April 7 & 8: Wilderness of Rocks

Days 13 & 14: Back on The Trail

My second day on the Arizona Trail ended with a beer at 8000 feet. Let me rewind and catch up a bit.

All of my blog posts to date have covered the first stage of my hike, starting from Mexico on March 2 and ending 160 miles north at Molino Basin campground in the foothills of the Catalinas on March 16. Now after 3 weeks of R&R with Chinita and family, I’m picking up the hike (and the blog) where I left off. Dad dropped me off at Molino on April 7 at 7am (by far the earliest I’ll start this whole trip…thanks Dad, we hugged goodbye and I was off.

My goal in two days was Summerhaven, 22 miles and 4000 feet above Molino. I was anxious – about how my feet were going to hold up, about sleeping in a bivy, about whether I’m going to complete this crazy hike. The idea of sleeping in the bivy (a large waterproof sack that fits over your sleeping bag and zips over your head) is going to be tested tonight. There’s rain and lighting in the forecast. It sounded fine on the showroom floor of the SOHO REI.

The first day didn’t auger well – at all. It started nicely: walking thru an area that I used to know as “Prison Camp” and now called Camp Hirabayashi (kudos to Emma Hard for opening my eyes to the brutality of Japanese internment camps), Hutch’s pool (the best swimming hole in southern Arizona), walking upwards into the mountains beside the Catalina highway as the bikers zoom downhill (sometimes reaching 50-60 MPH). Morning was brilliant.
But by afternoon my worst fears seemed to come true. My feet hurt (plantar I suspect). My pack, which I had hoped to lighten by 3-4 pounds since last time, feels like a ton of bricks. That night, when I camped just below the saddle at Romero Pass, I was miserable. Dry and warm thanks to a light tarp I put above my bivy and pack, but I’m claustrophobic in the thing. On top of everything I can’t contact anyone because there’s no cell coverage when I though there might be. The hour between midnight and 1am, when the rain came down even harder and the first thunder rolled in, wad the hardest. Zen thoughts.
But, as always, the next day was great. I woke at dawn to find myself still alive (and dry). A great cup of coffee. What was best, my feet felt great. So far everything that hurts on one day works itself out the next as long as I don’t do anything stupid.

The morning of the second day started straight uphill. Soon I walked through one of my favorite trails in the world: the wilderness of rocks. The trail plateaus and climbs gradually for 5-6 miles before Summerhaven. Huge boulders each one like its own beach for sunbathing. The trail dives into pines with little creeks. But mostly it’s literally wilderness – trail ducks in and around boulders of every size and shape. Giant clouds boom and loom. Heaven.

By 5 I get to Summerhaven road. I walk up the paved road surrounded by green, by water and tall pines. I stop at Sawmill Restaurant for that beer. A burger too. Charge my phone, fun texts with the family (Hanna Hard wins her age group in the Sabino Canyon Race!) refresh my water then head out before it gets dark. It seems crazy to leave a cozy place for the dark and rain but I’m I going to try a new way of tying my tarp.