Big Gee in Action
Below are my journal entries from my Arizona Trail backpacking trip February - May of 2013. I chose to start in late February and I should finish in early May. I'm very curious to see what the early season experience will be.
| Date | Day | Starting Location | Destination | Miles | Cumulative Miles | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Mar 2013 | 0 | Aurora, CO | Sierra Vista, AZ | 0 | 0 | Here I am staged at the closest town. The adventure begins tomorrow. |
| 15 Mar 2013 | 1 | Visitor Center | Campsite at Wilderness Boundary | 7.2 | 3.9 | Lot's of miles but most of it up and down. |
| 16 Mar 2013 | 2 | Campsite at Wilderness Boundary | Sunnyside Canyon | 12 | 15.9 | Hiked through snow, conquered a mountain and smashed my toenails. |
| 17 Mar 2013 | 3 | Sunnyside Canyon | Canelo Hills | 11.3 | 27.2 | Unexplained missing time due to an alien abduction? You be the judge! |
| 18 Mar 2013 | 4 | Canelo Hills | Near Cott Tank | 14.3 | 41.5 | Ups and downs. Need some sunscreen. |
| 19 Mar 2013 | 5 | Near Cott Tank | Patagonia | 11.3 | 52.8 | Dreadful hiking. Made it to Patagonia. |
| 20 Mar 2013 | 6 | Patagonia | Temporal Gulch | 7.3 | 60.1 | Road hiking. Found a rock to sit on. Cool pictures of the moon. |
| 21 Mar 2013 | 7 | Temporal Gulch | Gardnar Canyon | 12.4 | 72.5 | Met some fellow thruhikers. Good views and plenty of water. |
| 22 Mar 2013 | 8 | Gardnar Canyon | Enzenberg Canyon | 12 | 84.5 | Finished historic mining section of trail. A bevy of thruhikers. |
| 23 Mar 2013 | 9 | Enzenberg Canyon | Twin Tanks | 17.7 | 102.1 | Up early. Met two Kiwi thruhikers. |
| 24 Mar 2013 | 10 | Twin Tanks | Gabe Zimmerman Trailhead | 12.8 | 114.9 | Resting comfortably with my friends Mike and Judy. |
| 25 Mar 2013 | 11 | Gabe Zimmerman Trailhead | Ranch Road | 12 | 126.9 | Slackpacking! | 26 Mar 2013 | 12 | Ranch Road | Grass Shack Campgound | 11.1 | 138 | Almost ran out water. Hardcore vs. pack animals. |
| 27 Mar 2013 | 13 | Grass Shack Campgound | Rincon Mtn Wilderness | 9 | 147 | Best campground ever! Pesky gnats. |
| 28 Mar 2013 | 14 | Rincon Mtn Wilderness | Above Agua Caliente Drainage | 13.4 | 160.4 | HOT! |
| 29 Mar 2013 | 15 | Above Agua Caliente Drainage | Sabino Canyone | 12.7 | 173.1 | Losing elevation. Dumped my garbage. |
| 30 Mar 2013 | 16 | Sabino Canyone | Wilderness of Rock Trail | 7.4 | 180.5 | Tarantula! Jumped into freezing water. Longest transcription since the AT. |
| 31 Mar 2013 | 17 | Wilderness of Rock Trail | Oracle Ridge | 11.2 | 191.7 | Early start. Spent time in Summerhaven. Met Jennifer and Lori. |
| 1 April 2013 | 18 | Oracle Ridge | Kannally Wash Windmill | 13.5 | 205.2 | Hot dogs and beer. Met Dan and Laurel. |
| 02 April 2013 | 19 | Kannally Wash Windmill | AZ 77 | 2.1 | 207.3 | At Post Office in Oracle. Met up with La Zorra. |
| 03 April 2013 | 20 | Oracle | Oracle | 0 | 207.3 | Rest day at the Chalet. |
