Wednesday, March 28th - Thursday, March 29th (McKenna)

Lemme tell ya a few secrets about backpacking. It ain't pretty. I mean, the scenery is, but you should see our feet. Our hair has a mind of its own, and our skin, despite sunscreen, is weathered, burned, dirty, and has scratches and rashes.

My lips are chapped regardless of the gallons of water I drink each day and the chapstick I wear. I smell. I ache. I'm either cold or hot, and I am pretty sure I've done some permanent damage to some nerves in my feet.

EVERYTHING is exhausting. You have to expend so much energy to eat, to drink, to go potty, even more for poop, and it's incredibly exhausting setting up your house each night, unpacking your belongings, and packing it all back up in the morning when you can barely walk. Those first few morning steps feel like you're walking on feet with shattered bones. And in the evenings, there's a lot of blank stares that occur even though you know you're supposed to be doing something. 

YET...

I love this torture. I'm not sure I could ever explain fully why. You either get it or you don't, and it's entirely okay if you don't! I love being out here with my mom, and laughing our delirious heads off. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to do this. I'm grateful for my daughters' support, their caretakers, my understanding employers, my loved ones' encouragement, and all the other AZT lovers, whether angels or hikers.

It's a desirable experience, and even though I feel beaten and bruised, I am happy.

Yesterday, Day 14, we had a very hard decline day. Hard on the knees, made more difficult by the fact that our packs are dang heavy. We have to go 137 miles before our next resupply. Camped  at the High Jinks Ranch, and we're made eggs and a smoothie for breakfast by the awesome caretaker!

Today was lower miles and easier elevation, but it was hot and we both dealt with blisters. I also have had dizziness all day. Not sure if it's a bit of vertigo, or low blood pressure, but it's manageable. 

And this happened:

We are very excited to have my brother, Cody, and his wife, Ciji, join us for some hiking over the next two days! It may be kind of a dry, unappealing passage, but that's when they were available.

That's about it for now. I gotta eat something, though my appetite is pretty low with the dizziness. 😝

Wednesday, March 28 - Thursday, March 29 (Heidi)

Trail Miles: 196.4 (McKenna)
Trail Miles: 66.4 (Heidi)
Daily Miles: 12.4
Starting Elevation: 7815
Ending Elevation: 4994

Our Summerhaven resupply is the longest and heaviest of our entire hike. Our reasoning during planning is that by then we will be two weeks, and over 180 miles, trail tested. Unfortunately, that only applies to one of us. I leave Summerhaven this morning with the heaviest pack of my life. After a ten day break from the trail.

Good morning Arizona Trail!

We head down the Oracle Ridge most of the day, ending at High Jinks Ranch. Not going to lie, it's a hard day.

Hiker break.

High Jinks Ranch is a national historic site; it was once owned by Buffalo Bill Cody. https://www.highjinksranch.net/

The caretaker is welcoming and we set up our camp. Another hiker couple arrives about the same time. We settle in and I have beef stroganoff for dinner. I spent a lot of time prepping our almost 300 meals for this hike, and I've enjoyed them, even when I have been too tired to eat.

Tomorrow we'll hit the 200 mile mark...a quarter of the way!

Trail Miles: 206.9 (McKenna)
Trail Miles: 76.9 (Heidi)
Daily Miles: 10.5
Starting Elevation: 4994
Ending Elevation: 4067

We enjoy a hearty breakfast at High Jinks, prepared by the caretaker, and head out on the trail. It's a beautiful morning and the trail is much easier than yesterday, although it becomes quite hot by afternoon.

We end our  day at Tiger Mine Trailhead where my second son and his wife, who live in Phoenix, will join us in the morning for a couple of days on the trail.

We've been taking it easy with miles as I get back on the trail with my tender new feet, but tomorrow we hope to increase to about 15 miles.

Thursday, March 22 - Tuesday, March 27 (Heidi)

Thursday morning I pack up my gear at Nancy's Airbnb and walk into Patagonia for breakfast at The Gathering Grounds, after which I meet my shuttle in front of the Stage Stop Hotel.

