A Cowboy's Welcome

3/16/16

Pleasant morning at our Airbnb. Once packed we were given a ride into town and said farewell to our wonderful hosts. 

We zoomed around Patagonia once more, picking up last minute items. Had another great interaction with the staff at Red Mountain Grocery. This time, I met an Ohio native that shared my political views. We discussed yesterday's primary results and she gave me a few free candies as I left. :)

Walking around town with our packs on Karrie admitted that her knee was already hurting again. This made both of us nervous. We decided since the next section of the AZT is mostly road walking we could start hiking and if things got worse we could likely catch a hitch back to Patagonia.

We hit the trail/road around noon and set off at a mellow pace. It was actually really enjoyable! It felt like we were just out on a stroll. Sat in the shade of a juniper tree for about an hour during the high heat of the day.

Using my trekking poles Karrie was feeling good so we kept moving along. The afternoon was perfect. A nice breeze, excellent scenery, good conversation. 

We heard some yipping and hollering coming towards us at one point and soon realized that a pair of Cowboys were herding their cattle down the road. We stepped aside and watched them do their work.

"Camino! Camino! Vamanos! Andele! Let's go! Let's go!"

Once the cattle had passed us one of the Cowboys rode over to us and asked us about our hike.

"How far you heading?" he asked.

"Aiming for Utah!" Karrie replied

He smiled, "That's wonderful." 

"How about you guys?" I asked, "Driving this cattle down to Patagonia?"

"No, we just have a little further to go. Taking them down past the next cattle guard for summer grazing. They spend the winter grazing on that pass up there" he pointed to the shoulder of a huge mountain behind him.

It looked far off and steep, "Wow! How many days did it take you to drive them this far?"

"Oh, we started this morning." He stated.

Karrie and I were amazed.

"You're going to love this next section." He continued, "really beautiful mountains up there. Say, where are you two from?"

I said "Ohio and Pennsylvania" while Karrie said, "Pennsylvania and Ohio."

He smiled, "Well, come back again. You're welcome here anytime."

We thanked him and before he trotted off. I took a mental photograph of this rugged cowboy on his horse with the mountains and desert landscape as the backdrop. To me he was the epitome of the West.

The warmth and beauty of it all literally brought a tear to Karrie's eye.

Sky Island, a Retreat for the Knees

3/15/16

I struggled, I stumbled, I limped. I asked  Jake to slow and if I could use one of his trekking polls, (oddly, I've never used them before on a thru-hike). He gave me both. They helped alleviate some of the pain by taking some of the weight off my bad knee.  

I had never had knee problems before. "Not now," I thought.  But really, like anyone else with knee or back pain, what I really meant was, "not ever."  

But by the time we made it to the road which we took for the last few miles into town, my stride had improved. The flat, smooth road was a nice reprieve.

The town we were heading for was Patagonia, AZ.  We had heard poor reviews from hikers about the local inn. So yesterday we booked an Airbnb from the trail. Our host said she would meet us in town at noon and drive us to her place.  I was so glad not to have any extra miles. 

We made it to town by 9AM, and beelined it (albeit slow with an injury) toward a hot breakfast at Common Grounds. With the pack off briefly and fresh food in my tummy, the knee pain subsided, and became an after thought. 

After a quick resupply, we met our Airbnb host Ms. K. She sported a Prius, a little white American Eskimo pup, and a cheery disposition. It wasn't hard to feel unguarded in her presence.

Together, we drove out of Patagonia proper to her sky island, a strawbale house she designed herself. The inside was beautiful, with high ceilings, muralled walls, large copper wind chims and patio lights.  The other half of the house was outside, where a terraced garden overlooked a walking path. This area served as the home for a few cunning foxes, and hundreds of birds. There were probably over a dozen places to sit down with a good book.  Once Ms. K told me "there's coffee in the morning," I was sure that I had found a new home.

