Arizona Trail Hike: Mile 161 - 262
Arizona Trail Hike: Mile 161 - 262
Hello from my longest stretch of trail! This was a tough section, if only because of unseasonable heat in the region for the end of February/beginning of March. This impacted how much water I needed to carry as well as livening up my nemeses - rattlesnakes.
I’m forever thankful to trail angels as they began and ended this section. They are a true joy!
Arizona Trail Hike Summary
Statistics:
Days: 5
Full hiking days: 5
Zeroes: 0
Neros: 0
Total Trail Miles Covered: 100.9
Bonus Miles: 0.3
Total Elevation Gain: 16,242 ft
Total Elevation Loss: 17,917 ft
Highlights:
Trail Angels make a world of difference!
My feet slowly becoming less of a problem… still a problem but not as bad.
The flora continues to amaze.
Lowlights:
The snakes. Send help.
The steepness of climbs and descents gave AT whiplash.
Unseasonable heat at the beginning of March.
Arizona Trail Hike: Detailed Version
Day 11: Mile 161.6 - 179.2
Trail Daily Miles: 17.6
Total Miles: 18.1
Elevation Gain: 5487 ft
Elevation Loss: 2740 ft
Weather: Hot, Sun
Overall Day Sentiment: AT steepness? No!
I begrudgingly left the comfort of Soft Serve’s house with her early morning because it was slated to be another hot day. She was doing her long run training for her upcoming ultramarathon, so it worked out perfectly!
Arriving at Molino trailhead was a bit strange as the few nights prior when I was there, I was so tired/disoriented that this now felt like the first time I was there. The trail winds through the campground for awhile before getting to a proper hiking trail. Once at the actual trail, I was greeted by a tarantula. I know that tarantulas are in a desert, and I expect to see them in New Mexico, but this one caught me off guard. I actually ended up spending some time with it as they are mostly harmless to humans and it was actually very fun.
I started hiking on the section on a Saturday so it was quite busy for several miles. It was great to see families out and about on a weekend and to see such young kids with tiny backpacks on. It was a slow grade to near Hutch‘s pools, which is a popular swimming and camping area for both thru-hikers and locals.
From there, it started to get a bit steeper and by that time in the day a lot hotter. Luckily, there were some natural water sources that I was able to use and not carry too much water. As the steepness increased along with the temperature, my pace - just as sincerely decreases. During this time I did run into Soft Serve again on her training trail run. It is amazing the difference that a 25 pound backpack makes with speed because my girl was flying.
I could bore you all with more details of how steep and hot it was, but just know that it was in fact… steep and hot. Once I arrived at Romero Pass, the last real incline before the top of Mount Lemmon, Wyatt showed up. As mentioned in the previous post, we had made an obscene amount of guacamole the night before and so Wyatt had at least 2 pounds of guacamole in a Ziploc bag that he was trying to get anyone and everyone to eat. We sat down and have some snacks for a while and afterwards he zoomed up the steep pass. Meanwhile, it took me 45 minutes at least to do under a mile. People commented on my mapping application had said that this section reminded them of New Hampshire on the Appalachian Trail and unfortunately, I can confirm that that was correct.
I was behind schedule for the day and I was not gonna get to Summerhaven at the top of Mount Lemmon so I called it around sunset near a beautiful creek and had a peaceful night.
Day 12: Mile 179.2 - 199
Trail Daily Miles: 19.8
Total Miles: 18.2
Elevation Gain: 3058 ft
Elevation Loss: 4954 ft
Weather: Hot, Sun
Overall Day Sentiment: Whattt is this descent.
It was an early morning and a relatively quick hike into Summerhaven at the top of Mount Lemmon. I was motivated by breakfast, which surprises no one. Originally I had intended to get to this point the night prior, but there was much elevation gain so I can admit that I was not capable the previous day.