As we near Colossal Cave where I'm meeting McKenna, I can see she had to make a pretty big climb from the trail to get up here. And when I see her, she's going through our resupply boxes, but is thoroughly disappointed because the cafe is closed. Knowing there's a cheeseburger waiting was most of her incentive to climb up here. Well, and to see me, but I'm not sure that is as important as the cheeseburger at this moment. I make an emergency request to our trail angel Laura to pick up cheeseburgers on her way to meet me at Colossal Cave.

Laura delivers cheeseburgers and then drives McKenna and another hiker, Jeff, back to the trail. She takes me to my next Airbnb in Sahuarita. I'm trying to slowly head north as I keep up with McKenna and heal.

I've stayed in several Airbnbs, always with a private room, private bath, and, well, privacy. This set up in Sahuarita is living with the family, and it's awkwardly uncomfortable. Laura is concerned about leaving me, but I thank her and I'm left alone once again with strangers. My feet are quite painful and after removing boots and socks I discover new blisters. Frustrated and discouraged, I think I should just go home.

But about then my oldest son sends me a message asking how I'm doing and I decide if I can get to Phoenix and stay at McKenna's and use her car to hit REI, maybe a medical clinic, and get healing supplies, I can get the better of this. He agrees to drive down and pick me up, which is probably a four or five hour round trip on the day that he just closed on buying a new home. What a way to celebrate.

So, I tell my new hosts that my feet are worse than I thought and I won't be staying.

Host: Let me see your feet; I work in a hospital.
Me: Oh, what do you do in the hospital?
H: I do psyche evals.
Me:

Anyway, I get fixed up at REI and get some calendula cream for my blisters. There's an amazing improvement within 48 hours.

I make a request on Facebook for a ride from Mesa to Mt. Lemmon. I'm finding that the trail is a great equalizer...it doesn't care if I'm a project executive with a multinational building company, or  an out of work waitress, or a college student, I still have to bum rides from strangers and rely on the generosity of others.

But I do secure a ride with Glenn, a section hiker from Tucson who is hiking from Lake Roosevelt to Bushnell Tanks, and who goes right past where I am staying, and drives me all the way to Mt. Lemmon on Monday night.

Tuesday I'm sharing a zero day with McKenna and we will hit the trail in the morning. She has covered 130 miles without me, is battle proven. I'm starting all over...

Thursday, March 22nd - Tuesday, March 27th (McKenna)

Well, I've been mostly in canyons or in such remote areas, I haven't been able to post anything! But for today, Tuesday, March 27th, I'm in Summerhaven for my first "zero day!" Zero days are where you rest. I learned more trail lingo, that "nero days" are when you do less than 5 or so miles...they're near zero days. With internet access here, and an outlet, my last post now has pictures, too.

The AZT guidebook tells me that as of yesterday, arriving in Summerhaven, I had walked 186.7 miles in 13 days. Everyone else I had talked to on the trail had already taken one or more zero days, so I figured it was time. My muscles were still performing, but I could feel the fatigue. Two nights ago, I went to sleep at 6pm, set my alarm for 5am so I could start a really big climb early in the day, but I slept through it and didn't wake until 6. Exhaustion is real. Yet, I am really loving pushing my body to it's limits and experiencing everything nature has to offer!

So, yeah! My mom has joined me again! Last night, when I got into town, I found other thru-hikers (everyone is like a family on the trail), and since Summerhaven has terrible camping options, we opted to splurge on a cabin together. So glad we did, because it snowed last night.

This morning, I made everyone pancakes and bacon, and the other hikers continued on to Oracle. Mom and I are here for one more blissful night in a bed and a shower in the morning!

So, going back a few days...this has been an incredibly difficult section of trail.

