AZT 2019 Day 17: FR4 (mile 292.9) to Reavis Canyon Trailhead (mile 310.7)

17.8 miles

I left the campsite at FR4 and continued heading downhill towards Picketpost Trailhead.  As I headed down, I was thankful for my choice of campsite last night, even if it did mean setting up early. There were not many options further down, and none as comfortable as the site I had last night.

The morning light on the surrounding landscape was beautiful.  It was soft and hit the rocks in a way that made it look like a painting. I passed some cows, as per usual, and sipped the last of the gross cow water that I filtered yesterday.

Morning light.

Morning cow.

Heading to the trailhead.

When I got to the trailhead, I texted a trail angel (Al) who I had contacted the previous day. He picked me up and brought me back to the house he shares with his wife, MJ. They showed me the shower,  washer/dryer, hiker box, and then let me clean myself up. I immediately did laundry.

Since I found a backwashing syringe in the hiker box, I then decided to try to unclog my filter. It had been working fine until that cow pond yesterday, which instantly clogged it. I could only get a trickle to come out by the end of filtering the second liter. On the first backflush, the water came out a gross green. On the next couple, it was brown. I don't know how many flushes I ended up doing, but that was probably the dirtiest I had ever seen my filter get.

After that, I showered. When I was clean, I told MJ that one of my goals for the day was to get a slushie or frozen fruit bar in town, because I had been fantasizing about them the past couple days. Well, she just happened to have a strawberry fruit bar in the freezer, and it was divine.  She also gave me the leftovers from breakfast including scrambled eggs, bacon, potatoes, and blueberry muffins. Considering I haven't eaten much the past couple days, and most of what I had eaten was not “real food,” the leftover breakfast was also divine.

Al left for the day, and I chatted with MJ at the table while uploading photos. A couple hours later, Sierra called to say she was at the trailhead. Sierra came to the house, and I went to buy my food resupply. In the meantime, MJ made us tacos for lunch.

My original plan was to get back on the trail as soon as my town chores were done. There is some hotter weather coming in the next couple days, and I need to take that into consideration when the trail either goes to a lower elevation or does a big climb. Looking at the trail’s upcoming elevation profile, I decided the best strategy for the next couple days would be to get as close to the big climb out of Superior as I could tonight and set myself up to get into Roosevelt Lake early enough to wait out the afternoon heat at the marina.

My town chores were done just after lunch. However, a storm was passing through, complete with cold winds, thunder, and some rain. For the first time since Summerhaven, I was actually a little cold. I waited out the storm and got a ride back to the trailhead around 3/3:30 pm.

Overcast afternoon.

Back on the trail, I passed under highway 60, then headed through a series of rolling hills with cacti and wildflowers.  Early on, I saw the most beautiful thing in the world: running water.

So beautiful!

I entered the canyons before the big climb into the mountains, and walked them for a little while after dark. I was aiming for a corral just past the Reavis Trailhead, because someone had noted in the Arizona Trail app that there was no camping at the trailhead itself.

Hiking the canyons.

However, when I got to the trailhead, there looked to be plenty of dirt to set up a tent. I set my tent up, and it was a little slanted, but sleepable.