Today's hike quickly re-entered the high desert. The ponderosa pines gave way to piñon and juniper. After descending a ravine to a long open area, sagebrush appeared in large quantities. That part of the hike seemed to take a long time, but at least I split the walk in two with a nice comfortable break under a shady juniper. I'm always amazed by how comfortable it can be in the shade.

Speaking of tempuratures, last night it was below freezing. It was cold enough to make my water slushy. And since I wasn't expecting it, again I left my filter out. I hope it's okay because I'm going to have to pump water one last time tomorrow. I'll be down to about a liter for the hike out.

Oh I met another hiker out for the day. He's 71 and thruhiked the Colorado Trail in '95 with the name Quirk. We spoke at length about the AZT. I half expect to see him at the trailhead tomorrow waiting to give me a ride out. Real nice guy. He mentioned a female backpacker just a little ahead of me going north. Thruhiker? Section hiker? I never crossed paths with her. Maybe tomorrow. Quirk says the two of us, 15 minutes apart, are the only 2 people he has seen on this section of trail in all his years of hiking here (15?). And he is the first person that I've seen since leaving the North Rim.