Day 9, I had a resupply at Colossal Cave Mountain Park and would be meeting Heidi there. I was down on food because of the resupply coming, so I was SO excited to eat at the terrace cafe advertised on the park's website. I hiked about 5 miles, left the trail to catch the road to the park, arrived and saw the cafe was closed! 😭

I talked to the gift shop cashier, got my resupply boxes (and Heidi's), started my phone charging, and went through our stuff. She arrived a little later, and was walking as if in a lot of pain. This was 5 days after she'd left me in Patagonia, so that wasn't a good sign.

We talked about how it has been and what the plan was for her feet. Even after walking around at Colossal, she got another blister! Time for new footwear. I think she'll be fine now. I hope!

Anyway, we got a ride (and burgers!!) from Laura, a trail angel, back to the trail where I finished my 8 miles to Rincon Creek, the last spot you can really camp before a long section of Saguaro National Park where you need a permit to camp. It's a 5000 foot climb over 12 miles, so I set up camp, called the girls with limited phone service, and headed to bed.

The next morning, I was ready for the challenge ahead.

Or so I thought. Halfway up Mica Mountain, I was ready to cry! It was so hot and dry and exposed and kept going up and up!

My bursitis in my hips was really angry, I had blisters on each heel, my nose hadn't stopped running in 10 days, and I was just so tired. But I kept putting one foot in front of the other. I'd hear Wild Man's voice telling me before I started, "You got this." Or knowing that I came from strong stock and my ancestors would have been proud of me. And also, I didn't want to get in trouble for camping without a permit. Heidi had gotten one for us at Manning Camp, near the peak, but I had known about this stretch for maybe years before doing it, and I was determined to see it through.

Within 8 miles, I had drank 2.5 liters of water and had to refill at a stream. I had lunch and kept climbing, mile after mile.

By 4:30 or so, I had made Manning Camp, but I'd also told other hikers they could use my two permits. One had gone up faster than me and was setting up his tent when I arrived. I had passed two other hikers that were going to be hard pressed to find a spot before dark, so I kept going to try and exit the park before sundown.

From this choice, I earned my trail name: Gone Girl. 😃

I accidentally took a wrong trail on top of Mica Mountain, which added half a mile and some elevation changes I didn't love, but I got back on track and finally, finally started down the other side. It was an incredible sight...and windy!

I went probably another 4 miles before I finally found a tiny flat spot and set up my tent. It was almost dark, and I knew I was really close to the park border, but wasn't sure how much farther. I was also starting to develop some hot spots (pre-blisters) on my feet from the steep downhill, and just needed to call it a day.

In the middle of the night, I was jolted awake by being blown over in my tent by the fierce winds. That's a very startling way to be woken up! All my gear went flying around me. I got out of my tent, righted it, and pulled it snuggly between two bushes so the wind was slightly less. I have had more restful nights.

Day 11 remained windy. 40-50 mph gusts assaulted me once I reached the bottom of the mountain. I just kept my head down and hiked through it, hill after hill, heading for the Santa Catalina mountains, another beast to overcome. Oh, also, due to fatigue I'm sure, I had my first major wipe out. I went down pretty much face-first, and then started to roll off the ledge, but a baby tree caught me. This was the culprit.

I got a little road rash on my hands, a bruised knee, and my shoulder kind of hurt, but all in all, it wasn't bad, lol!

I guess I don't take any pictures that next day. I had a pretty short 9 mile day, crashed at a creek pool, and that was the night I went to bed at 6.

Day 13, I woke early and began the climb toward Summerhaven. It was a 4000 foot gain, but it was cool and breezy. It just didn't compare to Mica Mountain in my mind.

This is day 6 of no shower...🤣
At least I'd been able to do some clothes and body washing here and there in streams.

It was a pleasant and challenging climb.

A school of baby pines...

Anyway, got to Summerhaven, had a delicious cheeseburger, and here we are!

I feel like I could do so many posts on things I don't have pictures of, like the rocks I've collected from each passage I've completed, or "Sticks on the Trail that Look Like Snakes," or "The Songs in My Head," but I think this is good for now.

I guess that's it until I have good service again! Happy to be hiking with my partner again!

