AZT 2019 Day 8: Campsite near Saguaro National Park southern border (mile 126.5) to campsite near Saguaro National Park northern border (mile 144.2)

17.7 miles

I woke up at 3am in an absolutely foul mood. I had fallen asleep in a strange position and my neck was super tight giving me a bad headache. No matter what position I put myself in, it was painful and I could not fall back to sleep. It really bothered me since I didn't sleep well the previous night either. I suspect that was the reason why I slept weird on my neck. I was probably so exhausted at the beginning of the night that I fell asleep despite being in an unusual position.

By the time I got up and moving, I seemed to find other reasons to be angry. The past couple days my feet had been painfully aching for most of the day instead of just at the end of the day. For this reason, plus my stench and greasy hair, I felt like I really needed a day off. However, the next trail town in which I could do that was at minimum 4 days away. My pack was also way heavier than it needed to be and really bothering me yesterday. And, to top it off, I was somehow upset with how much faster of a hiker Cool Breeze was than me. In that instance, seeing someone keep a faster pace than me somehow made me feel like I was a pretend hiker, and not a seasoned hiker like the rest of these people.

I set off, listening to music to try and clear my head. Miraculously, warming up my body my moving it loosened up the muscles in my neck and my headache went away. I then had a few minutes of self reflection and self mentoring, which was weird. I basically gave the demons in my head the same advice/perspective I would give (and have given) other hikers.

You know what? I was being stupid and unreasonable.  My feet are going to hurt on a long hike. It is just going to happen and I  have dealt with it before over longer distances. Everyone else hiking this trail is going the same amount of time without a shower, and I can handle it. My pack was heavy because of extra food. This extra food gives me the flexibility to take another day to get into Oracle if I needed it. The crazy schedule I was trying to keep was when I didn't think I would have enough food. And,  finally, who cares if other people hike faster than me. I hike at the pace I do because it works for me. It is not a race to the finish. I've had several other hikers pass me, but I have also passed a few people as well. Whatever made me think I wasn't a “real” hiker?

After I recovered from my little drama queen pity party, I was able to enjoy the absolutely stunning landscape I was walking through. It was practically a sea of saguaros in the morning light. I ended up taking about a million pictures of them. As I gained in elevation, there started to be wildflowers in the mix. It was beautiful.

WARNING: Saguaro pics incoming

I was climbing up almost 5,500 feet of elevation today, so eventually I graduated out of the saguaro zone and into a shrubby, rocky landscape with good views of the valley below. That eventually gave way to trees that provided occasional shade along the trail.

Last of the saguaros.

New terrain.

In this section I stopped at Grass Shack Campground for lunch. It had shade, logs to sit on, and a nearby stream with water. In Saguaro National Park you can only camp at designated campgrounds, and only with a permit. This was one of the campgrounds I could have chosen from. Unfortunately, you have to contact the rangers ahead of time because the trail doesn't go past a ranger station. Or, you could just walk the 17 miles of park in a day and camp outside its boundaries, the option that I took.

Grass Shack Campground. 

Creek at Grass Shack.

The climb after Grass Shack seemed especially steep and took a long time. Eventually, I entered an area of pine forest, which provided cool air, shade, and a wonderful aroma. Well into this pine forest area I hit Chimenea Creek.

The view from the climb.

It was a beautiful setting with flowing, cold water. I filled up my water bottles and soaked my swollen feet. The cold actually hurt my swollen toes at first. However, when I warmed them back up after the cold soak, some of the swelling moved out and they became (temporarily) less painful to walk on.

Chimenea Creek.

Enjoying the cool pine forest, I sauntered through it probably more slowly than I should have. I passed the other campground for which I could have gotten a permit, Manning Camp, and slowly finished the climb at almost 8,600 feet in elevation.

A stroll through the pines.

I then headed down the other side. It was getting late in the day and I had only concerned myself with completing the climb and not exiting the park on the other side. Clearly, not as many people hike that section. It was slow going as the trail was incredibly steep  didn't have particularly good tread in sections, was overgrown, and had several dead falls.

The view on the descent .

I had a campsite originally in mind, but I would probably get there with the last bit of fading light. However, not far outside the park boundary I saw a campsite I couldn't pass up. It had everything: a large flat spot for a tent, a log for sitting, it was sheltered, and it had an amazing and unobstructed view of the surrounding valley, complete with a rock to sit on to watch the sunset. I figured with how I felt at the beginning of the day,  this was how I should end it.

My campsite. 

Sunset from my campsite.