| 04 April 2013 | 21 | AZ 77 | mile 8.4, passage 14 | 10.2 | 217.5 | Back on the trail. Enjoyable and easy walking today. |
| 05 April 2013 | 22 | mile 8.4 14 | Beehive Tank | 12.1 | 228.6 | Dead fauna in water tank. |
| 06 April 2013 | 23 | Beehive Tank | Mile 6.5, Passage 15 | 14.5 | 243.1 | Dead owl water is good water. |
| 07 April 2013 | 24 | Mile 6.5, Passage 15 | below "The Hill" | 13.2 | 256.3 | Missed a turn. More nasty water. Really dirty. |
| 08 April 2013 | 25 | below "The Hill" | Gale River Canyon | 13.2 | 269.5 | Convoluted trail. Spider, bugs, and rain at night. |
| 09 April 2013 | 26 | Gale River Canyon | White Canyon Wilderness | 8.9 | 278.4 | Following the original AZT. Foot issues. |
| 10 April 2013 | 27 | White Canyon Wilderness | US 60 | 14.2 | 292.6 | Excellent hiking. No cell reception, had to hitchhike. |
| 11 April 2013 | 28 | Superior | Superior | 0 | 292.6 | Resting |
| 12 April 2013 | 29 | Superior | Superior | 0 | 292.6 | Still resting the ankle. Can't find any HEET for camp stove. |
| 13 April 2013 | 30 | Superior | Superior | 0 | 292.6 | Another day in Superior. Found fuel for the camp stove. Should be ready to start again tomorrow. |
| 14 April 2013 | 31 | US 60 | Reavis Trail Canyon | 8.7 | 301.3 | Back on the trail, but taking it easy. |
| 15 April 2013 | 32 | Reavis Trail Canyon | Reavis Pass | 11 | 312.3 | More good hiking. Ankle seems okay. |
| 16 April 2013 | 33 | Reavis Pass | Canyon below Two Bar Ridge | 9.1 | 321.4 | Still taking it easy. Planning next mail pick-up. |
| 17 April 2013 | 34 | Canyon | Cottonwood Creek | 12.1 | 333.5 | Met Dirtmonger and talked hiking. Hard work going down "trail" 120. |
| 18 April 2013 | 35 | Lower Cottonwood Creek | FR 336 | 8.4 | 340.9 | Roosevelt Cemetery. New boots at maildrop. A bit low on food. |
| 19 April 2013 | 36 | FR 336 | Four Peaks Trail | 7.5 | 348.4 | Bad day |
| 20 April 2013 | 37 | Four Peaks Trail | Pigeon Spring | 7.8 | 356.2 | Able to recover some water storage. Slow going. |
| 21 April 2013 | 38 | Pigeon Spring | Boulder Creek | 13.0 | 369.2 | Free beer! |
| 22 April 2013 | 39 | Boulder Creek | FR 393 | 11.6 | 380.8 | Good hiking day. |
| 23 April 2013 | 40 | FR 393 | Cornucopia Trail Junction | 10.5 | 391.3 | Craptastic camp site. |
| 24 April 2013 | 41 | Cornucopia Trail Junction | Y Bar Trail Junction | 11.8 | 403.1 | Bear! |
| 25 April 2013 | 42 | Y Bar Trail Junction | The Park | 11.4 | 414.5 | Good hiking. Almost done with the Mazatzal Wilderness. |
| 26 April 2013 | 43 | The Park | LF Ranch Road | 13.9 | 429.1 | Spending the night at the LF Ranch. Eggs and potatoes for breakfast tomorrow. |
| 27 April 2013 | 44 | LF Ranch Road | Saddle Ridge | 8.2 | 437.3 | So hot walking had to take a 3 hour break. |
| 28 April 2013 | 45 | Saddle Ridge | Oak Spring | 11.6 | 448.9 | Last day before Pine. Sleeping on gravel. |
| 29 April 2013 | 46 | Oak Spring | Pine TH | 4.4 | 451.6 | Made it into Pine. Staying at "That Brewery and Pub". |