Monday, March 19 - Wednesday, March 21 (Heidi)

Miles: 0

I stay at Chris and Mary's place, and although they offer to let me stay as long as I want, eat their food and drink their wine, while they are in Hawaii for ten days, they are too far from town for me to walk if I need anything. I arrange to stay at another Airbnb in Patagonia, so they drop me off on their way to the airport.

I stay with Nancy in a territorial style home where she has lived for forty years. She hand-built the place, including the Adobe bricks with which it is constructed. Time slows down as I nurse my cold and take short barefoot walks around her courtyard to toughen up my feet. By Wednesday I can put my boots on again and I venture into town to pick up some fresh fruit and cough drops. I've been living on my hiker food, so really need something fresh. But my feet give notice after that little excursion that I'm not ready to get back on the trail.

There's another thru hiker staying here who needs to resupply in town, so I give him my leftover hiker food that I won't be able to finish before leaving.

I have made arrangements with a shuttle service to take me to Colossal Cave Park Gift Shop where I'll meet Kenna and pick up our resupply boxes. I then plan to stay near Tucson until next week when I hope to once again join my hiking buddy at Mt. Lemmon, and finally get back on the trail.

Sunday, March 18th - Wednesday, March 21st (McKenna)

(It takes a long time to upload pictures right now, so to save battery life, I'll post them tomorrow at my resupply area when I'll have a charge and better service.)

Days 5 - 8: I'm just too exhausted to post each day separately. Sunday sucked because I lost my partner. It was suddenly a very quiet hike. Not that I've never done solo hikes, this just wasn't the plan.

Saw some wild horses.

Thought I'd camp at the trailhead that we'd planned on, but it came so fast and I still had a lot of energy, so I just went on. Lots of people talk to you when you're alone, like it's such a strange thing to see. I met a few other hikers and answered their questions.

I kept hiking until the sun started to go down. Then I set up camp, sent my GPS notification to family, and started to settle in.

Was about to strip down outside my tent because it's easier, but I did the habitual look around first. A cow was staring at me in anticipation. I waited to change.

That night was really cold. I woke a few times, and realized I was flat on the ground. Somehow I'd punctured my mattress. I blew it up twice more during the night to try and get some sleep.

Day 6, I hiked. A lot. Climbed and climbed. And descended.

Didn't see anyone all day, but I'd already adopted my solo hiking standard - a busy mind. Songs and funny moments, not-so-funny moments and goals ran through my mind at a comfortable pace. My self talk is a good friend to have when my mom isn't my hiking buddy at the moment. I hope she joins me soon.

I make camp at Kentucky Camp, a site we had planned on reaching the next day. It's an historic mining community with about 6 buildings remaining. The host, Steve, was very friendly and had me set up my tent on the porch of the main building because it was really windy and had dropped to the mid 30s the night before.

I did my previous posts and emailed Wild Man who is hiking the Grand Enchantment Trail. I had done almost 16 hard miles that day, so I was pooped. When I was coming back from the outhouse, my headlamp caught the reflection of two eyes under the porch. I thought, "That's either the biggest rat, or the smallest raccoon..." Then it turned around for a second, and I saw it's long ringed tail. It poked it's head back out and I saw clearly my first ringtailed lemur! He was the cutest stinkin' thing! I hoped he wouldn't be a nuisance, and he wasn't. I was coughing so hard that night, getting crap out of my lungs, I wondered about pneumonia for a bit. (Oh, and at a spring tank earlier in the day, I had blown up my mattress and dunked it to find the hole. Fixed it at camp.)

The next morning, Day 7, I woke at 2am, just freezing. I had two Hot Hands left, so I pulled them out and stuck them in my socks because my feet were so cold. At 5am, I woke again because my feet were so hot and my body was in a cold sweat. I was so miserable, I started packing up. By 7am, I was stripping out of layers because it was so hot. When talking with a hiker later that day, temperature control was the one thing I missed.

