how it goes. He's section hiked the PCT.
There's also a guy named Eric behind me that might catch up tomorrow or next day.
I certainly like the morning hike better - it's too hot for me in the later day. But, cooler weather is supposed to come in on Sunday.
Check out my current location on the map.

I walked 50480 steps on the trail today.
I traveled about 21 miles today.
I spent most of the day walking across a very hot, dry desert after I descended the Oracle Ridge from Summerhaven. I also had a 1m backhike for h2o first thing and 3m hike into Oracle, so a pretty long day.
I'm at the Chalet Village in Oracle tonite. Jim is a wonderful host and the little cabins are clean and simple - a perfect overnite for hikers. They also have a great thru-hiker discount and will take you to the store to resupply and to the trailhead when you're ready to get back on the trail.
I resupplied for 4 days at the Oracle Market which should get me to Superior and another bed!

I walked 53867 steps on the trail today.
I traveled about 23 miles today.
BIG Thank You to Janet and John for letting me rest up with them. And to John for the ride to Molino Basin CG to restart my hike.
It's just me now and I have about 630 miles to go. I did make it to Summeerhaven, but there's no place to stay and the couple stores close early. So, I begged some water from the fire station and am camped nearby. Tomorrow, I backhike a mile to get wated since it's dry to Oracle. It's also almost all downhill so I hope to get there early and find a room and buy 4 days of food.
I met Sandy and her husband on a day hike this a.m. and a young guy, girl, and dog at the end of the day. Sandy and hubby had done the AT for their honeymoon many years ago and are just starting to hike again. The young couple were just scrambliing around on a multi-day adventure. Lots of different folks on the trail.

I'll be back to hiking bright and early tomorrow, keeping my eye open for other hikers to say 'Howdy' to on the trail - maybe you'll cross my path? But, for one more evening, I'm really enjoying time to relax in a cool home, eating real food, and not worrying about how much water I need to carry or where I'll find the next small puddle.

I hit the jackpot at Albertson's grocery store today - Snickers bars were 2/$1.00 AND each one got me a monopoly game piece! So, I figure I'm practically guaranteed to win a Mustang with the 2 dozen game pieces I got. That takes care of my trip home to MN from AZ. ;-)

Now we're headed to the post office to send off my supply boxes down the trail. I've still got to find some Honey Buns which I've heard lots of thru-hikers talking about eating. I'll let you know when I track some down - probably in a Circle K or AM/PM somewhere out there.

I'm really looking forward to visiting with a couple scouting folks in Pine and Flagstaff - I hope the dates work out.

Hike On

Here's Phil from FL and Colton from AZ, chatting on the trail while HikingDude from MN snaps the shot.
It's pretty cool how folks from all over can meet on the trail in an environment that pretty much equalizes social standings. It doesn't much matter where you're from, what you do, what hip clothes you wear, or how important you are in the 'real' world - out here you just hike and prove to yourself what you are capable of doing.
Phil is out there chugging along. I hope I run into him again after my rest in Tucson. And, I wonder what other characters will show up on the trail. Remember, if you're along the AZ Trail you can come out and join me hiking for an hour, day, or more.
Hike On