Our room and private bath were in the main house. We did laundry, doused our dusty selves in the shower, and enjoyed snacks from town. I rested my knee, and said a few prayers.

In the evening, we joined Ms. K and her husband Mr. N in the main house for dinner.  Ms. K made us each a salad, "there's no such things as too much feta, right?" 

Ms. K, Mr. N and I chatted away an hour of the night, and I felt like I've met these two before. Both are retired teachers with an unwavering a fascination for the natural world. This house is their dream home, and they have both spent their lives changing other people's lives.

The next day, they dropped us off in town and wished us luck. Within an hour my knee pain returned. Hopefully my luck didn't just drive away in a Prius.

 

Jake taught me how to walk with trekking poles like crutches, and we pushed on. The next two days we climbed, aiming for our own sky island, and I was hopeful I would find some more relief there too.

Easter Weekend in Oracle with Chosen and The Prophet

3/27/16

Today we are missing Easter weekend with our families to continue our 40+ days and 40+ nights through the (Arizona) desert. 

On Saturday, we continued shuffling our way down the Oracle Ridge Trail, which links up briefly with the AZT for some pretty amazing views. In several sections, the trail was steep and covered with loose rock, leaving Jake's knee sore and his pace at half speed.

We were aiming for the small town of Oracle, 13 miles ahead of our makeshift camp spot.   Research of Oracle fortold of abundant trail angels, good food, and comfortable lodging. 

We called ahead to the Chalet Village, the recommend hiker hub for the tiny town, and asked if there was room at the inn for our tired feet. The owner, Marni assured us there was plenty of room, and without prompting, she even offered to pick us up from the trailhead.

Jake's pace slowed to 1 mph after he tweaked his bad knee on a rolling rock. "At least we have this view." He said. "At least you're in good spirits." I thought. 

We pass the 200 mile mark, and at 4pm we finally made it to American Flag Trailhead, where Marni and her white truck sat waiting for us, our knight on her white horse. 

We climbed in, cracked open two ice cold water bottles she had brought for us, and sighed. 

Marni is originally from Medina, OH.  She is noticeably strong, cheerful, and smart. Her family came by the Chalet Village in the 90s and she has proudly raised her family here away from fast food, and fast roads.  She had a baseball cap, long braid down her back, a t-shirt, jeans, and she might as well have a halo. 

The Chalet Village is a collection of tiny one room (with a bathroom) A-frame houses.  AZT hikers receive a reduced rate.  There is free laundry and detergent onsite, town clothes, hiker boxes, wifi, and it's close to good food.  For what it's not so close to, Marni and her husband Jim offer free rides.  

The thru-hiker community that Jake and I have missed along he AZT seems centered here, in Oracle. 

Marni tells us we're the only AZT thru-hikers she has right now, but there is a hiker named "Chosen" who came in today, and tomorrow she has a reservation for "The Prophet." 

"On Easter?" I asked. 

"Yep, he's coming in on Easter. I didn't even notice that before now." She said, "Do you think it was a prank call?" 

We all looked at each other excitedly.  "I hope not. I'd like to meet him." I said.

On Easter morning we met Chosen. She is the first female quadruple crowner, which means she was the first lady to  thru-hike the AT, the PCT, the CDT and the NCT, that's over 10,000 trail miles alone.  She's done the AT twice and many many more "smaller" hikes.

Soon after,  The Prophet rolled into town. He hiked the PCT in 2013, and was named the Prophet after he rightly predicted he was due a rattlesnake encounter.  His other given name is Noah, and he lives in Vermont where he owns a carpentry business.

The Prophet was escorted by Ally, a section hiker on AZT, and prospective SOBO on the PCT this year, who works from the road creating artsy animal prints.

In the evening we grab dinner and gab.  Chosen, is a celebrity of the thru-hiking community, and she's packed with stories that had all of us nodding away, jaw dropping and giggling.  We all tell stories throughout the night, and I feel loved, being around folks who share the same passion, the same love of the long hike.