Once in Summerhaven, I had two breakfasts which fueled the remainder of my day. I was able to charge devices while eating - every little bit helps! It was a weekend morning so the small mountain town was busy and I got stopped by many visitors asking, “what are you doing?”. Several had never heard of the Arizona Trail, so it was a great teaching moment.
After leaving Summerhaven, I ended up taking a small alternate to the trail. I took the Oracle Ridge Trail, which shaved off about 2 miles which is why there’s discrepancy in trail miles versus my actual miles for the day. The AZT reroutes toward a water source, but because I had just filled up in Summerhaven, I was all set.
The descent down from the waypoint “Dan’s Saddle” was somewhat wild. It was a gravel road that a lot of side-by-side or off-road vehicles go up but it was a steep incline laden in with rocks. I can’t tell you how many times I downhill skied on these rocks and caused small rock avalanches on the road while hitting my butt. My arches of my feet were exhausted by the time I got to the bottom from pointing so aggressively downward.
I ended the day at High Jinx Ranch, which was formally a ranch that charged hikers, but under new ownership they just allow hikers to camp need a lower part of their property and there’s a water source. This is quite a dry section so getting to a water source and camping was a gift.
Day 13: Mile 199 - 221.4
Trail Daily Miles: 21.8
Total Miles: 22.6
Elevation Gain: 2398 ft
Elevation Loss: 3625 ft
Weather: Hot
Overall Day Sentiment: I hate snakes
I left High Jinx Ranch quite early in the morning because I could already feel it was going to be a sweltering day. This week was at the beginning of March and it was unseasonably warm for the timeframe. The Ranch also sits at the 200 mile mark so that was an accomplishment!
The first several miles that day were rolling, gradual ups and downs through beautiful desert landscape. I once again used my sun umbrella, even by 9:00am.. it was getting to be unbearably warm. Luckily there were some water caches from generous Trail Angel’s that allowed for shorter water carries through this hot, dry section.
At one point, the trail goes underneath a highway through a tunnel underpass. There was a water cache there so I sat myself down underneath the underpass and attempted to drink a liter of water while I was there. While I’m peacefully sitting in the shade chugging water I hear some thumping that doesn’t sound like the cars passing on top of me. I look to my right, which is the forward trajectory for the trail, and I see two rattlesnakes mating. Snakes mating means that they are wrapping amongst themselves and slamming themselves all over the place. These happen to be the largest rattlesnakes I’ve ever seen. And at least 6 feet long they are standing halfway up, wrapping themselves with each other.
If you know anything about me, I have a sincere snake phobia so this was a thing of nightmares. I refilled up my water up, prepared to make a move. They were on one side of the very wide tunnel, so I attempted to scoot around them on the other side. But because the day was so hot, they were moving quickly. Anytime I got within 10 feet of them they started rattling. So I was stuck on one side of the highway underpass unable to pass them for about an hour. Some terrible troll under the bridge dystopia. I watched their mating ritual for sometime and one of my only thoughts was that this is horrible because this is gonna make more baby rattlesnakes.
Eventually, they finished and one slithered away and one curled up into a ball and slept it off in the sun. During this time I had called a friend to talk me down because I had been crying for approximately 45 minutes. Snakes scare me so badly that I didn’t know what to do except cry. Though some folks think I’m brave for being out here, I cry a lot. With them now occupied or away, I snuck around the balled up rattlesnake and got to the road.
This next section was on a gravel road for a bit for which I was thankful because it was a nice wide area that I could definitely see rattlesnakes coming. I walked in the middle of the road and was able to see any potential danger noodles. I also ran into Will again who was helping Wyatt, which was very nice to see a friendly face!
There was a similar mileage alternate that stayed on gravel roads rather than getting back on trail so I took that. Again, I was so, forgive the pun, rattled by my rattlesnake incident that I needed another 6 miles or a few hours on gravel roads to properly come down. This did not add any mileage for the day so it seemed like a no-brainer. Luckily, once I joined back up with the trail, the trail was nice and wide.
