Follow Strider's Rambles

Day 33

I had just packed up everything except my ground cloth when I heard footsteps and saw a headlamp. It was a NoBo thru-hiker named Retune. He was going fast, it was only his sixth day on trail! I was the first thru-hiker he’d seen; we chatted briefly.

One mile later, I stopped at High Jinks Ranch, which used to be a dude ranch though now it’s for sale. In the meantime, there was an outdoor faucet with a bit of hose attached. I got buzzed by a hummingbird while I filtered water. Then I went another 1.7 miles and reached the 600 mile point! (In my picture, it’s a bit upside down so that my shadow won’t fall across it.)

Most of the day, I ascended towards Mt. Lemmon, part of the Santa Catalina Range. I was glad for my new shoes as the ATV road segments tended to go straight up, forgoing switchbacks. Luckily, more of the climb was on trail that wrapped around hillsides and offered fantastic views.

Near the top of Mt. Lemmon, the trail passed through the tiny town of Summerhaven. I stopped at the lodge and charged my phone, to save my battery pack. Then I went across the street to the Mt. Lemmon General Store and bought a couple snacks. The employees gave me a free hot cocoa and piece of pumpkin fudge. So kind and hiker friendly!

Due to a strong breeze, I layered up. When I regained the trail, I was surrounded by pine trees. A lovely pine needle covered spot, slightly below Marshall Saddle, became my tent site. I was nearly at 8,000 ft. after being at the trail’s low point six days ago.

Day 34

It was really windy all night so I didn’t sleep the best. However, I was happy that my tent remained firmly in place. When it’s breezy, the sides bow in more than my old tent due to the material, but it’s easier to set up since the first step is staking it out at the four corners.

The morning was all downhill, gnarly steep with rocks of varying sizes and brush, not graded for equestrians. Though there were lots of great views. After Romero Pass, the grade got better, yet remained brushy and rocky. Once again, I was thankful for my new shoes. In the afternoon, I made better time, it was nice to do some ascending. The weather was favorable: breezy – had to hold my hat on my head at times – and overcast.

Over the day, I encountered one AZT section hiker, eight backpackers, and five mountain bikers. My busiest day since the Grand Canyon. Perhaps because it was a Friday, there were a lot of other trails, and Tucson was nearby. I also saw a lot of white-tailed deer. Oh, and I was glad I made it over Mt. Lemmon yesterday. The sky was very dark that way and I only got a few scattered rain drops.

I stopped at Molino Basin Campground and Wally, the uber friendly camp host, directed me to the AZT sites. There was another thru-hiker! It was Charlie, the guy I met briefly in Pine. I thought I was ahead of him… and really I was because he hitched from Summerhaven to the campground (20 miles). Still, it was fun to chat and compare experiences, he’d been following my FarOut comments.

Day 35

It was a cold night, though I stayed borderline warm wearing my fleece top & leggings plus beanie and cinching my quilt tight. I was packing up when Charlie told me that Wally was making us coffee. I’d had cold coffee, but a hot drink sounded heavenly. We spent the next two hours chatting with Wally in his RV. This is his sixth year being a campground host at Molino and he loves helping out AZT hikers.

Charlie and I hiked all day together. We both enjoyed having company after being solo for so long. Charlie lives in Flagstaff, but after the trail he’s moving to Chicago to spend time with his family. He has an outdoor education degree and has guided hikes for Outward Bound.

We spent most of the day ascending, slowly climbing towards Mica Mountain, an 8,666 ft. peak. We encountered many mountain bikers, doing either a 300 or 800 mile race along the AZT. The coolest ones were at the very back, a father and his 13 year old son who’d come from Ireland for the full length race. Charlie and I also met a guy named Mike and his six year old son who are slowly section hiking the AZT. Mike told us we’ve been hiking through record setting (for October) heat. Personally, I want it to return as I don’t like this cold front.

Slightly shy of the Saguaro National Park border, we set up camp on a rocky overlook, the lights of Tucson in the distance. I pitched my tent; Charlie cowboy camped. While I finished camp chores, he strummed on his guitar. I asked if he’d seen the comet and he had, but didn’t know it was a comet. Then I looked up the name and more details. It’s fun to have a new friend.

Day 36

Once we reached Saguaro National Park, the grade became less steep. Charlie introduced me to manzanita berries and we picked handfuls to munch on since they are mostly seed. I didn’t feel like we were in a saguaro park, we climbed through pine trees. Then, after all our work, the trail veered to the left of the actual peak so we took the 0.1 side trail to the top of Mica Mountain. There was no view, only a slightly noticeable higher point amidst the trees. The forest was beautiful.

A couple miles later, we reached Manning Camp, one of two designated campsites within the park. There was an informative & friendly ranger. She showed me where to find the creek water pool and we geeked out over our mutual admiration of rattlesnakes. I asked her about sky islands, a term Mike mentioned yesterday. These are high elevation pine-oak woodlands, like on Mica Mountain, each with a unique ecosystem of critters unwilling to travel across the arid desserts in between.

At Grass Shack Campground, we found a trail work crew composed of an ATA (Arizona Trail Association) rep and several veterans. One gal led us to the water source, a large pool of water with minimal algae and happy water bugs. I released the water bug I accidentally captured at the prior pool. After we gathered water, Charlie & I returned to campsite 2 and the trail grew shared snacks with us. It was around noon and we had 15 miles to go.

After the 2nd campsite, we entered saguaro forests, yay! It was a lot of downhill, 6,000 ft. in total from the peak. The saguaros continued to the boundary, then became only occasional as the trail flattened and criss-crossed roads. It was a long day, 24 miles total, and dark before we reached La Selvilla Picnic Area. We ate dinner at an actual table. Once again, I set up my tent while Charlie cowboy camped. I was so tired.