After 10 miles and it wasn't even noon yet, I ran into another solo female hiker, Cache. We hiked together for a while in a section that was super dry and hot. Thankfully I'd really loaded up my water supply at KY Camp before leaving. It was about 15 miles dry in all. But she and I just kept hiking and hiking, until suddenly, we ran into this!

And about two miles later, 22.5 miles for my day, we found our campsite just as the sun was going down.

My typical nightly set up. And yes, if it's cold, I'll cook right inside my tent.

Day 8. Been on the trail for a full week now, and I can't even wrap my head around it. I was just giving hugs to the girls this morning, it seems! I miss them. I miss my hiking partner who was carrying the other half of this two man tent. But! My cough is better, I have no blisters or tape on my toes, I've lost a little bit of weight, and except for seeing my loved ones, there's nothing I'd rather be doing than what I did that morning - filter water out of a cow tank that smelled of manure.

Put in only about 13 miles today because I was feeling it still from the day before. Hot. Dry. But I went through a tunnel under I-10!

Did some laundry and self cleaning, and now am ready to conk out.

Sunday, March 18 (Heidi)

Trail Miles: 53.1 (McKenna will do more)
Daily Miles: 2 (ditto above)
Starting and Ending Elevation: 4078

We share a bed in a retro trailer refurbished as a studio-size apartment.  Our resupply boxes were waiting for us when we arrived last night, and we start packing our supplies to start what is supposed to be a short, easy day of less than 5 miles.

As we are getting ready to leave, Mike, the owner of this Airbnb property, stops by and gives us a lift to The Gathering Grounds for a hearty breakfast.

We hit the market on the way out of town after breakfast, and pick up something for lunch later on in the day. And then we head out...More road walking. After a couple miles of painful walking, I have to tell McKenna I can't keep going. My feet are just too bad. Before we can even discuss options, a pickup crests the hill and I stick out my thumb. I'm 61 years old and never hitched in my life, but I never even give it a second thought.

This wonderful retired couple says they can not only take me back to town, but I can stay in their private guest casita as long as I need to. McKenna and I quickly exchange the Inreach Garmin that I have been carrying and I give her a 30-second lesson on how to use it, we hug, and say we'll keep in touch, and then I'm off. Without Kenna.

Chris and Mary are wonderful, generous trail angels who tell me to make myself at home. We find we have some things in common, such as the fact that they own the Missoula Montana Holiday Inn. A small world, filled with good people.

I let family and friends know Kenna and I have had to split up, and don't know yet what our plans will be. I'm sad to be off the trail and realize before the night is over that I've also caught McKenna's cold. I hope she's ok.

Saturday, March 17th (McKenna)

Happy St. Patty's Day!
Day 4: We slept really well and got an early start. Ready for Passage 3. Wait, MORE Canelo Hills?? Bleh. But a long grassy savannah is cool. And a small riparian area gave us a glimpse of a coatimundi as it ran across the trail! But then the green went away, and the trail lead us into the most desolate wilderness.

(That's about the spot where I left my poles behind and had to backtrack to get them.)

Then Harshaw Road leading into Patagonia was miserable. Roads are hard on hikers' feet.

But finally! Patagonia, pizza, and a real bed for one night!

Saturday, March 17 (Heidi)

Trail Miles: 51.1
Daily Miles: 16.2
Starting Elevation: 5329
Ending Elevation: 4078

We have decided to start our days earlier, and the alarm tone of Cat Stevens singing "Morning Has Broken" wakes us at 5:30. In preparing for this hike I have made hot cocoa packets which include dark cocoa, powdered sugar, powdered whole milk and heavy cream (the usual ingredients), but also include a chocolate protein powder mix and chocolate Carnation instant breakfast. It mixes with either cold or hot water and we start our day with that. Even if we're not hungry, because...Food Is Fuel!

This will be a long day, but hopefully not a too difficult terrain. Unfortunately, my feet are killing me. We stop for a break and when I take off my boots, I find my right sock is bloody and I have a big problem. Kenna conducts some surgical activities which I can't see (on the bottom of my foot) and then gives me an improvised field dressing. It feels a little better when we head out again.