| 30 April 2013 | 47 | Pine | Pine | 0 | 451.6 | Laundry |
| 01 May 2013 | 48 | FR 300 | Pine TH | 18.7 | 470.3 | 13 hour slackpack. |
| 02 May 2013 | 49 | Pine | Pine | 0 | 470.3 | Rest day. Met Krista. |
| 03 May 2013 | 50 | FR300 | Blue Ridge | 10.5 | 480.8 | Back on the trail. North of the Rim. Less than 300 miles left. |
| 04 May 2013 | 51 | Blue Ridge | FR 93H | 15.4 | 496.2 | Walking on pine needles. Saw some Elk. |
| 05 May 2013 | 52 | FR 93H | FR 135C | 18.3 | 514.8 | Water filter clogged. Listening to coyotes. |
| 06 May 2013 | 53 | FR 135C | Double Springs Campground | 14.5 | 529.3 | Spotty rain and a bit cool. Great campsite. |
| 07 May 2013 | 54 | Double Springs Campground | Lake Mary Overlook | 19.6 | 548.9 | Hiked with Vocal. Using whiskey to sanitize water reservoir. |
| 08 May 2013 | 55 | Lake Mary Overlook | Switzer Canyon Road | 12.9 | 561.8 | Grauple on my tent. Saw Lowell Observatory. |
| 09 May 2013 | 56 | Schultz Pass | Switzer Canyon Road | 10.1 | 571.9 | Saw Vocal again. Spent night in Flagstaff again. |
| 10 May 2013 | 57 | Schultz Pass | Alfa Fia Tank | 12.2 | 584.1 | Starting the final push. |
| 11 May 2013 | 58 | Alfa Fia Tank | Somewhere out there | 16.1 | 600.2 | Big storm at night. Should have a new trail name now. |
| 12 May 2013 | 59 | Somehwere out there | North of Chapel Mtn | 15.6 | 615.8 | Met some new 6-legged friends. |
| 13 May 2013 | 60 | North of Chapel Mtn. | FR 301 | 15.9 | 631.7 | Passed by two coyotes. Water is getting low again. |
| 14 May 2013 | 61 | FR 301 | Coconino Rim | 14.8 | 646.5 | Made it to Russell tank. Planning for the Grand Canyon. foot (again) and more wildlife. |
| 15 May 2013 | 62 | Coconino Rim | Coconino Wash, bike trail 3 | 16.8 | 662.3 | Saw the firetower that inspired the AZT trek. |
| 16 May 2013 | 63 | Wash, bike trail 3 | Tusayan | 2.6 | 664.6 | In Tusayan. Finalized plans to get across the Grand Canyon. |
| 17 May 2013 | 64 | Tusayan | Mather Campground | 5.3 | 669.9 | Grand Canyon resupply and picked up my backcountry permit. |
| 18 May 2013 | 65 | Mather Campground | Bright Angel Campground/Phantom Ranch | 10.3 | 680.2 | Spectacular trail to the bottom of the canyon. |
| 19 May 2013 | 66 | Bright Angel Campground/Phantom Ranch | Cottonwood Campground | 8.0 | 688.0 | Oh no my SD card is dead! |
| 20 May 2013 | 67 | Cottonwood Campground | North Rim Campground | 7.5 | 694.8 | Even better trail hiking out. Amazing! |
| 21 May 2013 | 68 | North Rim Campground | Sourdough Well | 15.8 | 709.7 | Back to std northern AZ hiking. |
| 22 May 2013 | 69 | Sourdough Well | hill north of Crane Lake | 16.8 | 726.5 | Water, water everywhere and mostly not a drop needed. |
| 23 May 2013 | 70 | hill north of Crane Lake | hill above Orderville TH | 19.2 | 745.7 | Camel up for the end of the trail. |
| 24 May 2013 | 71 | hill above Orderville TH | 4WD road | 20.1 | 765.8 | A dayhiker!?!?. |
| 25 May 2013 | 72 | 4WD road | State Line Campground | 8 | 773.8 | Utah! |