This second section of my Arizona Trail adventure, the last 70 miles, has been Pure Magic. I’ve spent the last four days in a desert high, or desert haze if you will, as I hiked through High Desert rolling hills covered in varying cactus, juniper, cottonwood, the occasional bunny and hikers from around the world. Hiking out of Patagonia through the Canelo Hills at mile 52, I would happily cruise through the Santa Rita Hills of Vail and end at mile 117 at Colossal Cave. I have been afforded the most  incredible overview of Southern Arizona thus far. It’s easy to fall in love with this trail because of the endless wide open desert vistas, the ever changing landscape and easy breezy miles on the desert floor.

Truth be told, I got stuck in Patagonia for four days in a vortex of relaxation and exploration. Monday morning found me prying myself out of a comfy bed with those amazing soft sheets…and onto the main road at 8 AM hitching a ride up the road a couple miles to meet the trail. I must’ve had some stored up energy from over the weekend because I felt really strong right out the gate and had a solid pace going in the early morning sun. Being back out with the barrel and prickly pear cactus, Cottonwood and blooming Manzanita just made me so unbelievably happy. The bliss I felt is what I’m not coining my Desert Haze.  The first section of 52 miles was challenging for me while I got my legs underneath me, adjusted to the altitude, had a couple gear issues that Rob helped me solve and just generally got into my own groove. But this first day on the second section, I felt in sync and strong. My entire daily plan is structured around where I know I can find water and how much I need to carry. This day is like no weather as I left Patagonia with just enough water to get me through to the first water source. As my niece asked me, “how do you know where there’s water?”  Well, there’s an amazing app called FarOut, formerly known as Guthook, where you can download the entire trail map with markers and interactive comments where people will note where creeks are flowing or where water caches are located so that you know what you can expect and carry the appropriate amount of water for yourself. Not too much.  Not too little. At 2.2 pounds a liter I try not to ever carry more than 3 liters as a general rule. The max I have carried out here so far is just a little over two. But my technique is that I try to drink a lot of water at the water source, sometimes two liters. It’s called Cameling Up. And then I carry a lot less because I’m pre-hydrating. Tonight I hiked up to mile 68.8 where I camped on the top of a ridge trying to catch whatever might been left of the sunset. I met two more hikers after I set up my tent who also decided to camp there, Dallas and Terminator.  Both are triple crown hikers, meaning they’ve done the three long distance hikes in this country. Some of the other people I’ve met are Feather, 40 ounce, Roadie, Switchback, Still Dark, Pac-Man, Merlin, and his dog, Wade, and Bud and Fret. Those are some of the fun Hiker names. If you have a Hiker name you almost never introduce yourself by your real name and I love it that way.

On the first section, I didn’t bring my stove to make hot food at night. Since I began with the convenience of a kitchen, I packed a whole bunch of prepared food for lunch and dinner. Rob cooked me, 2 veggie burgers on brioche bread slathered with cheddar cheese as well as portabella steak slices and tofu that I added to bread, sliced cheese, pickles, onions and jalapeños for sandwiches. I made them on the go so they wouldn’t get soggy. A couple individually packed mayo packets go a long way. Now that I picked up my stove along with my resupply package in Patagonia, I’m back to hot meals at night. Tonight I did a fancy dehydrated backpacker meal, which was lasagna. After hiking 16 1/2 miles I ate it so fast and still wanted more so I ate a bunch of my snacks. I have all my food carefully planned out so I really can’t go too crazy on eating but my Hiker Hunger is starting to kick in. 

Day two I woke up when Terminator and Dallas did, but waited to exit my tent and begin the day till they left. I don’t get up quite as early 🙂 I haven’t been able to hit a camping spot where the sun hits my tent first thing in the morning so I don’t have to deal with being a little cold in the morning as I get ready, but it wasn’t too cold this morning while I had a little protein powder in the tent to kickstart my day.  After I enjoy my morning beverage snuggled in my sleeping bag, I begin deflating my sleeping pad and starting to pack my backpack in its very specific and organized way so that I may quickly identify if something is missing. Within no time I was happily skipping down the travel, enjoying all the scenery.  There were so much yucca on the hillside today as I listened to podcasts and music I had previously downloaded. I wished I had a podcast that described all the different kinds of cactus I was looking at or the one or two random spring blooms. You can almost miss them. There was a post on the Arizona Trail Facebook group page showing the flowers really blooming up ahead, and I am incredibly excited to go through it. 

On only the second day of the trail I developed two blisters on my right foot that I have been trying to care for this last week. Fortunately, they haven’t really kept me down, but I have been constantly adjusting my shoes trying to find the right fit.  I’m beginning to think that my shoes are too small now because my feet have swollen from the desert heat. This is definitely something that happens when you walk hundreds or thousands of miles.  Your feet can grow or swell, but it just has never happened to me. I contacted Rob today and asked him, as my hiking hero, if he could get me a half size bigger shoes and two day ship it to where I’m gonna be next. I’m moving at a slower pace because my feet just feel tight in my shoes, but still not that slow. I was so lucky today with another cloudy day in the desert. I actually haven’t had a day on the desert floor in full sun yet and I’m really fortunate because that means quicker dehydration and caring more water. It also just makes it so much more pleasant when you have a little bit of reprieve from the sun itself. Myself and every other Hiker I have seen are donned in sun protective clothing, often with a hat or hood to go over the whole head and neck. I have walked past people slathered in sunscreen and make sure to take the time to reapply a couple times a day. My precious little calves were burned the first couple days because I didn’t even think about protecting them, but I’m much more diligent now.