By the time we are 13 miles into our day we hit the dreaded road walk into Patagonia. Over 2 miles on a busy road and I'm getting slower and slower. The only thing keeping me going is knowing that when we reach town we'll get town food, showers, the opportunity to clean our clothes, and sleep in a bed.

Friday, March 16th (McKenna)

Day 3: Wrong way again! We camped right at a junction, so we missed it in the morning. Oops. It won't be the last time.

Canelo Hills. Ugh. Up and down and up and down. Dry, boring. Hot but breezy.

Too many blisters for Mom. All my toes were taped but one, and that was mostly preventative care.

At the end of the day, we are too exhausted to make our goal, which isn't a big deal. We're flexible...but really stiff at the moment!

Friday, March 16 (Heidi)

Trail Miles: 34.9
Daily Miles: 11.8
Starting Elevation: 5193
Camp Elevation: 5329

We sleep well, arising to a beautiful morning on the creek. We get a late start (which we later regret), and see that Ryman and the bikepacker are already gone. We will follow those bike tracks most of the day.

Just before arriving at Parker Creek last night, we finished Passage 1, and today are hiking Passage 2. Not a lot of inspiration in these hills...they are hot and dry. Every part of me is tired, tender, and in pain. But no one has yelled, "We're all going to die!", so I take that as a good sign. I'm taping my feet, but am pretty footsore and tired by the end of the day.

We camp at the end of Passage 2, and will begin Passage 3 in the morning. I'm too tired to eat, but force myself to eat something, remembering that food is fuel.

On a brighter note, I am no longer suffering from the insomnia that has plagued me the last few months.

Thursday, March 15th (McKenna)

Day 2: Woke up in a cloud. Literally. Trees dropped the collected condensation on our tent, but it wasnt raining. Terribly windy still. Packed up before dawn, and tried to find some sunshine lower down. Down, down, down. Painful. Met a few people on the trail. Then finally at the bottom, a beautiful, easy canyon trail. Yay!

A few hills, then made it to our Parker Creek campsite as the sun was setting. Super tired.

Thursday, March 15 (Heidi)

Trail Miles: 23.1
Daily Miles: 15
Starting Elevation: 8564
Camp Elevation: 5193

We give up on our night at about 0600, and pack everything up in a heavy foggy mist. Everything has stayed dry, except for the tent, which gets stuffed wet into its sack. We use our pack covers and McKenna wears her poncho. My puffy coat is adequate for keeping me warm and dry since it's not a downpour. We discover we're actually in a cloud, and after a couple miles we break out into the sunshine and stop for breakfast, readjust boots, and take pack covers off, readying ourselves for a long descent off Miller Peak.

The climb down is an almost 12 mile descent, with little relief in the way of level or even uphill, but I eventually realize I have more energy, so we must be below 7000 feet. My knees and shins are not happy, but everything holds together, which is all I ask.

Lunchbreak is sitting among the pines on the side of the trail to have yummy PB&J, a huge pick-me- up as far as energy.

After a long day with sore feet, we are only a couple miles from Parker Creek, our  destination for  tonight, when we are overtaken by Ryman who is also planning on camping at Parker. We learn he left the Mexican border at 9:00 this morning (!), covering the distance it had taken us two entire days to travel. He's trying to get to Patagonia by tomorrow to meet up with friends who are waiting for him.

We arrive at Parker Creek to find him already set up, as well as a bikepacker, who tells us there's plenty of water and plenty of sites. And there are. We set up down stream and after a quick meal of Thai curry chicken (yes, as good as it sounds) we settle in for a really good night's sleep, to the soft lullaby of the creek nearby.

Wednesday, March 14th (McKenna)

 My favorite time to start any hike is before dawn. We arrived at the Coronado Memorial Overlook Trailhead just as the stars began to fade. We forced ourselves to eat some muffins and bananas despite the urge to vomit instead.

