Miles Hiked 169.9
Elevation 6,913
Miles Hiked Today 19.2
It rained last night. For a state that is supposed to be water starved, Arizona seems to get a lot of rain. And to top it off, not only did I have frost on my tent, but the rain froze. That left ice “drops” all over the tent. The sun was coming up, so I delayed taking down the tent to see if the ice would melt. It didn’t do any good, so I packed away an ice and water laden tent, again. Consequently, I got off late – 7:30 AM.
The day was clear and sunny. The trail was across an open plane, so today I would be hiking in the flats of Arizona. About an hour into the hike, I met a section hiker who was doing a ten mile section. We talked a bit, but he was slower than me, so I took off.
A couple of hours later, a nice couple in a car pulled up and asked if I needed anything. I was okay on water, but they did offer to take my garbage.
This section of the trail was a long road walk. Kind of monotonous but good for making miles.
Later in the afternoon, I was stopped by a native American. We talked for a bit. He owns a spread with sheep, cattle and horses. He asked if he could snap a picture of me and get my name. I thought that was odd, but I agreed.
I was able to get some trail angel water at the next trailhead. That will last me tonight and part of tomorrow.
Around 4:30 PM I started looking for a campsite. I found an excellent site and setup camp. Just as I was about to eat dinner, Scott, the hiker who cached water for me across the state, stopped at my camp. It was a welcome surprise to see and meet him. After talking for a few minutes, he continued hiking and I finished dinner.
Please! No rain tonight.