Tomorrow The Prophet will leave Oracle to continue on, and Chosen soon will be moving further up North to continue with her book.  

And me?  I'm feeling...blessed. 

Wake up! Time to hike.

3/12/16

It's your worst nightmare realized to oversleep your alarm on an important day, and today we started our hike.  

Luckily despite the later than expected start, we only arrived five minutes late to meet our ride to the border, Tamara. 

Tamara is a high mileage volunteer for the Arizona Trail Association (ATA). She's an avid outdoorswoman, smart with succulents, and moved to Tucson for the plentiful, happy desert sun.

On our way out, we stopped by the local hostel to pick up another hiker named Alex. 

Conversation flows easy. Together we wonder about common personality threads amongst thru-hikers, tricks of the desert, and whether or not the trail crosses highway 83.

We get to the border, and Tamara fills a bag with water, snacks and anything else we want (her) to carry, and she continues to escort us to the border by foot.  Out and back to the car it's 3.8 miles without a pack.

There's a monument behind a barbed wire fence, trimmed with an opening to crawl through. We pose and pose.  I'm reminded of when we set off from the Pacific Crest Trail.  We're clean, we're enthusiastic, we're at the beginning of some pretty amazing memories, still unpressed.

Jake and I leave our new friends in the parking lot, who are still discussing whether or not the trail crosses Highway 83, and hike up toward Miller Peak. I'm sad to hear Alex assure that he's "going slow, we won't be seeing him after today."

The views are jaw dropping, and in the mountains it's cold.  

Down the other side of the peak we find snow on northern slopes.  It's tough to navigate, but novel.  

Bath tub spring is our first water source past what we brought with us from Tuscon, and the water is delicious. 

We hike 11.7 miles total.  And in the evening, I'm tired. I lay back and let the world drift away. 

Tomorrow and from now on, my alarm will be the sun, and I look forward to rising and falling with it. 

Saguaro You Today?

3/11/16 

I saw a sign today in Tucson that read, "Saguaro you today?"  

Well, we're READY. 

Our backpacks are packed, everything is charged, we're clean, and about to head to bed.  We hit the trail tomorrow.

Over the past few days we've been bunking in Tucson.  Here we've enjoyed the mobility of our car/home, the luxury of a nice hotel, and the comfort of friendly faces.  

Our car has taken us up and down the state to various trail heads where we've cached both water, and fuel for our future selves.  We've also left gallons of public water in "hiker boxes," available for other thru-hikers who may find themselves short on "agua" while passing through. 

Our base for these excursions (including mailing all our mail drops, and some last minute gear grabs) has been, for the most part, a small hotel room where we've left no amenity untapped, as many a thru-hiker is known to do. 

Showers (the last ones we'll get for a while), free hot breakfast, wifi, movies (you haven't been meaning to watch, but that you watch anyway..and they're somehow amazing due to their impending novelty. Thank you "Legally Blonde"!), the ability to spread out (and your stuff isn't lying in the dirt or in a parking lot), a clean bed, a/c, the list goes on. I'm not even walking and I can feel the appreciation for front country comforts swell inside me.

Before our hotel, we were hosted by the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) Southwest Branch, my alma mater and employer.  There, we were the recipients of their gracious hospitality, and their kind and fun company. Thank you again to NOLS and for all of our friends who spent time with us.

Another reason we're feeling ready is in large part due to the Arizona Trail Assoiciation (ATA), who is responsible for the creation and improvement of the Arizona Trail. This year we'll be helping the ATA catalog their trail signs during our hike. The data we collect will be used to create a comprehensive sign plan for the National Scenic Trail. 

We just had an exciting meeting with their Executive Director today to discuss our new job(!), and tomorrow we're catching a ride with them to the Mexico Border. Thanks again ATA! 

To the rest of you, 

#🌵