4/28 Th Day 0 Mileage 23.3 AZT Mile 23.3
Start: 13:44 ran into a cowboy on his horse looking for his cattle. His dogs scared the crap out of me. And I saw the most amazing falling star, it burned red and slow across the sky.
4/29 Fr D1 M45.3 AZT68.6
Overslept and left at 05:14 Woke up at 5:02. I missed my alarm. I saw two AZT hikers breaking down camp. I slept horribly. I was very cold. I camped in a gully. Bad decision. Saw a couple other AZT hikers and had one of the longest uphills out of Patagonia. Fueled by orange crush and iced coffee. In by 21:45. *on 5/2 my FarOut app changed the official route through Patagonia to one that is more direct, but skips the town and mileage got weird after that.
4/30 Sa D2 M41.4 AZT116.2
Saw two bobcats. Almost ran out of water. The phone disable 52 minutes debacle that lasted 2hours. Panic attack. Ginormous pinky blister that looked like Jigglypuff. Sunshade break.
5/1 Su D3 M38.5 AZT154.7
Struggled up Mica Mountain [again]. It was so hot. I got to talk to a hiker, and she was very nice. I enjoyed her company. I cruised down Mika down the North Slope really fast, and I think I killed my legs. Exhausted this night.
5/2 Mo D4 M37.0 AZT191.7
Shit in the shitter! Another short mileage day. But it was the last major climb I’ll do until the GC. I love Mount Lemmon. I don’t love the last ascent. Made it to the General Store in Summerhaven with 15 min to spare. Stayed in the public bathrooms till 8:30p or so to charge electronics. Sleeping in a nook on the ridge.
5/3 Tu D5 M45.3 AZT237.0
Attacked by rodents last night in camp. The chewed most of the straps off my backpack, including my chest straps -- a great loss. I slept terribly because of the wind and my feet were cold. Resupply box picked up at High Jinx Ranch and met Kimberly [the coug--fellow BYU alum], the new caretaker. Hard day, but was able to find a flow. I walked till 1130, I really wanted to get my 45 miles. It seemed very important today. I did it.
5/4 We D6 M42 AZT279
Met Pat with his 80lb pack. His gift of ibuprofen and Voile strap saved me. Amazing water cache. Met Kaya the dog. Met Gary and Zach from the Azt Association.
5/5 Th D7 M40 AZT319
Met PooterScooter doing the GET--she was so encouraging. Had some very low points. And I was contemplating quitting entirely. I literally gave myself a talking to. I didn’t like all the negative self talk. I got lost on Montana Mountain. I somehow took a wrong turn and ended up bushwhacking for about 45 minutes. My legs look very scratched up. I lost a trekking pole in the effort.
5/6 Fr D8 M31 AZT350
Bear tracks! Roosevelt resupply. Hot hot hot! I wanted to quit again. Excited to get higher into the mountains.
5/7 Sa D9 M42 AZT392
Four Peaks Wilderness. Met AZT hiker Bushpilot. Long road walk on the HOV road. Very pleasant and windy walk into the Mazatzal wilderness.
5/8 Su D10 M43.7 AZT435.7
Met Betani. I saw the most beautiful sunrise in the heart of the Mazatzal Wilderness. Feet don’t feel like trash this morning. But they definitely felt like trash at the end of the day. I collapse crying on the ground 3 miles short is my goal for the day because I couldn’t walk another step after a very long steep loose downhill.
5/9 Mo D11 M45 AZT480.7
I met the following hikers: Molly, the Toker boys (my name for them), Mars and Chips. Got my box in Pine, at THAT Brewery. I drink a 10 ounce pour of the Arizona Trail Ale, and I ate a cheeseburger. And best of all I made it to the Mogollon Rim!!!! COOL weather!
5/10 Tu D12 M50 AZT530.7
Walked by a sleeping hiker. He was cowboy camping. I was very very tired today. I took 3 10-minute power naps. Trail is presently flat, but it’s also monotonous, so it’s hard to keep the brain focused. Very windy on trail. Passed another two hikers in the evening, but they were both in their tents already.
5/11 We D13 M48.8 AZT579.5
Smooth trail. Dry lakes and stock tanks EVERYWHERE. Trail magic from Seven in his RV by Marshall Lake. Flagstaff. Stopped short of the Conoco because of some right quad pain with the intention of resupplying early in the morning bc it's open 24/7.
5/12 Th D14 M45 AZT624.5
Conoco was closed with temporary hours [6-10]! Thank god I had enough snack to potentially make it to GC. Right quad pain worse. Very hard and emotional day. Met Tish from Indiana at one of the bear box caches. She asked me about local day hikes, and I explained who I was and what I was doing. Before I knew it I was crying and telling her how hard my day was. She really helped me and reminded me to believe in myself. We hugged.
5/13 Fr D15 M46.8 AZT671.3
Met Sherry, or She-ra, princess of power. She’s walking the Arizona trail in memory of her mother, calamity cactus. Quad is sustaining.
5/14 Sa D16 M42.8 AZT714.1
Quad feels somewhat normal this morning. Right shin/foot extensors feels inflamed. Delicious resupply at GC General Store. Rim to rim!!! Saw Bronco Billy running R2R2R. Magical (and very long) ascent up N. Kaibab and N Rim with the Full Moon. I didn't event need to turn my headlamp till an hour after sunset. God, I love the Grand Canyon.
5/15 Su D17 M54.6 AZT763.8 + 4.9 magnum fire detour
I met Mongoose and Pinch. I’ve been seeing their names for a while in the log books. Beautiful day. Last full day hiking. Weird to see so much standing water. Almost every stock tank I passed had water in it. I ran into She-ra again in her RV with her husband Sky. It was a pleasant surprise! They gave me seltzer water and an orange. I also met One-step. Lunar eclipse and blood moon made the night different--I hiked in the dark for the first time since the beginning of my hike. The moon has been waxing and my body is so accustomed to the company of the moon as I hike into the night that not having it for the first couple of hours was strange. I hiked till about 12a, so the eclipse ended and the moon's light returned by the time I pulled off the Magnum Fire detour to sleep for a couple of hours.
5/16 Mo D18 M19.8 AZT671.7 to 787.9 +3.6 magnum fire detour
Woke early and walking by 0330. Adrenaline pumped me to the Northern Terminus. Met David <3, Brian C. Chelsea W, and Kristyan W. Finish: 9:36:54 Final time: 17d19h52m.
Final impressions:
This was a wild test of confidence. Everyday I questioned myself and my ability to complete this trail. And everyday I found reasons to keep moving. Everyday I remembered the reasons why I wanted to test myself. Even though my brain forgot, I knew I could do this all along. And then I did. :)
I will email additional photos, as the uploader, is having errors uploading photos.