Miles Hiked 12.7
Elevation 6,257 feet
Miles Hiked Today 12.7
I arrived in Tucson late evening on March 23. The plan was to mail my travel clothes ahead on the trail the next day and to begin hiking on March 25th. I was joining Carolen Merkley and her friends, Ingrid Wurth and Ina Wurth for a day. Carolen’s husband, Don, was driving us to Montezuma Pass where we would begin. However, the night before we were to leave, Carolen called to tell me their plans were changing. Winds on the mountain where we were to start were projected to approach 45 mph. The temperature during the day was forecasted to be no more than 30 degrees with a wind chill of 19 degrees. There is also snow on the mountain. Consequently, they were going to start further up the trail but would still drop me at Montezuma Pass if I wanted to start there. I gave it some thought and decided I really wanted to start at the beginning, so Don agreed to drop me at the pass.
I was up at 4:00 AM for the ride pickup. Don and the ladies picked me up at 5:00 AM. After a long drive to the trailhead at Montezuma Pass, I was ready to hike at 6:55 AM. The trail actually begins 1.9 miles further to the south at the US/Mexican border. Unfortunately, that part of the trail is closed due to the border wall construction. That is why I’m starting at Montezuma Pass. One of the ladies shot some pictures of me at the trailhead sign and then I was off.
My pack was full with four days of food. It also had four liters of water. One thing that the Facebook groups repeated over and over was the necessity to carry a lot of water due to it being scarce on the trail. Four liters of water added just short of an additional nine pounds of weight to my backpack. The pack was probably heavier than it had ever been on any previous hike. I estimate my backpack was at least 35 pounds and possibly more.
The temperature was cold and the 30 degree forecast was probably accurate. However, winds were very light or non-existent. I had obsessed about whether I had adequate warm clothes for this part of the hike, but my wool shirt, kaki shirt and down puffy jacket along with fleece gloves and stocking cap made me quite comfortable.
Going up to Miller’s Peak was a tough climb. I hit snow at 7,800 on the ascent, but the snow wasn’t deep, There was one other track in the snow, which I was able to follow. The summit was reached in 4 1/2 hours. That’s a lousy pace, but considering the pack weight, snow and the fact that this was my first day hiking in eight months, I was not unhappy with it.
My feet were wet from the snow, but the excellent wool socks I was wearing kept them warm. While I could hear the wind howling, it wasn’t too bad at the summit because of trees and a ridge that mostly blocked the wind. I didn’t hang around to enjoy the cold, snow and wind. I started down the mountain.
The descent was steep like the ascent with plenty of switchbacks, and it was snow bound. I never thought about the problem with the snow on the descent, but it became obvious very fast. My steps were sliding in the snow. When the switchbacks turned, they tended to be very steep the first few feet and that was the worst. I fell numerous times. Once I almost went over the side. If that happened and I survived, there was no way I could climb back up. Very scary. The lower the elevation and where the trail was exposed to the sun, the snow was somewhat slushy. That provided “enhanced” opportunities for slipping, sliding and falling.
As I continued down the mountain, it became obvious that both my knees were taking a big hit. I haven’t had a knee problem since 2016 when I was doing the first several hundred miles of the Appalachian Trail. Back then, it was just one knee and not all that bad. This time, though, both knees were hurting due to the strain of the descent, snow and heavy backpack. Additionally, I twisted my back on one of the falls and that didn’t feel too good.
By the time I reached to bottom, I realized I had blown out both knees. If I was going up or on flat ground, I was marginally okay, but a further descent was not “pleasant.” The trail snow stopped at Sunnyside Canyon. I went a little past it to find a campsite. My new tent went up for the first time at a little after 6:00 PM. I was too tired to heat up water for a freeze-dried meal, so a Spam sandwich was my dinner for the night. I slipped into my sleeping bag just before 8:00 PM and went right to sleep. It was a cold night.