My incredibly supportive and loving boyfriend, hereto referred to as Wild Man, had driven Heidi and I down to Sierra Vista and would hike his second trip down to the border with us. I say "down" because it's a 500ft elevation loss over 1.5 miles just to reach the starting point on the AZT. Wild Man had hiked the full AZT by himself in 2015. He'd warned us of the rough day ahead, but schwoo-eee! We were in for it.

At the bottom of the United States of America, we took the obligatory oblisk photo.

 And then we climbed. And climbed. And climbed.

We did take a few breaks...

And that was the last of my pictures for the day because we just had to put one foot in front of the other. At the top of the sky, we ran out of land to climb and we went down for a bit until we reached a spring piped into a cast iron bathtub.

I'd love to say we then set up camp and rested, because that IS where we camped, but instead, I took us on an unintentional side trip. Only an additional .5 miles, but Heidi wasn't happy about it, lol! We learned to check the GPS at every non-marked junction.

We made it back, set up camp, built a small fire and worried we would burn the whole mountain down with the wind.

Eventually we got to bed. At 10pm, we woke to what we thought was a Border Patrol helicopter hovering overhead. They kept their spotlight on our tent for a while and kept coming back, checking the mountainside. We learned later that it was actually Search and Rescue looking for a lost hiker. They found him, but because of the wind, they could only throw down some gear for the night to him. He made it out the next day.

Glad it wasn't us, and it also made us feel SO tough. We made our first major climb with success!!

Wednesday, March 14 (Heidi)

Miles: 8.1
Starting elevation 5908
Camp Elevation 8564

Wednesday morning arrives bright and early... Well, early because we leave our hotel parking lot in Sierra Vista in the dark at 0445. We arrive at the Coronado National Monument parking lot just as the promise of dawn is beginning to lighten the eastern horizon.

A quick breakfast of orange and cranberry muffins and a banana, with lots of water to begin hydrating, and there's enough light to begin the 1.8 mile descent to the Mexican border for the official start of The Hike. Mckenna carries her pack, but I elect to "slack pack" since we have to turn around and come back to the parking lot. I know it's going to be a hard day, so I'm not going to make it any tougher on myself.

And then, with very little fanfare, it begins. Once we get to the 7500 foot elevation, I have no energy. I'm hiking through jello. Or my legs ARE Jello. We take lots of breaks, McKenna has me lead and set the pace.

We enjoy a tuna sandwich at about mile 5. By the time we get to Bathtub Springs, almost at the top of Miller Peak, the wind is terrible. Hard and cold. We had planned to try and go further, but are afraid the wind will be even worse further up. Plus, I'm wiped out, so we set up camp and have spaghetti for dinner. I'm too tired too eat, but try to force myself. Food is fuel.

The wind is horrible all night, with every gust feeling like it's going to blow our little tent off the  mountain. And then the helicopter with spotlights lights up our tent around 10:30, and we have no idea what's going on. At 2:00 it starts raining and its in the mid 30's. We stay warm and dry all night, but get no sleep.

Let It Begin!!

We are sitting at a BBQ joint in Sierra Vista, waiting for our dinner, knowing that it won't be the heartburn keeping us awake tonight.

The countdown will reach 00:00:00 tomorrow morning (very early!) and we begin!!

Keep your fingers crossed for the first leg of our journey and we'll see ya in Patagonia in just over 50 miles!

Worst Case Scenario

Let's say we're just tra-la-la-la-la, walking down the trail, and suddenly the rare desert Sasquatch jumps out from behind a saguaro, and threatens to eat us alive. Well, that's why I have my mommy with me, carrying a loaded .38.

In this post, I'll talk about the dangers we could possibly face while hiking through Arizona.

#1: Water

Thankfully, many trails are created due to the location of water in a desert, whether it be cattle tanks, natural springs, or creeks and rivers - some of which only appear briefly after rain. However, the creation of the Arizona Trail came with the difficulty of linking all these trails together. Some sections are very dry. If for some crazy reason, we ran out of water, there are ways to avoid withering away to a bag of bones.

