April 11: Bloodsucker Wash 

Day 17: Water in the Black Hills

Time to plan ahead and correct for few things: like what to do when everything you own gets sopping wet. When the last storm cleared yesterday, there was no happy sun to emerge and dry everything off. By 4:30 I had to set camp in order to be dry for the night – even though 2 hours before sunset.  This time the tarp/bivy/bag combo worked out. By the time the rain cleared after midnight, the stars came out and life was good.

This is getting old but…brilliant sun the next morning at 6am. I spread everything out across mesquites to dry from the day before: boots, tarp, yesterday’s clothes. Jed Clampett style. Hiking by mid-morning. I’m now hiking passage 14 of the AZT. Called the Black Hills, this is supposedly the most remote passage on the trail. No cars, no highways, no other hikers (in two days not a soul). Mostly that’s because of another no: water. I love the variety of the desert but this stretch is pretty desolate. Hawks constantly circle sometimes above sometimes below. To pass time I start listening to Dylan: album by album starting with “Bob Dylan” in 1962.

 

The day ended near Bloodsucker Wash. I need water for the next 25 miles: daunting. About 1/4 mile off the trail I find an old corral: chute and all. I first braved the stock tank with the water float, then climbed the iron water tower to take it directly from the source. I had to hold the bag while bees buzzed all around me. Walked another 2 miles before stopping and tying trap beaten a mesquite and palo verde and laying out bag. The rain has stopped at least for tonight, and the stars spread out above me like a planetarium show.