Kentucky Camp is a backcountry visitor center that I passed midday and was all too pleased to see that they did indeed have (as noted in the FarOut app) all the amenities a hiker could ever dream of in the middle of a section between towns. Being able to dispose of garbage, fill with freshwater (that I don’t need to filter from a stream or creek if I’m lucky; pasture tank if I’m not), and charge up my phone and battery pack are an enormous treat! Being topped off, I can use my phone to my heart’s delight for the next couple days. I need it most importantly for my map and secondary for music or podcast. All while in airplane mode. Definitely no extra use of phone or scrolling through things. Ideally I want to upgrade to a solar panel which  I can attach to the top of my pack while I hike. It’s common. I just haven’t done that yet. I have decided on a few key gear upgrades already that I’ll be implementing soon.  It truly is the little things like being able to sit in a chair to eat my lunch on the deck of the visitor center. Chairs don’t really exist in the backcountry except for those made of tree branches and large rocks. This afternoon, a wooden Adirondack chair is where I devour a meal designed purely for carbs and calories. Tortilla slathered with peanut butter and high protein barbecue flavored potato chips. And then of course I eat a lot more nuts and fruit and high calorie things right after that. I would eat all my food right now, but I have to pace myself. In real life I am both a foodie and love to eat; however, when hiking I look at food as fuel rather than enjoyment. Fueled up and rested, I hiked on through the afternoons beautiful landscape to the next water source, a stream a couple inches deep. Just enough to soak my feet and wash my face. Perfect place to end the day at 13.5 miles with a couple hours of daylight remaining. Not long after I got my tent set up, another hiker, Scott, rolled in. I hadn’t met him before, but being the only 2 hikers around, we begin to chat, as one does. I quickly learn that he is doing a weeklong hike on the trail. Super nice person and after that a second hiker, who I had briefly spoke with at Kentucky Camp came in to the flat meadow to camp as well. My feet were really tired from dealing with the blisters on my right foot, and I was actually feeling like I was getting a third blister on the bottom of my foot! I wanted to get off my feet, so I was in my tent pretty quickly, but fortunately for me my tent had a beautiful view of the fire that the guys made. I had pitched close to the fire pit and was still able to chat while relaxing in my sleeping bag. It was a nice treat to have a fire. “Hiker Midnight” is known to be shortly after dark, 7 PM now, and certainly my bedtime lately. 

My third day was just as magical as the previous two except today I had a mission! I had enough service the night before to check the weather in Vail, where I would be heading, and saw there was rain the future for Friday. I became determined to do 19 miles each of my last two days on the relatively flat desert floor so that I could be relaxed reading my book and hidden from the rain on Friday. I received a little bit of Trail Magic when I ran into someone who at a trailhead who offered me an apple and fresh water. Again, the little things. Fresh fruit – woohoo! Luckily the miles were easy today and I was able to get to camp by 6:30. I was so happy to have made that many miles and be greeted with a killer sunset as I set up at mile 100! With just enough time to set up my tent and make my dinner before dark, I was out cold pretty quick.

The fourth and final day of this section found me up a little before 7am and ready to get some serious miles in an effort to arrive at Colossal Cave by the end of day. The first 6 miles were really pretty with the barrel and prickly pear cactus being lit by the morning sun. 6 miles in there was a water cache where I was able to fill up and also meet Calves who has hiked the Arizona Trail five times. Currently, he’s running shuttle service and providing help for hikers this season. I was delighted when he offered me a cold Gatorade and a Clementine. That’s a real oasis in the desert. It was in these next 6 or 7 miles to Cienega Creek that I started to feel how tired my legs and feet were from the day before. Since the miles were flat and easy, I decided that I was going to stick to my goal of getting to Colossal Cave to avoid the weather. At 2 o’clock and almost 13 miles in, I wondered if there was anyway I could make it there before four when they stop serving the margaritas and pizza at the visitor center. When I passed Cienega Creek I saw my very first Palo Verde out here. Beautiful Greene. And being on the edge of the Saugaro National Park, I get to see these majestic cactus as well! Rob told me it takes 50 years for one of those arms to grow and I read that they can live to 200 years.

Well, I freaking made it with sore and tender feet. I couldn’t believe I did the 18 miles by 4, but my feet felt every little bit of it in the shoes that were clearly too small. I didn’t make it in time for a beer at the cafe, but don’t you worry! A lovely couple that was RVing at the campground shared two beers and some great conversation with me. Both hit the spot. The campground is quiet with soft grass and cardinals flying all over. No shower, but there is running water, electricity and garbage! I had my best nights sleep yet there, after hiking nearly 40 miles in 2 days. The following day I made it to the cafe and picked up my resupply and new shoes from the office. I had everything I could need!!! Friday was so relaxing being able to kick my feet up all day and enjoy the surroundings. So much so that I stayed one more day. 🙂