This was a dry section so I ended my day at a giant water tank. This water tank was unique because I needed to climb a ladder to access the water and use a jug that was tied to a string (like a well bucket) to pull water up for myself. The water quality was fine - it was just a unique way to get it. I set up camp right near the water source because the sun was setting. This site had great open views and definitely offered some good stargazing. The coyotes also must’ve liked the water tank/water trough nearby because they were the loudest I had ever heard them yet. I could not hear them walking around, but they kept getting closer every time their howling began. I’m thankful for my desensitization around these nighttime sounds because I slept surprisingly great.
Day 14: Mile 221.4 - 245.3
Trail Daily Miles: 23.9
Total Miles: 24.5
Elevation Gain: 3235 ft
Elevation Loss: 3094 ft
Weather: Hot, Sun
Overall Day Sentiment: Speedy miles!
The water tank I had camped at had been a bit off trail so I walked to the quarter mile back to the trail. This day consisted of a decent amount of gravel road walking. This was great for me because again I love a wide gravel path when it starts to get really hot in regards to rattlesnakes.
An interesting water source of the day was another stock tank except this one was named BeeHive well. And this was appropriately named because the thousands of bees that were swarming on top of the water. Luckily they were very chill bees, if there are such a thing. I was near them and moved around them and never had a problem.
From here there were some climbs that they were all pretty moderate and well graded so they came and went quickly. There are a few water sources that are giant rainwater collector tanks that the AZTA provides and this is where I took a late lunch in the afternoon. There was an older couple there, she was hiking the trail while he was helping Trail Angel her with their dog in an RV. I chatted with them for a while and then a bikepacker who is doing a small section of the Arizona Trail also came through. As I had not talked to humans in a few days this was a treat. The Trail Angel husband, then gave myself and the bikepacker a Coke, which was a great caffeine boost as I had some miles left for the day.
The last several miles of the day ended up going by very quickly because the trail was easy and well graded. I ended the day in a big beautiful campsite that had a magnificent sunset and I giggled as I fell asleep because of how great the day wrapped up to be.
Day 15: Mile 245.3 - 262.9
Trail Daily Miles: 17.8
Total Miles: 17.8
Elevation Gain: 2064 ft
Elevation Loss: 3504 ft
Weather: Sun, Hot
Overall Day Sentiment: Thankful for Trail Angels!
I had done the extra miles the night before so that I could have a shorter day into the town of Kearney. Along the way though there was limited water sources but there were several bouts of flower blooms. Pros and Cons to the desert. The first part of this day went by in a flash, and even the climb up Tortilla mountain, which could be steep in sections, went by all right.
At the top of Tortilla mountain, I got cell phone service and I called a Trail Angel who shuttles hikers from the trail into the town of Kearny, James. I had given James an estimated time to grab me which meant my last 5.5 miles had to be quick. I was able to do those miles at a quick pace based on pure determination to get into town alone.
James was there waiting for me, with a heavenly Gatorade, and we went into town. He gave me a quick tour, showed me all the stops and then dropped me off at my Trail Angel‘s house where I was staying for the night. Jeff and Que, trail angels in Kearny, open their home to hikers and I could not be more grateful. It’s amazing what a shower and laundry can do for your mood after being out for five days.
I went to the store and grabbed whatever small resupply I needed for the next section which was short and came back to the house and spent the evening with Jeff and Que. Not to forget their dog Whiskey, who was obsessed with the ball that I continued to throw for him. Anytime there is a dog on trail, I am more than happy to spend lots of time as I miss my sweet pup Roo. Hearing Trail Angel talk about the different notable hikers that they have served and the origin behind wanting to serve the hiker community was refreshing.
I’m thankful that people are so kind that they open their homes to complete strangers and provide shelter and basic amenities that really go a long way to the success of a thru-hike. I slept the best I had slept this far on trail!
