An Evening with Gary and Janet Bohn

Azt Map Miles 251.3
Miles Hiked 241.5
Elevation 7,175
Miles Hiked Today 14.7

It was cold as expected in the morning.  I was so cold that I stayed in my sleeping bag until the sun came up.  Once packed up, I was on my way by 7:30 AM.  Within 10 minutes I passed two women eating breakfast by a fireside.  We had a short exchange and then I moved on.

The trail made ascents and descents of less than 600 feet.  That’s a good thing because my backpack is still heavy with provisions picked up in Flagstaff.

As I was walking past the Pine Grove Campground, I met another southbound hiker.  We talked a moment and he told me he broke his phone.  The AZT is so poorly signed that a navigation app like Guthook is essential.  I encouraged him to get the phone fixed. He agreed and headed for the highway to hitch hike to Flagstaff.

The rest of the day was just the usual hiking along.  I was planning to camp at Double Spring Campground.  A couple of miles before the campground, I stopped to talk with a day hiker and trail angel by the name of Gary.  He gave me some info on the campgrounds and then continued his hike.

A little after our first encounter, Gary, caught up with me and asked if we would like to spend the night at his cabin.  The other person in the “we” was Dawn.  We had first met at Mather Campground on the south rim of the Grand Canyon.  She walked up on Gary and me when the offer was made. Dawn and I took Gary up on his generous offer.  A warm cabin is certainly better than a below freezing tent.

At the cabin, we met Gary’s wife, Janet.  The cabin was an old building on Forest Service land.  Gary and Janet had completely refurbished it, and it was beautiful with a center piece fireplace that was just finished that day.

We all sat down and had a nice discussion about hiking.  Gary was planning a hike of the Tahoe Rim Trail and there was a lot to talk about hiking the AZT.

• 

• 

• 

The Bohn’s, Gary and Janet, invited Dawn and me to go out to dinner with them.  We declined.  Neither of us felt presentable and besides.  We both had a lot of provisions to work down.

While the Bohn’s were gone, Dawn and I straightened out our gear and had dinner.  When Gary and Janet returned, we continued our discussions until bedtime.  Dawn and I setup our sleeping gear on the floor while Gary and Janet setup their convertible couch.  Lights out and we were asleep in a warm cabin rather than a cold tent.  Wonderful!