First off, we have our maps which list water sources along with a reliability rating. We have had a very dry winter, but there has been snow and rain recently that we are hoping increases the reliability factor.

Secondly, enough people have done this trail to know about some water sources NOT listed in the guidebook. They may be a little ways off the path, but where there's water, there's life. Even if the water looks like this...

Filter it enough times, and although it still may taste like algae, it's usually pretty clear and without parasites swimming around in it. I once drank black stagnant water and just popped a few purification tablets in it. It tasted amazing.

I also know how to look for water by watching what the land and plants do. Our best bets are lower land, more cottonwoods, and creekbeds with "rock pockets" - indents in large boulders that hold water for long periods of time until they evaporate.

Regardless, we have done the research and know which areas are dryer than others, and we both have the capacity to carry 7 liters of fluid (plus whatever we can fit into our stomachs at one sitting). We'll simply fill up at one water source, assuming it might be 20 miles until the next one.

#2: The Creepy Crawlies

I'm very fascinated by the variety of insect and reptile species we have in Arizona. I don't think either my mother or I have any kind of phobia toward anything venomous, but our respect for those creatures is high. If bit by a brown recluse or black widow spider, the toxins can cause damage at the affected area along with neurological, respiratory, and cardiac effects.

The goal for treating this kind of experience would be the same as if bitten by a rattlesnake. This week, I talked briefly with my old survival teacher, Greg Guthrie, from Chandler-Gilbert Community College (though the terrific class is now at Maricopa Community College), picking his brain regarding what to do if bitten by something nasty. I knew the first two steps: 1) get out of more danger (these animals sting/bite/inject when about to eat, so they often follow what they've attacked), 2) get to a place where you can care for yourself...like not sitting in the direct sun in 100 degree weather... Then he added, 3) don't elevate the bite; put a filleted prickly pear on the bite after cleaning it, 4) drink lots of water to try and dilute the toxins, and take a Benadryl to help with any additional reactions, 5) stay calm and wait for help if any is coming. If no help is coming, then I'd probably just try to put myself in a meditative state and reduce my energy output, drinking as much as I could spare. Since my mom and I will be together with a GPS, which we'll use in an emergency to call in the Calvary, the chances of anything really serious happening due to insects or reptiles is very low.

#3: The Furry Non-Friends

There are black bears and mountain lions, javelina and wolves. They all avoid humans unless desperate or threatened. We'll make noise as we hike, and we store our food in scent-proof bags, hanging it away from our tent at night if possible. The bigger threats come in much smaller packages. Those dang squirrels and mice will eat through anything!

But if the noises aren't enough, and we physically encounter a bear or mountain lion, the fight is on. Black bears don't care if you play dead, they'll eat you. You fight with all your might against them, but only if they've begun to attack. Before that, you don't run if you see one. You make yourself look big with your arms and speak with a calm loud voice. I'd probably tell it to please not eat my last chocolate bar. You can then back up slowly without turning your back. If it attacks, I hope my mom can aim well. I've heard when attacked by a mountain lion, you're supposed to try and roll over and over. That it frustrates their grip on you. Who knows. I just hope we aren't stalked and surprised. I hate surprises.

#4: The Humans

If you think the desert is void of people, just check out the death map from the Humane Borders here. Terrifying notion of how many people are dying in Southern Arizona. Again, this is why we have one armed hiker, and one hippy hiker that loves everyone and knows how to deescalate a situation, lol!

#5: Getting Lost

Between paper maps, compass, our GPS, and common sense, I think it will be hard to get truly lost. I'm sure there will be times when we take a wrong turn, and say, "Wait a minute...", but I think it will be hard to lose our way completely. I've been out in the wilderness long enough to know how to stay on track.

I think the ultimate worst case scenario would be if something happened to my mom and I felt like it was my fault for getting her into this mess, never forgiving myself. Or if something happened to me and she thought she was supposed to protect me or something and never forgiving herself. That would be the worst. But I think we are prepared and ready and the level of fears we have are healthy and realistic. Our level of excitement and anticipation, however, is way overboard. 🤣